Mset Head Of Future Support

Thales; East Staffordshire; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Thales Group in the UK is seeking a senior leader for the MSET Future Support domain. The role focuses on growing the UK services business across surface and submarine domains, driving major captures, and shaping customer decisions.

You will lead senior defence engagements and coordinate multi‑unit teams to deliver high‑value solutions. You will influence strategic direction, build strong relationships with key defence partners, and manage complex bids with commercial acumen while upholding

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a senior defence/industrial sales environment.
• Track record of leading major campaigns and bids over £10m.
• Experience managing cross‑functional, multinational teams delivering complex engineering solutions.
• Broad knowledge of service portfolios including modifications, spares and repairs, ILS, deployed support.
• Ability to build trusted senior‑level relationships with international stakeholders.
• Capability to shape complex customer solutions from concept to contract.

Responsibilities

• Shape and deliver long‑range growth strategy with senior leadership.
• Lead major UK campaigns and capture activities.
• Build and manage senior customer and industry relationships.
• Own customer intelligence, forecasting, bid planning and product direction.
• Ensure internal alignment across Thales by resolving strategic conflicts.
• Represent Thales and the MSET programme at key events to boost market presence.
• Produce and secure approval for capture plans through governance.

Skills

Maritime defence experience

Sales captures

Cross-functional leadership

Service portfolio knowledge

Stakeholder management

Solution shaping

Negotiation & PM

Leadership behaviours

Security clearance

Education

Relevant degree or equivalent experience

Job description

Location: Templecombe, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

Thales people provide armed forces customers with operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defence mission systems solutions at land, sea, and air. Our platforms extend across the battlespace; Sonar, Electronic Warfare and Visual Systems.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

MSET Head of Future Support

Location: Templecombe, Bristol, or Cheadle (any Thales office)
Other: full-time, hybrid, with 50% domestic & international travel

Join a growing, globally connected defence business where you’ll shape major strategic programmes and influence the future of underwater systems!

What the role has to offer

• Established customer base - strong existing demand and active equipment support contracts provide a solid platform for growth without the need for cold‑start business development
• Strategic commitment to expansion - Leadership backing, clear investment, visibility, and momentum for growth
• Diversity and Challenge – lead opportunities across many different systems, platforms, and stages in the product lifecycle across a broad customer network

Our Opportunity

The MSET Head of Future Support drives continued growth across the UWS UK Services business by securing major captures, shaping customer decisions, and expanding through‑life support across surface, and submarine domains. Reporting to both the MSET Programme Director and UWS Head of Sales & Strategic Campaigns Services. The role leads senior defence engagement, builds a high‑quality pipeline spanning three business units and identifies new opportunities across the Royal Navy’s complex sensors installed base to maximise customer value. It also plays a key role as a member of the MSET programme senior leadership team.

The ideal candidate is a senior defence‑sector leader with strong credibility in the maritime environment, able to influence high‑value programmes and guide diverse teams. They bring strategic sales leadership, stakeholder management strength, and the technical understanding needed to shape solutions and lead major captures, supported by sound commercial judgement and the security clearances required for sensitive defence work.

Building a Future, we can all trust.

At Thales, customer focus and innovation drive everything we do. Our Strategy, Marketing and Sales teams lead the way, powered by advanced digital technologies such as AI, Quantum, 6G, Cybersecurity and Neuroscience. Joining us means becoming part of a community committed to making the world safer through purposeful, customer‑focused innovation.

The Underwater Systems Business Line (UWS BL) delivers a comprehensive range of underwater warfare capabilities, including sonars for all major naval and airborne platforms, mine‑countermeasures systems, acoustic homing heads for torpedoes, underwater security solutions, and through‑life customer support. UWS is a global leader and one of the world’s largest exporters of sonar and associated systems. Its broad portfolio spans submarines, surface vessels, mine‑countermeasures platforms, unmanned vehicles, and maritime aircraft, supporting navies worldwide with advanced, mission‑critical undersea technologies.

What We Can Offer

We’re committed to giving you opportunities to be your best. We believe in embracing the passion and potential of our people, and to achieve this we offer market leading training, development and experiences, along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry. We hire from within as our first priority, so you’ll have a myriad of opportunities within our diverse, global organisation.

Flexibility

Your health and well-being matter to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity, and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

• Shape and deliver the long‑range growth strategy in partnership with senior leadership, ensuring sustained order‑intake performance
• Lead major UK campaigns and capture activities, aligning multi- business unit teams to present unified, high‑value offerings
• Build and manage senior‑level customer and industry relationships, using insight to strengthen win probability and guide strategic decisions
• Own customer intelligence, driving accurate forecasting, high‑quality bid planning, and clear direction for product and capability development
• Ensure internal alignment across Thales by resolving strategic conflicts and guiding coherent positioning and partnering behaviour
• Represent Thales and the MSET programme at key events with compelling messaging that enhances market presence and customer engagement
• Produce and secure approval for capture plans through internal governance while sharing best practice across the wider UK sales community

About You

At Thales, we are committed to equal opportunities and welcome all talented individuals to consider joining our team. So even if you don't match every statement below but feel you have some of the experience, knowledge or skills needed for this role, we encourage you to apply. It will take all of us working together to deliver solutions to the world’s most critical challenges.

• Proven experience in a similar role, or clearly transferable skills suited to a military maritime environment, with advantageous experience in surface ship or submarine support and services
• Demonstrated success leading major sales captures and bid campaigns over £10m for defence, government, and industrial clients in both UK and export markets
• Proven ability to manage cross‑functional, multi‑national teams delivering complex engineering solutions across platform, sensor, and combat‑system domains in underwater services
• Acquired and broad knowledge of Thales service portfolios, including modifications, spares and repairs, ILS, deployed support, technical publications, obsolescence solutions, and DRACAS
• Demonstrated capability in building trusted senior‑level relationships and managing diverse international stakeholders
• Proven skill in shaping complex customer solutions from early concept to contract, and in coaching internal teams to drive strong outcomes
• Acquired expertise in contract negotiation, bid and project management, and new product introduction, supported by a relevant degree or equivalent experience
• Consistent demonstration of behaviours – Think Big, Make it Happen, Together – while fostering strong teams and enabling impactful, entrepreneurial decision‑making
• Holding SC clearance with the ability to achieve DV

If you’re ready to lead high‑value campaigns, build senior‑level partnerships, and make a real impact in a complex defence environment, we’d welcome your application.

Security Clearance Statement

This role will require SC Clearance. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant will undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance.

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the National Security Vetting (NSV) Agency - United Kingdom Security Vetting - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Join Thales in the UK – Innovate with us and shape the future!