Why join the SDA?

Whatever your role in the SDA, you’ll be part of an organisation that produces available and capable submarines for the Royal Navy to defend our nation. You’ll have the opportunity to develop your skills and help grow your career as part of a highly ambitious government agency.

In return for your dedication and expertise, you’ll have access to a range of benefits including a market-leading Civil Service pension scheme, 25 days' holiday plus one additional day every year you work up to 30 days, flexible working, parental and adoption leave, performance awards, store discounts and much more.

What we offer

As an employee of the SDA, you’ll be part of an organisation that works on some of the most complex equipment in the world.

Your career aspirations, wellbeing and work-life balance are important to us. We want you to be able to enjoy your time both inside and outside of work; and to help achieve this, we provide an extensive range of benefits including:

Flexible working

We offer flexible and hybrid working arrangements where the role and your personal circumstances are suitable.

Annual leave

You’ll get 25 days’ holiday a year, with an additional one day a year up to a maximum of 30 days. You’ll also be entitled to eight bank holidays and an extra day for the Sovereign’s official birthday. You can take up to six days of paid leave a year for volunteering.

Pension

We offer a market-leading pension scheme. Our people have the opportunity to choose between two pension schemes:

• Alpha (with generous employer contribution rates starting at around 27%)
• The Partnership Pension account

Reward and recognition

We have multiple reward schemes including cash awards and vouchers for exceptional work. We also have an annual performance-based award that all SDA staff are eligible for.

Family benefits and vouchers

Our people have access to:

• enhanced maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave schemes, offering 100% pay for 26 weeks
• a huge range of discounts including retail, sports, leisure, restaurants, gifts, days out, holidays, cinema, motoring, insurance, health care and gym memberships

Learning and development

We want our people to continue to grow and develop in their career. You’ll have access to a range of learning and development schemes, including:

• access to specialist training and funded professional qualifications
• secondment and temporary promotion opportunities to help grow your skills
• paid professional subscriptions
• internal employee networks
• mentoring schemes, including reverse mentoring

Health and wellbeing

We’re committed to supporting and improving the health and wellbeing of our people and we provide a range of support options including:

• an employee assistance programme offering expert advice and compassionate guidance
• a wellbeing portal offering a wide variety of information and tools
• mental health first aiders, trained colleagues who can provide help and guide a person to appropriate support
• a range of employee networks including Menopause, Pride, Race and Culture, Social Mobility, Young Defence, Neuro-inclusivity and Women’s networks