Commercial Manager (NS&D)

Ocean Infinity; Southampton; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Ocean Infinity is seeking a Contract Manager to oversee commercial and contractual frameworks in the UK defence sector. This role demands strategic leadership in managing contracts across army and navy customers, ensuring robust governance and risk management.

Candidates must have proven experience in contract management within highly regulated industries, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to interact effectively with stakeholders. The role emphasizes empowering a compliant and high-performance contract delivery environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in contract management within defence, maritime, aerospace, or regulated industries.
• Experience managing contracts with the UK MOD or prime defence contractors.
• Strong understanding of commercial and contractual principles.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercial and contractual delivery across MOD contracts.
• Manage contractual risk and compliance.
• Develop scalable licensing strategies for products.

Skills

Contract management experience in defence

Negotiation skills

Stakeholder management

Understanding of MOD requirements

Education

Degree in Business, Law, Engineering or related discipline

Professional contract management qualification

Job description

Job Overview

The Contract Manager is accountable for leading the commercial and contractual framework that underpins successful delivery across Ocean Infinity’s UK defence and national security portfolio. The role provides strategic ownership and delivery of customer, subcontractor, supplier, and partner contractual arrangements, ensuring robust governance, effective risk management, and disciplined execution across multiple parallel programmes.

Key Responsibilities

• Effective day-to-day commercial and contractual management of contracts between Ocean Infinity, Defence and National Security customers, subcontractors, suppliers, and delivery partners.
• Development of flow-down contracts and support to negotiations with the MOD to agree head contracts setting flow-down conditions; may include leading engagement with external counsel.
• Ensures contractual compliance, commercial governance, risk mitigation, supplier performance management, and successful contract delivery across our first UK programme or record and develop processes to enable repeated performance in new PoRs.
• Developing licensing frameworks, packaging and protections that support Ocean Infinity’s product leverage, margin, and international growth as we scale into adjacent markets based on delivery excellence in home markets.

MOD Contract Management

• Lead commercial and contractual delivery across MOD customer contracts.
• Own contractual obligations, milestones, reporting, and compliance across multiple programmes.
• Lead customer engagement, change control, and contract governance to support delivery and resolve issues early.
• Manage contractual risk, compliance, formal correspondence, and audit-ready records.
• Negotiate amendments, claims, and variations while protecting delivery and commercial value.

Licensing, IP & Productisation

• Develop scalable licensing strategies for software, data, platforms, and service models.
• Protect IP ownership, usage rights, and exploitation across customer and partner arrangements.
• Work with Engineering, Legal, Product, and Programme teams to convert outputs into productised offerings.
• Establish templates and playbooks that support repeatable commercial growth.

Subcontractor & Supplier Contract Management

• Lead the contractual management of subcontractors, suppliers, and delivery partners.
• Ensure agreements reflect customer flow-downs, risk allocation, and performance obligations.
• Establish supplier governance that provides visibility of delivery, quality, security, and commercial performance.
• Support negotiations, issue resolution, and corrective action to protect programme outcomes.

Commercial & Financial Responsibilities

• Provide commercial leadership into programme planning, forecasting, and budget management.
• Assess the commercial impact of change, delay, risk, and technical variation.
• Support pricing, proposals, invoicing, and milestone governance to protect value and cash.
• Drive margin protection and contribute to product and portfolio growth decisions.

Governance, Compliance & Risk Management

• Lead contractual governance in line with company policy, delegated authority, and legal requirements.
• Support audits and maintain an audit-ready approach to contracts, procurement, and defence compliance.
• Translate MOD regulations and industry standards into practical commercial controls and guidance.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in contract management within defence, maritime, aerospace, engineering, or highly regulated industries.
• Demonstrated experience developing or supporting licensing models, productisation or commercialisation strategies.
• Experience managing contracts with the UK MOD or prime defence contractors.
• Strong understanding of commercial and contractual principles.
• Experience managing subcontractor and supplier agreements.
• Knowledge of MOD contractual frameworks, DEFCONs, and defence procurement processes.
• Strong negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to interpret complex contractual documentation.
• Experience managing contract changes, variations, and risk.

Desirable Experience

• Experience within maritime technology, naval systems, or defence electronics sectors.
• Familiarity with Single Source Contract Regulations (SSCR), Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations (DSPCR), NEC or JCT contract forms, Export control and ITAR/EAR considerations.
• Experience supporting bids, proposals and commercial models.
• Understanding of programme management methodologies.

Qualifications

• Degree qualified in Business, Law, Engineering, Commercial Management, or related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Professional contract or commercial management qualifications desirable.

