Bids and Contracts Manager

CEA Technologies; Canberra; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Six weeks of paid annual leave

Superannuation 14.0%

Free car parking

Paid parental, compassionate, defence‑

Employee assistance and wellbeing

Health insurance for defence supportes

Salary packaging for novated leasing

Professional growth and development

Job summary

CEA Technologies is seeking a senior leader to head the Bids and Contracts Section, delivering proposal management, negotiations, and commercial strategies to support Defence programs such as ANZAC and Hunter Class projects.

The role requires experience in complex commercial management, ASDEFCON familiarity, and the ability to coordinate cross-functional teams, with AGSVA clearance eligibility and strong communication skills.

Qualifications

• AGSVA clearance NV1 eligibility or ability to obtain prior to appointment.
• Experience in complex project and/or commercial management within Defence environment (industry/government).
• Knowledge of ASDEFCON contract suite.
• Contract negotiation skills would be highly regarded.
• Tertiary qualifications in Legal/Commerce/Business or related discipline.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to advise on commercial considerations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication across diverse teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate resourcing, preparation, approval and submission of proposals.
• Coordinate bid responses, contract negotiations and price reviews to ensure quality and timeliness.
• Provide executive reporting on Sales Plan, Order Intake and governance packs.
• Develop liaison with Defence program officers and other government departments for upcoming tenders.
• Oversee adherence to quality requirements and continuous process improvement of proposal procedures.
• Support win strategies and customer relationships during capture activities.
• Collaborate with Project Teams and Legal/Finance to draft and review contract documentation.
• Assist lead negotiator during contract negotiations.

Skills

Defence sector experience

Contract negotiation

Analytical thinking

Excellent communication

AGSVA clearance eligibility

Problem solving

Stakeholder management

Education

Tertiary qualifications in Legal/Commerce/Business

Tools

Microsoft Office

Project reporting tools

Job description

CEA is an Australian Commonwealth company that designs, develops, manufactures and sustains advanced active phased array radar systems. The company’s design principles and commitment to investment in research and development ensures innovative thinking, technological skill, and quality fabrication.

Our programs include the ANZAC and Hunter Class frigates and air defence applications for Army and Air Force, and Range applications. Through our longstanding and ongoing collaboration with Defence, CEA Technologies has undertaken research and development into all aspects of active electronically scanned array technologies. This has resulted in the creation of a highly modular and scalable product suite, which have become integral to a wide range of critical Defence capabilities.

The Position

Lead and support the Bids and Contracts Section in proposal, tender and contact negotiation activities that support business and program objectives. This position will provide commercial leadership, combined with an understanding of CEA project management and engineering practices.

Key Responsibilities:

Proposal and Negotiation Management

• Responsible to the Director of Acquisitions and Programs for managing, planning and coordinating the resourcing, preparation, approval and submission of responses and status reporting on proposals.
• Effectively lead and assist the Bids and Contracts team to ensure timely and accurate delivery of bid related tasks including briefs and schedule estimations as well as coordinating price reviews.
• Ensuring overall coordination of bid responses and contract negotiation within the company, to facilitate consistency, quality and timeliness.

Executive Reporting

• Responsible for the ongoing management of the Sales Plan, and Order Intake (OI) budget, which are maintained in Excel spreadsheets.
• Ensure the effective coordination of the Contract Negotiation Team activities and provide leadership when required.
• Prepare briefs and progress reports for the Director of Acquisitions and Programs and the Executive regarding pipeline contracts, departmental reports and Board report, including any Board approval requests to support the CEO and Board.

Management and Leadership Responsibilities

• Developing and maintaining appropriate liaison with Program and Project Officers within Defence and other government departments for upcoming tenders.
• Responsible to the Director of Acquisitions and Programs for the adherence to quality requirements, preparation of Quality Objectives Report and continuous process improvement of the proposal procedures, work instructions and quality processes that support proposal development.
• Support the Director of Acquisitions and Programs with respect to capture activities in developing CEA’s win strategies and customer relationships.
• Contribute to the identification, mitigation and resolution of commercial risks and issues management.
• Contribute to lessons learned activities.

Commercial Responsibilities

• Work closely with Project Teams and Legal team to prepare, review and amend draft contract documentation in support of new contracts or contract change proposals to existing contracts.
• Work closely with Project Teams and Finance to prepare the approach to pricing for new contracts and that the payment milestone schedule and projected cash flows.
• Manage the preparation of proposal review packs and supporting governance documentation.
• Provide support to the lead negotiator during contract negotiations.

• Six weeks of paid annual leave per year
• Superannuation of 14.0%
• Free car parking
• Paid parental, compassionate, defence reserve & voluntary emergency services leave
• Employee assistance and wellbeing programs
• Health insurance for defence supporters and their families
• Salary packaging for novated leasing
• Opportunities for professional growth and development

Our Ideal Candidate

• AGSVA clearance level: NV1, or ability to obtain prior to appointment. A baseline clearance will need to be in place prior to the commencement of employment.
• Relevant experience in complex project and/or commercial management within the Defence environment (industry and/or government) will be a significant advantage.
• Desirable business development and capture experience.
• Knowledge of ASDEFCON contract suite.
• Contract negotiation skills would be highly regarded.
• Tertiary qualifications in Legal/Commerce/Business or a related discipline.
• A high level of analytical and problem solving skills with the ability to make sound commercial recommendations to the business.
• Competent in use of Microsoft suit applications at an intermediate level; experience with Project reporting tools an advantage.
• Excellent communicator with the ability to positively influence and negotiate effective outcomes across diverse teams.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an AGSVA clearance – Baseline / Negative Vetting 1 / Negative Vetting 2.

ITAR

– This position requires employees to access equipment and data that is subject to U.S International Traffic and Arms Regulation (ITAR). As such, applicants must disclose the following information at the time of application.

• Place of Birth
• Countries of current or past citizenship (including any dual citizenship or nationality) and residence,
• Countries of issue for current and past passports and
• Other information related to their nationality for security and ITAR compliance purposes.

To find out more about our Citizenship and Nationality requirements, please visit www.cea.com.au

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at CEA

CEA is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we strive to create a culture where all employees are respected and empowered to contribute positively to our organisation, regardless of their cultural background, age, gender identity, neurodiversity, disability, family and carer commitments, religion or sexuality. We welcome applications from veterans, those returning from a career break, people with disabilities and those who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

For information on Equal Employment Opportunity & Privacy or Security & Citizenship requirements please visit www.cea.com.au/opportunities-at-cea

Should you require any adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please let us know. You can also email ***********@cea.com.au for a confidential discussion.

Unsolicited resumes from recruitment agencies will not be accepted