Job Title: Head of Strategic Planning
Location: Plymouth, Devon + Hybrid Working Arrangements
Compensation: Competitive including company car, bonus and healthcare
Role Type: Full time / Permanent
Role ID: SF61299
At Babcock we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a Head of Strategic Planning at the Devonport Royal Dockyard in Plymouth.
The role
As a Head of Strategic Planning, you’ll have a role that’s out of the ordinary. Devonport has a unique opportunity to modernise its infrastructure, systems, and capabilities to meet current and future defence needs. With increasing complexity across the site, it's essential that operations are integrated and focused on delivering this transformation.
Babcock is evolving how it operates at Devonport through enhanced Governance, Business Planning, Decision Making, Capability Development, and Strategy Execution.
We’re seeking a senior leader passionate about driving operational improvement to secure a stronger future for our customers and stakeholders.
Day-to-day, you'll lead the implementation of Integrated Business Planning at Devonport, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to align long-term demand with site capabilities. You’ll chair strategic planning forums, coordinate inputs from planning and supply leads, and maintain a coherent business plan that supports both customer and business objectives. A key part of your role will be identifying gaps between demand and supply, facilitating solution development, and driving decisions through the governance framework, all while fostering collaboration and ensuring planning efforts are integrated and future-focused.
- Establish and maintain a long-term demand baseline across all Defence and Business outputs, ensuring changes are governed through a robust change management process.
- Assess site capability and capacity in collaboration with Portfolio Supply Leads, identifying and addressing gaps between demand and supply through structured option development and governance.
- Chair strategic planning forums, bringing together key stakeholders, planning leads, and supply leads to ensure alignment and coordinated planning activity.
- Develop and maintain a comprehensive Business Plan, aligning long-term objectives, demand forecasts, and supply arrangements with the medium-term strategy and annual plans.
- Provide strategic recommendations through the Devonport Governance Framework, ensuring planning decisions are evidence-based, transparent, and aligned with customer and business priorities.
This role is full time, 35 hours per week and provides hybrid working arrangements.
Essential experience of the Head of Strategic Planning
- Proven expertise in programme management, with a track record of leading complex, cross-functional initiatives to successful outcomes.
- Strong leadership and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence, collaborate, and communicate effectively at all levels, both internally and externally.
- Excellent analytical and presentation abilities, capable of synthesising complex data into clear, actionable insights tailored to senior audiences.
- Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, working independently and across teams to deliver under pressure and meet multiple deadlines.
Qualifications for the Head of Strategic Planning
We welcome applications from all industries and backgrounds; defence experience would be of benefit however not an essential requirement.
- Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline or equivalent suitable experience.
- Extensive experience in a similar business role.
Security Clearance
The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role.
Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
What we offer
- Generous holiday allowance
- Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
- Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
- Employee share scheme
- Employee shopping savings portal
- Payment of Professional Fees
- Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave
- Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. This Window opens February through to March annually.
- ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity
- Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing.
Babcock International
For over a century Babcock has helped to defend nations, protect communities and build a better world. To continue, we must adapt, advance and be a sustainable business with a shared goal.
We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email careers@babcockinternational.com with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.
#BABDESTNUC
#LI-JW1