Space Defence Project Manager

Location: Bristol, United Kingdom

A Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space is a global space manufacturer delivering, for more than 40 years, high-tech solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth Observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Thanks to our diversity of skills, talents and cultures, our customers (governments, institutions, space agencies, telecommunications operators), therefore have Space to Connect, Secure & Defend, Observe & Protect, Explore, Travel & Navigate.

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 five major industries; Aerospace, Defence, Ground Transportation, 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.

• Thales Alenia Space is a major European Space company comprising over 8000 people worldwide, with annual revenues of over £2Bn. In the UK we are a team of over 200 people, experiencing rapid growth as we continue to successfully follow our strategy for growth in the UK. With offices in Harwell Space Campus (Oxford) and Bristol we are very well located to capitalize on local relationship and to continue our growth in the Civil/Govt. and Defence Space sectors respectively. We also have a major production facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland where we produce all of the propulsion systems for satellites built by Thales Alenia Space globally. We have invested significantly in our UK footprint in the past 8 years and we continue to have ambitious plans for the future, now is a great time to join our fast-paced growth-oriented company.

• You will manage projects in the Space business contributing to the ambitious growth of Thales Alenia Space UK. You’ll provide direction and leadership to your project team to develop and deliver Satellites or main Subsystems/Payloads for Defence programs in the UK. Working closely with our transnational teams, you’ll ensure high performance on design engineering activities, production and testing. Your role is to ensure a smooth transition through the bid stage, into the production phase and support post-delivery assistance. This branch of our business has great growth opportunities including building a team of project managers and we expect you to take a leading role on strategy and growth. If you are successful in the role you will have the opportunity to lead on significant sums of space defence activity.

Day to day your role will include:

• Developing the relationships and managing the interface with the Customer (UK MoD) or the Prime Contractor (other TAS entities or a partner Space company depending on contract awards)

• Developing the relationship with the other TAS Business Lines and internal stakeholders

• Fostering deeper relationships with Thales UK (a £1.4Bn/yr Defence company)

• Providing leadership and strategic vision to the project team

• Reviewing and committing to project baselines, consolidating the schedule and driving commitment to delivery dates

• Managing the costs, forecasts, risks, and opportunities of the project

• Providing consistent and accurate project reporting to both internal and external partners

• Identifying when support is needed for the project team and obtaining it from the organization.

What we’re looking for from you:

• Proven track record of successful execution of Space Industry or Defence complex projects in other similar businesses

• Knowledge of the MoD ways of working, organization and processes

• Proven customer relationship management skills at the highest level

• Ability to overview complex situations and to manage multi-task environments

• Excellent leadership skills, examples of inspiring teams to win and deliver projects on time and to budget

• Strong leadership in motivating and structuring members of all levels

• Experience of project management tools and techniques

• Excellent communication skills

• Confidence to work in an international and multicultural context

• Ability to manage a team potentially spread across more Countries

• Availability to travel in UK and abroad

• Relevant Project Management Certifications (e.g. IPMA/PRINCE) is an advantage

• Understanding of Satellite and Space systems is an advantage

What kind of person will succeed in this role?

We’re looking for you to be proactive and results oriented, confident and resilient. You will be able to tackle complex problems, find solutions and inspire people to deliver on our collective promises. Demonstrable experience is critical, though we are looking for you to show us your skills and behaviours – we want to hear about the unique skills and high energy levels that you will bring into our business. You will need to be ambitious for yourself and our business with a plan to take on and deliver challenging projects and potentially in the future to setup a MoD project portfolio and grow your team alongside the Order Intake you help us to achieve.

Location: Bristol and Harwell. We operate a hybrid working model with minimum expectation of 50% of a standard working week in the office.

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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