Defence Equipment and Support has launched recruitment campaigns to find three new directors and is offering up to £160,000 a year to the successful candidates.
The Ministry of Defence arm's-length body, which negotiates and manages contracts on behalf of the UK armed forces for everything from fighter jets to food deliveries, is hunting for directors of project initiation, commissioning and maritime.
The project initiation and commissioning roles pay salaries in the range of £144,000 to £160,000 a year, while the maritime director's salary package is bracketed at £135,000 to £150,000.
According to the adverts for the jobs, the project initiation director will be responsible for liaising with DE&S clients, industry partners, international allies and other stakeholders to ensure projects are set up for success "from the start". They will lead a team of around 300 and have a portfolio starting at around £2.5bn.
The director of commissioning will be DE&S's "primary link" with partners such as MoD Centre, leading executive-level engagement. The advertisement states that they will have a delivery team of approximately 150 people and a £5bn defence-wide portfolio. Part of their role will be to "challenge traditional ways of working to provide choice to the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and UK Strategic Command.
The maritime director will be tasked with "driving delivery" in the maritime environment, including accelerating the transformation of support to Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships "to a level which is achieved in the commercial maritime sector".
The successful candidate will "have the ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity and deliver innovative solutions", according to the advert. They must also have "intelligent commercial acumen" and the ability to build and maintain constructive, collaborative working relationships with the Royal Navy, ministers, and the highest levels of industry.
The maritime director role is based at DE&S's Abbey Wood headquarters in Bristol. The other two roles can be based at a range of MoD sites, but require "a significant number of hours" to be spent at Abbey Wood.
The maritime director role is open to applications until 2.15pm on 11 September. Applications for the project initiation director and commissioning director close at 11.55pm on 15 September.