Bid Manager

Location : Crawley, United KingdomThales 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.

Location : - Crawley (West Sussex), Cheadle (Greater Manchester), or Templecombe (Somerset) - hybrid working arrangement 3 days per week in the office vs. home

Are you a Bid Manager looking for an exciting challenge and the opportunity to lead some major bids that are critical to the long term strategy of a company? Then look no further…

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Bid Manager to join our Under Water Systems (UWS) UK team, either in Templecombe, Somerset, or in Cheadle, Greater Manchester.

What the role has to offer :

UWS is growing at a rapid pace. Due to the success of programmes within UWS and with a portfolio of world leading products across the sonar domain, we have an extensive prospect list, consisting of a significant number of strategic bids.

This role is an opportunity to lead some major bids that are critical to the long term strategy of UWS and Thales. You will be working as part of an established team in one of the most exciting areas of the business.

Working with a highly regarded team who will support your learning and development

Hybrid working (3 days in the office / 2 days from home)

Key responsibilities :

Embedding a strong sense of delivery accountability and a proactive risk and opportunity management culture (for both ‘winability’ and ‘deliverability’) at all levels of the Bid team

Creating and controlling theBid scheduleand resource plan; leading and coordinating multi-disciplinary teams to achieve key milestones

Establishing and controlling the requirements baseline (technical and non-technical), including compliance traceability, allocation to Work Packages and the end to endestimatingprocess

Ensuring the creation of robust InitialProject Baselinesfor delivery post-contract award

Supporting the management of customer, supplier and partner relationships – building trust and confidence through open dialogue

Tailoring and application of Bid Governance as appropriate, including Bid Stage Gates, Bid Reviews and Project Characterisation

Coordination and control of the Master Assumptions, Dependencies and Exclusions List, ensuring alignment across all Bid artefacts including the Project execution baseline, estimates and proposal / commercial terms

Coordination ofproposal development, including the use of colour / peer reviews as appropriate

Ensuring appropriate focus on CASH management and achieving a positive net cash profile associated with the Initial Project baseline

Leading and coordinating PQQ responses, including reviews, governance and final sign-off

Contributing to the identification of customer hot buttons / win strategy and alignment of Bid activities to address these

Creating initial Project plans for the execution of the contract as required for the proposal

Management and control of Bid Budgets (including status and forecast) for all Bids within their working perimeter and liaison with PMO to reflect in appropriate tools E.g. Oracle, P6

Note : for particularly large or complex Bids a PM-designate and / or Proposal Manager may be appointed to support the Bid Manager with some of the activities listed above

About you :

The role requires strong leadership, professional Bid and Project management expertise, excellentstakeholder management, commercial awareness and a proactive approach to identifying and mitigating risk. We are looking for someone with :

A proven track record of delivering successful Bids on framework contracts

Experience leading and managing multi-disciplinary teams in achieving challenging timelines and with a proactive focus on risk and opportunity management

Internal stakeholder and customer / supplier / partner relationship management experience

Ability to construct compelling proposals and / or solutions that meet customer needs

Experience of Gate Bid Lifecycle processes; efficiently applying reviews and ensuring that business risk is appropriately managed

Security Clearance statement :

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires Security Clearance (SC). It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance - United Kingdom Security Vetting - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

What we can offer :

We are 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 will 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.

The Work Environment

At Thales, we believe in flexible SMART working and have the expectation this role will be delivered through a combination of remote and office based collaborative working. When working in the office, you will be based at the largest Thales site in the UK, featuring access to a wide variety of resources including manufacturing, environmental and electromagnetic test facilities and specialised laboratories. The modern site includes a subsidised restaurant, a café, break out spaces, bicycle storage facilities and more.

Benefits at Thales

Alongside a competitive base salary, we offer a variable compensation plan bonus and benefits package, which includes :

• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13 : 00pm
• Pension Scheme
• 28 days annual leave (Plus Bank Holidays)
• Life Cover
• Progression and Development Opportunities
• 24 / 7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app
• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.

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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!