SERVICE LEAD – DEFENCE

CRA is one of the UK’s largest integrated Risk, Safety and Human Factors consultancies. We have a long history of helping our clients in the UK nuclear and other high-hazard industries manage risk and ensure the safety of their operations.  As part of the Assystem Group we also have opportunities to support a wide variety of projects around the world.

CRA recognises that our staff are our greatest asset and we strive to develop each consultant technically and professionally by providing them with the opportunities and support they need to grow and realise their potential.  For more junior staff, Initial Professional Development (IPD) focuses on attaining the competencies and the range of technical experience required to achieve Chartered status with their chosen professional institution through a combination of internal and external training and project experience.  For our more experienced staff, our Continued Professional Development (CPD) programme provides support to allow maintenance of existing skills and expertise, while developing new ones in complimentary areas. 

We aim to provide a diverse and inclusive working environment with a healthy work-life balance and recognise the benefits that this brings to our business, our clients and our people.

Purpose:

The Service Lead Role is essential to supporting the continued growth and development of the CRA business and maintaining our reputation for delivering high quality technical services to our clients.  As a Service Lead you will have responsibility for setting strategy and growing company capability in your particular field.  You will be the technical lead within the organisation for your specialism and will be recognised as highly experienced and trusted by both colleagues and clients alike.

You will be responsible for maintaining and developing existing client relationships to ensure continued repeat business and organic growth, as well as supporting the Business Development (BD) and Sales team in seeking to grow the existing client base in your service area.  You will also work closely with line managers in the organisation to help identify suitable work to keep the team utilised and meet individuals’ development goals.

You will take an active role in the recruitment and development of staff to meet the needs of the service and the business as a whole, to support sustainable growth of the service capability through continued support to existing clients and breaking into new markets.

As service lead you will provide technical leadership, guidance and mentoring to colleagues. To ensure that you remain Suitably Qualified and Experienced in your field you will also continue to be involved in the technical delivery of work and appropriate Continuing Professional Development.

Profile

 Your responsibilities will include:

• Liaising with existing clients to maintain and develop relationships, ensure work is being delivered to expectations with regard to time, quality and cost
• Supporting the BD and Sales team in identifying opportunities from both existing frameworks and clients, as well as new clients and sectors
• Owning the strategy for development of your service, working with Senior Leadership Team and the BD and Sales Team to ensure that it aligns with the wider business goals and market intelligence
• Providing Technical Oversight for the work undertaken in your service area, supported by the Project Managers and Project Overseers, to ensure that all work is conducted to the required standard
• Growing and developing the service offering in accordance with the service strategy and business plan through training and development of existing staff and recruitment
• Maintaining oversight of the profitability of jobs undertaken in the service area and provide support to Project Managers and Overseers where required
• Maintaining oversight of proposals within the service area including ensuring appropriate resources are available to support bid authoring, review and approval
• Delegation of authority to appropriate individuals as required to support the service need
• Technical mentoring of staff in tools and techniques including client processes and procedures
• Work closely with the BD team & other resource managers to deliver the service share of the Profit and Loss (P&L) account

The role will entail providing technical leadership for safety assurance projects during the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of Defence nuclear facilities. You will support our client in managing nuclear safety and ensuring compliance with the Site Licence Conditions and will typically provide technical leadership for:

• Qualitative and Quantitative Hazard Assessments
• Radiological Hazard Assessments
• Probabilistic Safety Assessments
• Safety report production
• Support to Engineering Substantiation activities
• Development and review of Safety Management Arrangements
• Producing nuclear technology technical reports
• Managing safety assurance activities and leading safety assurance teams
• Governance approval of small bids

Requirements:
In addition to having excellent communication, presentation and problem-solving skills you should also be able to demonstrate the following:

• Technical practitioner able to demonstrate good engineering judgement and with extensive experience in using fundamental engineering skills
• Proven record of delivering complex and challenging projects
• Able to produce and review/correct high-quality technical reports
• Leadership of technical teams and development of more junior staff
• Motivated and driven to meet delivery/cost targets without compromising quality
• Awareness of their own technical limitations and using the help and support of others to deliver

We are committed to equal treatment of candidates and promote, as well as foster all forms of diversity within our company. We believe that bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives is essential for creating innovative and impactful solutions. Skills, talent, and our people’s ability to dare are the only things that matter !. Bring your unique contributions and help us shape the future.