Health and Safety Advisor

Job summary

At Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), we supply and maintain vital equipment and services for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Together, we deliver a vast range of essential defence programmes, and strive for what's next. Because it helps keep our military at the top of their game and our nation safe – for today, and tomorrow.

DE&S has recently been integrated into the National Armaments Director Group (NAD Group). The NAD Group brings together key Ministry of Defence (MOD) organisations to unite expertise across science, technology, procurement, infrastructure, and support to provide integrated capabilities faster and more efficiently for our armed forces and our allies. This is an exciting new opportunity to enable better ways of working and empower greater collaboration across Defence. For further information about the NAD Group, please visit: National Armaments Director Group - GOV.UK

We offer 25+ days’ holiday, flexible and hybrid working, enhanced parental leave schemes, shopping discounts, and an exceptional employer pension contribution of 28.97%, to help make work work for you.

This role requires you to have lived in the UK for the last 5 years and obtain Security Check (SC) security clearance. Clearance must be obtained without any caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role you’ve been recruited for. If it isn’t obtained, or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn. Obtaining SC security clearance can be a lengthy process, and we reserve the right to withdraw any conditional offer made if the necessary security clearance isn’t obtained within 12 months.

We’re unable to offer visa sponsorship.

Job description

Are you an experienced Health and Safety Advisor with a passion for keeping people safe in high‑risk environments? Are you ready for a role where your expertise will make a real difference to the UK’s most critical Defence operations? If so, Defence Munitions (DM) have an exceptional opportunity you won’t want to miss.

In this role, you will be at the at the heart of ensuring our compliance with Health, Safety and Environmental legislation, helping to safeguard both people and the environment on behalf of the Head of Establishment. You will play a key role in shaping a proactive safety culture by providing timely, expert advice across a wide range of activities conducted on site.

You will play a pivotal role in developing and strengthening measures for hazard identification and risk management by delivering timely, professional, and effective guidance across all activities undertaken on site. You will act as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) to deliver risk assessment, the safe movement of transport and effective assurance to determine performance against safety and environmental goals.

Working at DM Crombie offers a rare opportunity to deepen your professional experience in high‑hazards site. You will be supported to build expertise in Major Accident Control Regulations (MACR the MOD’s adaptation of COMAH), fire safety, and the control of radiation sources.

We champion flexible working arrangements. While 100% on-site attendance is required to foster the benefits of face-to-face collaboration, we offer flexible hours to support a healthy work-life balance.

Please note: This role involves minimal travel to other locations across the UK for training and development opportunities, with transportation provided where necessary.

What you’ll be doing

• Provide competent Occupational Health and Safety advice and guidance on an operational site, ensuring that all on‑site activities are conducted in line with legislative requirements, best practice, and internal standards.

• Develop and maintain a robust inspection and first‑line assurance programme that effectively measures compliance. This includes planning and conducting inspections, producing clear and actionable reports, monitoring progress, and ensuring all follow‑up actions are completed to drive continuous improvement.

• Build and maintain strong working relationships across the business, collaborating confidently with colleagues at all levels as well as external stakeholders including Delivery Partners, Contractors, and wider Defence organisations.

• Lead on site incident management by conducting investigations, delivering root cause analysis, identifying lessons learned, and producing high‑quality reports.

• Delivering subject matter support to Committees and Management Boards, providing informed guidance, contributing to decision‑making discussions, and ensuring that safety considerations are fully integrated into strategic planning and operational oversight.

• Lead on fire safety compliance, ensuring that all statutory and organisational fire safety requirements are met. This includes reviewing fire risk assessments, coordinating exercises and drills, managing control measures, and supporting continuous improvement in fire prevention and response arrangements.

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Lead Criterion - Minimum NEBOSH General Certificate or an equivalent Level 3 qualification in a relevant health & safety discipline.
• Experience working in a Health & Safety role.
• Experience working in environments with higher‑risk activities.
• A valid UK driving licence, as travel between sites is required.

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Core Behaviour 1: Communicating and influencing – CSBC3
• Core Behaviour 2: Delivering at Pace – CSBC 3
• Technical Competence 1: Incident Reporting and Investigation – Practitioner
• Technical Competence 2: Audit and Assurance (OHSEP) – Practitioner

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,000, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,429 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 25 days’ annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King’s birthday
• Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 28.97%
• Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards
• Access to specialist training and funded qualifications
• Support for progression
• Huge range of discounts
• Volunteering days
• Enhanced parental leave schemes

Improving innovation and enriching our culture, diversity of thought is vital to our success. So whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, a next step, or a helping hand as you return from a career break, bring your experiences and help deliver for the defence of tomorrow. Here you’ll find a supportive, family-friendly organisation to be a part of - and if you need any assistance with your application, just let us know.

Further Information

• Civil Service Recruitment Principles: