Ministry of Defence main building. Photo: mrgarethm via Flickr

The Ministry of Defence is seeking a chief operating officer to lead a major transformation programme across the department and its agencies.

The MoD’s next COO – who will earn between £150,000 and £200,000 – will head up the Defence Transformation programme, which the ministry said in a job advert would enact “transformational change” in four areas: people, digital, acquisition reform, and support.

The programme “is entering a key period, in which the foundations have been laid and the challenge now is to deliver and embed change,” according to the job ad.

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“You will need to build and retain support for the programme from across the organisation and in the rest of government, while remaining focused at all times on the operational outputs of Defence that keep our nation safe,” it added.

The COO will also be responsible for the department’s operating model, and overseeing its corporate functions, including communications, legal and health and safety.

As well as being a senior leader in the MoD, the chief operating officer will be “one of the closest advisers” to its permanent secretary, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the advert said.

It called for an “outstanding, visible leader with experience in a complex organisation, who can demonstrate a successful record of implementing large scale business transformation”.

The position is being advertised as it is currently held as a two-year, fixed-term contract, which is coming to an end.

David Goldstone, who joined the MoD in December 2017, is the department's current COO. Goldstone was previously chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, which took over the development of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park after the 2012 games, and before that chief finance officer for Transport for London.