Senior Operations Manager

Babcock International; Rosyth, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy; On-site; GBP 57,000 - 82,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allowance

Matched pension with life assurance

Digital GP and health checks

Employee shopping portal

Professional Fees paid

Job summary

Babcock International in Rosyth is seeking a Senior Operations Manager to provide strategic leadership across ship outfitting activities within a major defence programme. You will drive performance, develop high‑performing teams and ensure safe, compliant delivery on site at Rosyth.

Role requires extensive experience leading large operations, managing budgets and coordinating cross‑functional teams. On offer is a permanent role with strong benefits and security clearances where applicable.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership of large operational teams in complex environments.
• Experience with project controls, budgets, forecasting and resource management.
• Track record delivering organisational change and high-performing teams.
• Strong stakeholder management to influence senior leaders and partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead supervisors and teams to deliver programme objectives.
• Drive safe, efficient and compliant ship outfitting and commissioning.
• Manage performance, budgets, forecasts and delivery risks.
• Collaborate with engineering, project, supply chain and subcontractors.
• Champion safety, continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Skills

Operational leadership

Budgeting

Stakeholder management

Safety compliance

Change management

Education

Engineering degree

Health & safety qualification

Professional membership

Job description

Job Title: Senior Operations Manager

Location: Rosyth, Fife

Compensation: £57,300 - £82,300+ Benefits

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF75570

Lead the delivery of world-class warships and help shape the future of UK defence

At Babcock we're working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a Senior Operations Manager at our Rosyth site.

The role

As aSenior Operations Manager, you'll have a role that's out of the ordinary. You'll provide strategic leadership and operational oversight across ship outfitting activities, ensuring safe, compliant and efficient delivery. Working at the heart of a major defence programme, you'll be responsible for driving performance across electrical, mechanical, piping and construction outfitting activities, while developing high-performing teams and fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement.

This role offers outstanding scope for career development, giving you the opportunity to lead large-scale engineering and manufacturing operations while contributing to projects of national significance.

Day-to-day you'll be required to:

• Leading, motivating and developing supervisors, managers and operational teams to deliver programme objectives.
• Driving safe, efficient and compliant delivery of ship outfitting, testing and commissioning activities.
• Managing operational performance, resources, budgets, forecasts and delivery risks to achieve programme milestones.
• Collaborating with engineering, project, supply chain and subcontractor teams to maximise productivity and quality.
• Championing a culture of safety, continuous improvement and operational excellence across the programme.

This role is full time, 37 hours per week and is based on site at Rosyth.

Essential experience of the Senior Operations Manager

• Proven experience leading large operational teams within complex engineering, manufacturing, marine, defence or heavy industrial environments.
• Understanding of project controls, budgets, forecasting and resource management.
• Demonstrable success managing managers, supervisors and multidisciplinary teams to achieve business objectives.
• Experience delivering organisational change, improving performance and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence senior leaders, customers and delivery partners

Qualifications for the Senior Operations Manager

• Degree, Higher National Certificate, Higher National Diploma or equivalent engineering qualification.
• Recognised trade qualification supported by significant leadership experience - desirable
• Professional membership with institutions such as the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Engineering and Technology, Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, Association for Project Management or equivalent - desirable
• IOSH, NEBOSH or equivalent health, safety and environmental qualification - desirable

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role.

Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .

What we offer

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. This Window opens February through to March annually.
• Be Kind Day' enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity

Babcock

We're Babcock - a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you'll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we're building a future that lasts - not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work-life balance.

We call that lifetime engineering.

Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email [e-mail] with the subject header Reasonable adjustments requirement'. We're committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone's free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working - please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing date: 11/09/2026