Commercial Manager

BAE Systems - UK; Rochester; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

BAE Systems is seeking a Commercial Manager to manage customer relationships and lead negotiations within the Aerospace & Defence sector. The role involves providing guidance on commercial issues, leading projects, and ensuring effective performance of the commercial team while offering competitive benefits.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health and wellbeing benefits

Green car scheme

Private health plans

Shopping discounts

Annual incentive eligibility

Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge and experience across various types of customer facing contracts and agreements.
• Proven experience leading the drafting and negotiating complex proposals.
• Ability to work with senior levels of external customers and internal stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Manage the effective performance of commercial employees and guide on commercial issues across contracts.
• Lead complex projects, drafting and negotiating proposals, and identifying commercial risks.
• Collaborate across functions to enhance commercial solutions and implement business-winning activities.

Skills

Accountability

Problem Solving

Leadership

Business Acumen

Communication

Influencing Skills

Education

Degree level qualification in a business-related subject

Job description

Job title: Commercial Manager

Location: Rochester, Kent

Salary: From £65,000+ depending on experience, plus additional executive benefits

What you’ll be doing:

• Manage the effective performance of commercial employees, taking responsibility for the professional development of any direct reports

• Provide guidance to the business on commercial issues and internal governance throughout the contract lifecycle

• Collaborate across the breadth of the organisation, engaging other functions to enhance the commercial solution

• Lead complex projects and bid activities for the function, drafting and negotiating complex proposals, terms & conditions, agreements and changes

• Identifying commercial risks and opportunities, devising appropriate mitigations including seeking, presenting and obtaining relevant approvals

• UK/overseas travel as required

• These commercial activities will typically include but not be limited to delivering:

  • Business Winning activities

  • Request for Bid Approval and Submission, Contract Agreement and Award activities

  • Contract execution phases

  • Identification and exploitation of commercial opportunities

  • Contract Closure phases

Your skills and experiences:

Essential:

• Extensive knowledge and experience across various types of customer facing contracts and agreements

• Proven experience leading the drafting and negotiating complex proposals, terms & conditions, agreements and changes

• Consistently demonstrate a high level of accountability, problem solving and leadership

• Operate with calm professionalism in a highly changeable business environment

• Excellent business acumen and financial awareness

• Good communications and influencing skills and an ability to forge excellent working relationships with peers, colleagues and stakeholders, and the gravitas to work with senior levels of external customer and internal stakeholders

• Proven management/mentoring experience

• Degree level qualification in a business-related subject, or equivalent contracts experience

• Industry experience in Aerospace & Defence, or similar highly regulated and complex industries such as Rail or Energy would be advantageous

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 Commercial Team:

AJoin a dynamic team that supports the delivery of transformative technology across a diverse global portfolio of military and commercial customers.

As a Commercial Manager, you will be a trusted partner of our business. Ultimately, you will be managing and leading customer relationships, negotiating deals, creating innovative solutions, and providing guidance on contractual, legal, regulatory and governance matters with senior internal and external stakeholders.

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: 15th July 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

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