Thales

Location: Manor Royal Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales people provide armed forces customers with operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defence mission systems solutions at land, sea, and air. Our platforms extend across the battlespace including Above and Sonar, Electronic Combat, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. 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.

Job role: Contracts Manager

Hours: Full time or part time (32+ hours per week)

Location: Crawley, Cheadle, or Templecombe (hybrid working arrangement – 3 days per week in the office pro rata)

Would you like to be part of Thales UK’s Maritime Mission Systems current and future projects? Are you potentially looking for a career change that will give you an opportunity to use your commercial acumen to manage and negotiate contracts, and build relationships key stakeholders? Would you like to join a large, diverse team who will support your learning and development?

What the role has to offer:

• Diverse and interesting workload, working on the Under Water Systems Portfolio contract and commercial negotiations
• Working on projects and bids that are critical to UK growth.
• Access to senior level commercial to aid development and skill enhancement, along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry.

Our Opportunity:

We have a great opportunity for someone who is looking to grow within the fastest growing business within Thales. Someone who can manage and work independently but also who enjoys working as part of a closely-knit, cross functional team.

You will be responsible for Contract Management on key projects and bids, and you will be part of integrated project and bid teams providing commercial support.

Our role is fluid, and every day is different. You will work closely with engineers, project managers, bid finance, capture leaders and bid managers (amongst others), to ensure that we protect Thales best interests in a commercially minded, yet politically sensitive environment.

Key tasks/Responsibilities:

Primarily supporting strategic bids and projects within the domain, the candidate will need a strong grasp of commercial management across the contract management lifecycle. This will include:

• Executing the commercial strategy throughout the full business lifecycle
• Lead negotiations with clients
• Putting in place appropriate commercial agreements with partners, suppliers and customers
• Actively managing the commercial management of opportunities, identifying and managing the associated commercial risks and liabilities, and negotiating contract terms
• Providing the commercial voice and expertise across multi-functional teams and providing support and guidance to the business.

About you:

• The successful candidate will have commercial acumen, and an awareness of the role, either from direct experience, or from working alongside the commercial function.
• You will have an understanding of general contract terms and conditions, the single-source environment in the UK, and have the ability to interpret and communicate the key points to the team providing commercial recommendations.
• This role would be a great development opportunity for someone to either grow within the function, or switch into commercial management. We have a highly knowledgeable team at hand to support training, and as such, we welcome applications from anyone between the job grades of LR06-08.

#LI-DB1

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.

Great journeys start here, apply now!