Contracts Manager
Location: Templecombe / Cheadle (with travel as required)
Are you keen to work on and impact the biggest contract within Thales UK?
Are you enthusiastic to bring a forward-thinking approach and strong commercial skills?
Do you have good knowledge of both the defence business and the commercial environment?
What the role has to offer
Due to continued growth within the Defence sector we have an exciting new opportunity for a Senior Contracts Manager to be based in our offices in either our Bristol office, Templecombe office or Crawley office.
Working on our new QDC contract within the Under Water Systems business, you will have exposure to high profile internal and external stakeholders, working on this challenging interesting programme where you’ll be able to apply your technical proficiency to lead and support this con
tract in our fast growing business.
Our Opportunity
You will join a diverse and high performing team in the Thales UK UWS Commercial team, which has substantial experience and expertise in managing high-value, high-complexity bids and contracts.
Working on bids and contracts for the FCAP sector within Under Water Systems business, you will have exposure to high profile internal and external stakeholders, working on challenging interesting programmes where you’ll be able to apply your technical proficiency to
lead and support this portfolio of work in our fast growing business ;
Manage the contract baseline and lead contract change activities, with both the client and our internal stakeholders.
Provide the commercial voice and expertise across multi-functional teams and provide support and guidance to programme managers.
Actively perform the commercial management of opportunities, identifying and managing the associated commercial risks and liabilities.
Flexibility to travel to other sites in the UK and overseas is required to support internal/customer engagements.
About You:
You may currently be working in programme management, procurement, bid finance or another commercial role with a desire to move into contracts management, or you may be an experienced contracts manager keen to work on higher value, higher complexity contracts and bids.
Excellent communication and influencing skills across contract/project and bid lifecycles
Able to establish effective working relationships with key stakeholders
Forward thinking, able to look at the broader strategy and outcomes beyond the immediate task; think proactively, creatively and anticipate needs
Able to quickly make sense of complex/difficult scenarios, translating into strategy and tactical solutions
Understanding of risk & opportunity and ability to manage and mitigate effectively
Collaborative, customer-focused, consistent and flexible
Resilient and tenacious to deal with the periods of high intensity work, notably during bid activity
Ability to manage change in a manner that protects the company’s interests
Good commercial/business awareness providing voice and expertise across the enterprise
Good understanding of the wider defence business and commercial environment
An awareness of the UK MoD SSRO approach to procurement
An understanding of Trade Compliance issues and how they relate to defence contracting
Skills and Experience
Ideally Knowledge and experience of MoD Contracting and Single Source Pricing.
Experience of Bids/Proposals/Contract Changes, Contracts and Contract amendments.
Contract negotiation experience
Risk Management experience
IACCM, CIPS would be desirable.
Will need to be mobile/ flexible enough to visit other sites both in the UK and overseas at short notice when appropriate and safe.
What We Can Offer
We’re committed to giving you opportunities to be your best. We believe in embracing the passion and potential of our people, and to achieve this we offer market leading training, development and experiences, along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry. We hire from within as our first priority, so you’ll have a myriad of opportunities within our diverse, global organisation.
Flexibility
Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.
If you are interested in this role, we would encourage you to have informal chat with the assigned recruiter.
Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.
In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.
At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.
Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.
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