Role: Senior Regulatory Policy Manager 

Employer: Single Source Regulations Office    Sector: Non-Departmental Public Body

Location: Hybrid, attending an office location in Westminster, London  

Salary: Up to £66,357.50 and Civil Service Pension + up to Zones 1-6 London oyster card (currently a daily contribution to travel of up to £14.90) + 30 days holiday and bank holidays 

Working pattern: Full-time - The SSRO welcomes flexible working arrangements.

Senior Regulatory Policy Manager 

This is an opportunity to join the Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) as a Senior Regulatory Policy Manager, contributing in a very real way to the procurement and delivery of key non-competitive defence equipment capabilities such as the new Dreadnought and Astute classes of nuclear submarines, Type 26 frigates and Skynet military satellites. We have over £114bn of contracts regulated through the regime.

This is an exciting and challenging time for defence with a fast-evolving threat environment, the Government’s Strategic Defence Review underway and Defence Industrial Strategy being prepared. SSRO is playing an active role in these vital developments looking at how our regulatory regime can best play a part in incentivising a faster pace of delivery while protecting taxpayer value for money and ensuring fair prices to contractors that allow them to thrive.

As a senior regulatory policy manager in the SSRO you will be at the heart of our thinking on how to how to evolve the single source regime in line with the Government’s objectives. You will work with a wide range of stakeholders across the defence establishment both in MOD and the defence industry. You will be an important part of a dynamic organisation enhancing the SSRO’s reputation as an independent expert body and thought leader. 

The Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) is an executive non-departmental public body that plays a central role in the regulation of the UK government’s non-competitive procurement of military capabilities. The framework places controls on the prices of qualifying defence contracts and imposes transparency obligations on defence contractors. Amongst other things we establish the baseline profit rate for contracts under the single source regime, hold and analyse a wide range of contract and supplier data, publish guidance on what costs are allowable, give opinions and determinations on areas of disagreement between MOD and contractors and constantly look for ways to improve and strengthen the regime.

This is a full-time role, but we would be happy to consider flexible working arrangements for the successful candidate.

What will I be doing?

Responsibilities:

• Developing regulatory policy thinking of how best to improve the single source regime and applying best practice in evidence-based policy development to help improve delivery of the SSRO’s functions. In the first instance this work will focus on developing ideas and thinking linked to the Defence Industrial Strategy and review of the single source contract regulations. This will also involve developing the follow-on work needed to operationalise any regime changes and other pieces of regulatory work as needed. 
• Lead on the development of guidance which combines commercial and technical concepts and can be understood and applied by parties to single source contracts, with strong critical thinking abilities to challenge and consider alternatives when looking at issues.
• Collaborate with staff across the SSRO and work successfully in multi-disciplinary teams, including project teams drawn from across other established teams.
• Engagement with stakeholders and helping to maintain effective relationships with stakeholders across the defence community (both public and private sector) and wider Government and regulators. Participate actively in interviews, meetings and workshops. Issue and consider written material and responses. Manage public consultations and other appropriate channels of engagement.
• Communicate the SSRO’s work to internal and external stakeholders and prepare high quality documents that are accessible for our audiences.
• Manage projects and take responsibility for delivering high quality, timely outputs.
• Be a role model for the SSRO’s values and an active participant in the SSRO’s corporate life.
• Make best use of available technology and contribute to the delivery of new and innovative ways to deliver our work and improve quality and efficiency.
• Such other duties as the SSRO may require, in line with business need.

Person specification

Essential:

• Educated to degree level, or equivalent professional qualification or experience.
• Strong critical thinking abilities to challenge and consider alternatives when looking at issues.
• Able to master the detail, to interpret and interrogate data and derive insights from it to inform our choices, whilst not losing the bigger picture. Flexibility in thinking and ability to deal with ambiguity and change.
• Able to take high level steers from  senior staff and with support translate into options that are implementable for our regulatory regime, including development of ideas emerging from reviews of the legislation which governs our work. 
• A self-starter, practical and pragmatic, with high level project, time and resource management skills, who demonstrates a flexible ‘can do’ attitude, takes on challenges and has the tenacity to actively challenge processes.
• Experience of planning and delivering research projects or policy reviews, with a demonstrated ability to present complex data in a clear and easy-to-understand format  including both written and oral presentations for a variety of audiences.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively including over organisational boundaries, build relationships and engage with internal and external stakeholders while maintaining credibility and professionalism.
• Able to master the detail, whilst not losing the bigger picture.
• Acts with integrity and consideration for others and applies the SSRO’s governance procedures.
• Ability to understand complex ideas/issues and develop policies and processes that work in a Defence and regulatory setting both for Government and industry. 
• Proficiency with business enabling skills such as governance, procurement and contract management and a proficient user of MS Office packages particularly Excel, PowerPoint and Word or equivalent.

Desirable:

• Experience of handling sensitive data (commercial, political, intelligence or military)
• Experience of developing standards or guidance, for example running consultations, development of exposure drafts and policy papers, running working groups or technical discussion panels.
• A good understanding of the defence sector and/or public procurement.
• A good understanding of commercial economics and utility regulation in the UK.
• Some knowledge of corporate finance would be desirable

Security clearance

The role will require you to undergo and successfully secure national security vetting and obtain Security Check (SC) clearance.

Applying for the position

To apply for the position, please submit both of the following: 

A covering letter of no more than 1000 words (font size 12), clearly explaining how you meet the essential and desirable criteria as outlined in the person specification, using appropriate examples; and Your CV, setting out your qualifications and experience. This should clearly include any professional bodies of which you are a member.

Applications that do not contain both covering letter and CV may be rejected.

The SSRO embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. We recruit by merit based on fair and open competition and especially welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds (if you should need any adjustments to support your application, please let us know).