Head of Quality

Head of Quality - Devonport Royal Dockyard

At Babcock, we are dedicated to creating a safe and secure world. Join us as a Head of Quality at our Devonport Royal Dockyard site and play a crucial part in our mission.

As Head of Quality, you will provide strategic leadership to a vital function that is fundamental to the safe, compliant, and successful delivery of complex engineering programmes. Your role will involve shaping our quality strategy, strengthening governance and assurance frameworks, and promoting a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organisation. You will directly contribute to business performance, customer confidence, regulatory compliance, and long-term organisational success by collaborating with senior stakeholders across engineering, manufacturing, design, and supply chain functions, ensuring the highest standards of quality are integrated into every stage of programme delivery.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the strategic direction, performance, and effectiveness of the Quality function for multiple construction projects.
• Embed robust quality frameworks that support safe, compliant, and successful programme delivery.
• Champion quality assurance, governance, and continuous improvement across the organisation.
• Provide expert leadership, assurance, and oversight across major nuclear and defence programmes.
• Develop high-performing teams and foster a culture of accountability, excellence, and continual improvement.

This is a full-time, permanent role working 35 hours per week, based on-site at Devonport Royal Dockyard.

Essential Experience:

• Extensive experience leading multiple quality functions across major nuclear, defence, or highly regulated construction programmes in major nuclear or defence EPC projects.
• Proven success in developing quality strategies, management systems, assurance frameworks, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of ISO 9001:2015, ISO 19443, AQAP 2110, and quality performance reporting methodologies.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams, including organisational design, capability development, resource planning, and budget management.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to drive performance across complex organisations.

Qualifications:

• Essential: Fellow or chartered member of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI).
• Desirable: Lead Auditor qualification, Degree or Honours Degree, Postgraduate qualification (preferably in a quality-related discipline).

Security Clearance:

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role.

What We Offer:

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations via Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Special paid leave for reservists in the armed forces (10 days)
• Holiday Trading option (buy or sell annual leave)
• ‘Be Kind Day’ for volunteering (one paid working day per year)

Babcock is a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 29,000 employees, committed to building a future that lasts. We offer meaningful careers that respect work-life balance, contributing to national security and public infrastructure. We are a disability confident employer committed to building an inclusive culture.

We are happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Please inquire about alternative patterns of work at interview.