Contracts Manager

Due to continued growth within the Defence sector we have an exciting new opportunity for a Contracts Manager to be based in our offices in either our Cheadle office or Templecombe office. Joining Thales in this capacity will give you the opportunity to work on a variety of projects within the Defence sector. Working on Under Water Systems contracts, bids and negotiations, you will have exposure to high profile internal and external stakeholders, working on a challenging, diverse and interesting workload where you'll be able to apply your technical proficiency to lead and support bids and contracts for 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. The opportunity is to be the Contracts Manager for a portfolio of bids and projects within the Minewarefare part of the UWS business, which includes the support of various UWS products across multiple export and domestic customers. Key tasks;

• 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.
  
  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
• 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.