Contracts Manager – Defence & Space (SC Eligible)

Thales Group; Crawley; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical insurance

Annual bonus

Cycle to work scheme

Employee discounts

Volunteer day

Job summary

Thales UK is seeking a Contracts Manager to join our Crawley-based Commercial team. You will own a diverse, high‑value contract and bid portfolio, guiding it from capture through to delivery and closure while liaising with UK MoD customers and prime contractors.

You’ll drive draft and negotiate contracts, manage risks and ensure compliance, partnering with multidisciplinary teams to deliver commercial success and stakeholder value.

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing contracts across pre- and post-award phases.
• Strong ability to draft and assess contracts, proposals and amendments.
• Excellent risk appraisal for contractual, liability and pricing aspects.
• Capable of influencing stakeholders across multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated ownership and delivery-focused commercial thinking.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercial management of contracts and bids end-to-end.
• Build and maintain strong customer commercial relationships across capture, bid and delivery.
• Draft, review and negotiate contracts, proposals and terms to meet strategy.
• Own baselines and change management ensuring contractual compliance.
• Identify and manage commercial risk to support business outcomes.

Skills

Contract management

Bid drafting

Negotiation

Commercial risk management

Stakeholder liaison

Job description

Thales UK is seeking a Contracts Manager to join our Crawley-based Commercial team. You will own a diverse, high‑value contract and bid portfolio, guiding it from capture through to delivery and closure while liaising with UK MoD customers and prime contractors.

You’ll drive draft and negotiate contracts, manage risks and ensure compliance, partnering with multidisciplinary teams to deliver commercial success and stakeholder value.