The posting
Location: RAF Northolt
Rate: Up to £570 per day
IR35 Status: Inside IR35
Contract: 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027
Closing Date: 20 November 2026 at 10:00
Security Clearance: Current SC clearance required
Overview
Our customer, a large defence organisation, is seeking an experienced Safety Manager to undertake an evidence-based assessment of operational fatigue risks at RAF Northolt.
The role will involve analysing existing working arrangements, operational demands and safety controls, identifying the principal sources of fatigue exposure and recommending proportionate improvements that reduce risk without compromising security, operational resilience or other safety requirements.
Team Context
The assignment sits within the DE&S Logistics, Services & Commodities (L&S) operating centre and will focus on operational fatigue risks associated with activities at RAF Northolt.
The successful candidate will assess the current operating environment and develop recommendations to support senior decision-making and the definition of a potential follow-on delivery phase.
Key Responsibilities
- Establish the current operating picture, identifying principal fatigue exposures, existing controls and relevant operational and security constraints.
- Assess factors contributing to fatigue, including operational demand, route sequencing, secure-storage detours, customer behaviours, commuting, duty hours, early starts, recovery periods, task frequency and workforce capacity.
- Analyse existing organisational systems and working arrangements to identify opportunities to reduce fatigue exposure.
- Develop an evidence-based options paper presenting a prioritised range of credible interventions, including their benefits, risks, dependencies and indicative cost and resource implications.
- Ensure proposed interventions reduce fatigue exposure without transferring risk into security, service resilience or other safety hazards.
- Recommend a proportionate way forward, supported by clear evidence and analysis.
- Define the preferred follow-on delivery phase, including proposed outcomes, work packages, skills, data and security requirements, MOD dependencies, governance, acceptance criteria and indicative sequencing.
- Prepare and deliver a concise senior-level decision briefing summarising the evidence, trade-offs, recommendations and decisions required.
- Ensure the options paper, delivery-phase definition and decision briefing are complete, internally consistent and suitable for acceptance by the decision authority.
Essential Skills and Experience
- Strong analytical and safety-risk assessment capabilities.
- Experience assessing fatigue risks within operational environments.
- Ability to evaluate operational constraints, organisational systems and existing safety controls.
- Experience analysing complex operational information and developing proportionate, evidence-based improvement options.
- Ability to assess the benefits, risks, dependencies and resource implications of proposed interventions.
- Experience preparing structured reports, options papers or recommendations to support management decisions.
- Strong communication and presentation skills, including experience briefing senior decision-makers.
Desirable Skills and Experience
- Experience working within defence, government or similarly regulated operational environments.
- Knowledge of fatigue risk management approaches and their application within complex operational settings.
- Experience defining and scoping follow-on improvement or change programmes.
- Experience balancing safety improvements against operational, security and service-delivery constraints.
Additional Information
- DV clearance may also be required, subject to confirmation.
- Travel to and from RAF Northolt is included within the day rate.



