Contract Manager

SubSea Craft Limited; Portsmouth; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Annual bonus

Life assurance

Critical illness cover

25 days annual leave

Private healthcare

Professional development

Flexible working

Inclusive culture

Wellbeing day

Family leave

Christmas leave

Job summary

SubSea Craft Limited is seeking a Contract Manager to join the Commercial Team in the UK. You will manage contracts end-to-end, negotiate terms, assess commercial risks, and collaborate with Legal, Finance, Procurement, Engineering and Operations to protect the company’s interests.

The role requires strong commercial judgment, resilience, and the ability to balance opportunity with risk, ensuring compliance with policies and delivering commercial success.

Qualifications

• Degree in Law, Business, Commercial Management, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of five years' experience in contract or commercial management within a technical, highly regulated industry.
• Experience in defence, aerospace, maritime, or similarly regulated sectors desirable.
• Professional qualifications or formal training in commercial or contract management advantageous.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and supporting strategic decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Manage pre-contract negotiations with customers, suppliers, and strategic partners.
• Review, negotiate, and agree commercial terms.
• Identify, assess, and manage commercial and contractual risks with Legal, Finance, Procurement, Engineering and Operations.
• Support contract award, implementation, administration, and close-out activities.
• Ensure contracts are managed in line with policies and commercial objectives.
• Maintain accurate contract records and provide regular reporting on risks and opportunities.

Skills

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Contract management

Commercial acumen

Risk assessment

Education

Degree in Law, Business or Commercial Management

Job description

• Full Time
• Permanent

Who we are: SubSea Craft is a fast growing, privately-funded, UK-based innovative maritime technology company specialising in next-generation, high-performance watercraft and systems. We operate at the intersection of advanced engineering, cutting-edge design, and user-centric innovation, delivering safe, effective, and enabling solutions for both commercial and defence applications.

What We Offer

• Pension Contribution – Pension scheme with the option to contribute via salary sacrifice.
• Annual Bonus Scheme – Eligibility to participate in the company’s annual discretionary bonus scheme, linked to individual and company performance.
• Life Assurance and Critical Illness Cover – Comprehensive protection including Life Assurance (4x salary) and Critical Illness Cover for added financial security.
• Annual Leave – Entitlement to 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Christmas Leave – A Christmas shutdown is typically observed.
• Wellbeing Day – An additional Wellbeing Day each year to focus on personal health and wellbeing.
• Family Leave – Enhanced maternity and paternity pay.
• Private Healthcare – Access to comprehensive private healthcare coverage to support your physical and mental wellbeing.
• Professional Development – Commitment to ongoing learning and career growth, supported by training programmes and access to LinkedIn Learning.
• Flexible Working – Opportunities for flexible working arrangements to promote work–life balance.
• Inclusive Culture – A professional environment that values diversity, innovation, and collaboration.

Role Overview

The Contract Manager will be a key member of the Commercial Team, responsible for supporting and managing contracts throughout their lifecycle. Working closely with stakeholders across the business, the role will ensure that contractual arrangements are commercially robust, effectively managed, and aligned with the company's strategic objectives.

The position requires strong commercial judgement, negotiation skills, resilience, and the ability to balance opportunity with risk. The Contract Manager will manage contractual activities from pre-contract negotiations through to contract delivery and close-out, ensuring compliance with company policies while protecting the organisation's commercial interests.

This is not a legal role. However, the successful candidate will have a solid understanding of contract management principles and the ability to interpret contractual obligations and commercial risks. They will work closely with the Legal Team, particularly during their initial period in the role, before fully embedding within the Commercial Team.

Operating within a highly regulated, international environment, the Contract Manager must understand the commercial, industrial, political, and strategic factors that influence business decisions. They will collaborate across Business Development, Legal, Engineering, Programme Management, Finance, and Senior Leadership to ensure contracts are deliverable, compliant, and commercially successful.

The successful candidate will be a commercially focused professional who can negotiate effectively, manage contractual risk, and support business growth while maintaining strong customer and stakeholder relationships. The Contract Manager must be able to tailor their approach to different customers, markets, and product lines, balancing commercial objectives with regulatory, security, and operational requirements.

Responsibilities Will Include

Contract Negotiation and Management

• Manage pre-contract negotiations with customers, suppliers, and strategic partners.
• Review, negotiate, and agree commercial terms.
• Identify, assess, and manage commercial and contractual risks in collaboration with Legal, Finance, Procurement, Engineering, and Operations teams.
• Support contract award, implementation, administration, and close-out activities.
• Ensure contracts are managed in accordance with company policies, contractual obligations, and commercial objectives.
• Maintain accurate contract records and documentation.
• Provide regular reporting on contractual risks, issues, and opportunities to senior leadership.

Commercial Management

• Provide practical and commercially focused contractual advice to support decision-making.
• Balance commercial opportunities against contractual and operational risk.
• Ensure contractual commitments align with business capability, compliance requirements, and financial objectives.
• Protect company interests while enabling business growth and customer success.
• Monitor the commercial impact of contractual obligations and commitments.

Stakeholder Management

• Partner with Business Development teams, Finance and Legal during bid and proposal activities.
• Provide objective commercial guidance and challenge assumptions where appropriate.
• Develop strong working relationships across the organisation and with external stakeholders.
• Support customer and supplier engagement throughout the contract lifecycle.
• Promote a collaborative approach while maintaining appropriate commercial governance and discipline.

Governance and Compliance

• Ensure contracts comply with company policies, regulatory requirements, and internal processes.
• Support the continuous improvement of commercial procedures, governance frameworks, and risk assessment processes.
• Manage contractual amendments, change requests, and variations.
• Escalate significant contractual risks, issues, and disputes as appropriate.

Qualifications And Experience

• Degree in Law, Business, Commercial Management, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of five years' experience in contract or commercial management within a technical and highly regulated industry. Demonstrable experience supporting the delivery of complex programmes or capabilities for international customers.
• Experience in defence, aerospace, maritime, or a similarly regulated sector is highly desirable.
• Professional qualifications or formal training in commercial or contract management are advantageous.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and supporting strategic decision-making.
• Strong negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• High levels of integrity, sound judgement, and professional credibility.
• Resilient, adaptable, and solutions-focused, with the ability to balance short-term objectives against long-term business outcomes.

Note: Due to the nature of work undertaken at SubSea Craft, the selected candidate must be capable of meeting the security requirements of the position, which would include as a minimum existing right to live and work in the UK, Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), with UK National security clearance required for certain roles.*

Values: Our people are our greatest asset, we continually strive to provide an excellent working environment to enable our team to do their best work. We have an agile professional workforce: we are founded on the belief that our people are valued and our business is trusted, inclusive and commercially-adept.

What We Expect From You

• Teamwork, mutual respect and collaboration
• Initiative and independent working
• Honesty and integrity
• Business and commercial awareness
• Agility, adaptability and continuous development

We are committed to building an inclusive, diverse workplace where everyone can thrive. If you require any support or adjustments to interact with us, please let us know.

• Please note that all offers of employment are conditional and subject to satisfactory DBS, driving licence and reference checks. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify candidates from employment. We will consider criminal record information alongside the wider range of evidence gathered at the application, interview, and pre-employment checking stages.

Due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to respond to everyone. If you are shortlisted, we will aim to contact you within 14 days of your application or the closing date (if stated). We may retain your details for future suitable roles unless you advise us otherwise.

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