Personal Attributes

• Highly organised and detail-oriented.
• Strong commercial judgement.
• Proactive and solutions-focused.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with focus on value creation and scalability.
• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills.
• Comfortable operating in fast-paced and highly regulated environments.
• High level of integrity and professionalism.
• Growth mindset, and readiness to roll up sleeves and deliver in a high‑accountability, flat organisation.

Annex A – Detailed Key Responsibilities

MOD Contract Management

• Provide commercial leadership and contractual oversight across MOD customer contracts, ensuring contractual frameworks support successful programme delivery and long-term customer confidence.
• Own delivery of contractual obligations, milestones, reporting commitments, and compliance requirements.
• Establish and maintain effective contract performance governance, using KPIs, SLAs, schedules, and commercial measures to drive accountability.
• Lead strategic engagement with customer commercial representatives, programme teams, and stakeholders.
• Direct contract mobilisation, change control, implementation, and close‑out activities.
• Chair or coordinate contractual governance and review forums.
• Ensure compliance with defence contractual standards, DEFCONs, DEFSTANs, JSPs, and relevant procurement regulations.
• Lead identification and management of contractual risks, liabilities, and opportunities across the contract lifecycle.
• Maintain robust contractual records, amendments, approvals, and formal correspondence.
• Lead contractual responses to customer queries, audits, notices, and formal communications.
• Shape and negotiate amendments, extensions, variations, and claims to protect delivery, manage risk, and preserve commercial value.
• Ensure adherence to export control, security, confidentiality, and information assurance requirements.

Licensing, IP & Productisation

• Lead development of scalable licensing strategies for Ocean Infinity technologies, including software, data, platform access, and hybrid service models.
• Define and protect IP ownership, usage rights, and exploitation strategies.
• Work with Engineering, Legal, Product, and Programme teams to convert outputs into commercially viable, productised offerings.
• Establish standard licensing templates, commercial playbooks, and governance mechanisms.
• Ensure licensing and IP approaches are aligned with MOD procurement requirements, export control obligations, and security/classification constraints.
• Enable multi-customer exploitation of Ocean Infinity capabilities while managing contractual, regulatory, and customer-specific restrictions.

Subcontractor & Supplier Contract Management

• Lead the commercial and contractual management of subcontractors, suppliers, and delivery partners.
• Ensure agreements accurately reflect customer flow-down requirements, risk allocation, and performance obligations.
• Establish and maintain supplier governance arrangements that provide visibility of technical, commercial, quality, delivery, and security performance.
• Support strategic supplier onboarding and negotiations.
• Lead coordination of supplier contract changes, variations, disputes, and issue resolution.
• Ensure supplier deliverables, acceptance criteria, payment milestones, and contractual commitments are clearly defined, monitored, and enforced.
• Partner with Procurement and Supply Chain to strengthen supplier governance, commercial discipline, and resilience.
• Escalate performance concerns early and drive corrective action.
• Maintain confidence that subcontractor documentation, certifications, insurance, and regulatory obligations remain current and audit-ready.
• Develop strategic delivery partnerships that support product expansion, capability scaling, and sustained competitive advantage.

Commercial & Financial Responsibilities

• Provide commercial leadership into programme planning, forecasting, and budget management.
• Assess the commercial implications of programme changes, delays, risks, and technical variation.
• Contribute to pricing strategy, commercial proposals, and bid activity.
• Oversee commercial assurance around invoicing, milestone achievement, and payment approvals.
• Monitor liabilities, penalties, liquidated damages, and wider commercial exposures.
• Drive margin protection and commercial optimisation across programmes.
• Shape pricing and commercial constructs for productised offerings.
• Provide commercial input to investment decisions related to product development, capability enhancement, and portfolio expansion.

Governance, Compliance & Risk Management

• Provide leadership for contractual governance, ensuring all activities are conducted in line with company policy, delegated authority, legal requirements, and customer expectations.
• Lead or support internal and external audits relating to contracts, procurement, and defence compliance.
• Maintain active awareness of evolving MOD regulations, procurement practices, and defence industry standards.

Salary

The salary varies for this position as we are recruiting in multiple regional locations and job grades. The salary process is based on skills, abilities, and experience required.

At Ocean Infinity, we believe in creating equal opportunities for all, celebrating each and every one’s differences. We are driven by transforming the industry through technology, thoughts, behaviours and actions. Being inclusive and respectful to all is fundamental to who we are. It is the right thing to do and enables innovation and creativity to thrive.