Assistant Commercial Manager

BAE Systems; Portsmouth; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

BAE Systems is looking for an Assistant Commercial Manager to support their Commercial team, handling various contracts and bids. The role requires strong commercial insights, an established background in defence environments, and excellent negotiation skills. This position offers a competitive salary and a range of flexible benefits within a vibrant team committed to collaboration and inclusivity.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Health and lifestyle benefits

Private health plans

Shopping discounts

Annual incentive eligibility

Qualifications

• Established commercial background in UK and export defence environments.
• Broad professional knowledge of commercial principles and techniques.
• People management experience.

Responsibilities

• Support the Commercial team on contracts and projects.
• Lead the negotiation of business agreements with customers.
• Provide commercial strategy on contract development and pricing.

Skills

Commercial principles

High customer focus

Contractual risk identification

Job description

Job Title: Assistant Commercial Manager

Location: Portsmouth, Cowes, Great Baddow. We offer a range of hybrid and flexible working arrangements – please speak to your recruiter about the options for this particular role.

Salary: Up to £58,000

What you’ll be doing:

• Support the Commercial team on a wide range of contracts, projects and campaigns
• Actively participate in Bid Teams to prepare Bid and Contract materials including the preparation and presentation of commercial bid reviews, ensuring the necessary approvals are obtained within governance of the Operational Framework
• Work closely with a portfolio of project teams as well as business development and our customers to ensure smooth running of the existing contracts and the development of new business opportunities, and establish excellent working relationships with both internal and external customers and stakeholders
• Responsible for providing the commercial strategy on issues such as contract development, pricing strategies, governance compliance, customer negotiation, commercial risk and delivering margin growth opportunities
• Review and obtain authorisation to agree contract terms and conditions including engagement with central functions to address specific compliance issues (Legal, IP, Tax etc.)
• Lead the negotiation of proposals, of varying complexity, with customers ensuring this results in acceptable business agreements and contracts that align with business objectives

Your skills and experiences:

• An established commercial background, ideally in both UK and export defence environments, experience working within a highly collaborative team environment
• High degree of customer focus and a commitment to meet deadlines and targets
• Broad professional knowledge of Commercial principles, techniques and practices and application and understanding of the Commercial role in organisations – including understanding of contract terms, contractual and legal frameworks with the ability to identify key contractual risks
• Good awareness of various functions and the role they play as a part of an integrated project/bid team
• People management experience

Benefits:

As well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing, and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts – you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The Radar team (products):

As a part of this team, you will support the Senior Commercial Manager as a member of the vibrant and highly capable Commercial team, within the Maritime Services Products business, managing and delivering a portfolio of contracts and bids, to a range of domestic and international customers in a dynamic and faced paced commercial environment.The Maritime Services Products business is undergoing significant transformation, and this includes growth in our customer base through a range of products and services.

Why BAE Systems?

This is a place where you’ll be able to make a real difference. You’ll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you’ll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing date: 8th July 2025– Interviews will be held w/c 14th July 2025