Working for SDA
Learn about what the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) offers as an employer.
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 and support the Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD).
We’ll give you the opportunity to develop your skills and help grow your career as part of a highly ambitious government agency.
Join our team
At the SDA we value employees’ varied perspectives, lived experiences and backgrounds. You can learn more about the application process and our benefits in this
Access current vacancies on Civil Service Jobs.
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
For full details of our pension schemes, visit the Civil Service pensions website.
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
For more information, download the SDA Benefits Wheel (PDF, 563 KB, 12 pages) and our SDA Employee Value Proposition (PDF, 1.43 MB, 1 page)
Graduate and apprenticeship opportunities
We offer a range of graduate and apprenticeship options to both internal and external candidates. As a graduate or apprentice, you’ll get hands-on learning experience and will have access to our extensive range of benefits.
Military leavers
As a highly specialised part of UK Defence, we’ve been supporting military leavers on their journeys into civilian life for decades. We value the skills and experience of service leavers, and are proud to offer rewarding and secure employment to our veterans.
People who join us with a break in service of less than five years, having completed at least five years of service, have their military leave allowance preserved and will be awarded 30 days of leave.
Ready for life after the Armed Forces? Join us and help deliver the best service possible to those still serving.