Portfolio Quality Assurance Manager

Thales Group; Oxford; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 82,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private healthcare

Pension scheme

Life cover

Annual bonus

Volunteer day

Employee discounts

Job summary

Thales Group in Crawley is seeking a Portfolio Quality Assurance Manager to lead QA across multiple programmes within the A2IS domain. You will drive governance, assurance, and independent reporting to senior stakeholders, ensuring customer requirements are embedded and met.

This hybrid role based at Crawley offers CQI membership support, training, and a pathway to improve quality across complex engineering programmes, with SC clearance as a common requirement for UK security roles.

Qualifications

• Experience in a Quality Management role within complex projects or engineering environments.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and secure buy-in to quality vision.
• Experience working in fast-paced design/development environments.
• Proven ability to initiate and drive effective change.
• CQI membership or related professional qualification preferred.
• Auditor qualification is desirable.
• Knowledge of RCA tools/techniques and quality standards (AS9100, ISO9001).
• Ability to engage with senior stakeholders from diverse functions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage portfolios to deliver quality assurance across bids, projects, design, development lifecycles, system validation, supply chain, manufacturing and customer acceptance.
• Ensure governance is consistently applied across gates, milestones, and lifecycle events, including customer-facing reviews.
• Provide independent quality reporting to senior programme stakeholders within the portfolio.
• Ensure customer requirements are embedded and represented at all times.

Skills

Quality management

Stakeholder influence

Change management

Risk-based decision making

Auditing

Education

CQI membership

Job description

Portfolio Quality Assurance Manager

Location: Crawley, 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.

Role Overview

Are you an impactful Quality professional ready to take your next step in leading and managing a portfolio of projects within an engineering or defence environment? We have a fantastic opportunity for a Portfolio Quality Assurance Manager to join our A2IS domain in Crawley. As the PQAM, you will lead the activities within your domain, delivering cost effective, efficient Quality Assurance to meet Customer / partner requirements and Thales business objectives. You will work to ensure that the senior stakeholder assigned is provided with independent support/advice and challenge, highlighting risks and areas of concern within your portfolio.

Thales UK is a Chartered Quality Institute Recognised Employer.

What the role has to offer:

• Opportunity to lead Quality Assurance across one of the portfolios with the A2IS business
• Member of the A2IS leadership team, helping achieve customer excellence and driving continuous improvement, governance & assurance across our complex engineering programmes
• Hybrid role based out of the Crawley site (min 3 days per week)
• We’ll also pay for your CQI membership and support formal certified training where appropriate e.g. lead auditor training

Main responsibilities:

• Managing and leading the programmes in your portfolio to deliver all aspects of quality assurance within bids, projects, design and development lifecycles, system validation, supply chain, manufacturing & customer acceptance across all programmes
• Ensuring we drive consistent application of governance to assure quality within gates, milestones and lifecycle events including those attended by the customer (both on and off site)
• Ensuring attendance at formal project reviews and the infeed of independent quality reporting to the senior programme stakeholders within the portfolio
• Ensuring customer requirements are embedded and delivered and that the customer is represented at all times

About you:

Ideally, you will have:

• Experience operating in a Quality Management role in a complex project/engineering environment
• Demonstrable ability in influencing key stakeholders and getting buy-in to the quality vision
• Experience of working in a fast paced design and development/engineering environment
• Proven ability to instigate and drive effective change
• Related Professional Qualification and Membership of Associations (CQI preferred)
• A recognised auditor qualification
• Detailed working knowledge of RCA tools and techniques
• Knowledge of Quality Management System and Standards (eg. AS9100, ISO9001)
• Pragmatic Risk Based decision making
• Ability to converse and influence Senior Stakeholders from a variety of functions

Benefits:

• Performance-related bonus (grade dependent)
• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00
• 20 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with opportunity to buy up to 40 hours/year (pro rata)
• 24 hours volunteering, per year, paid for
• One professional membership, per year, paid for
• Private healthcare (grade dependent)
• Pension scheme
• Life cover
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing appEmployee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers
• Gym membership discounts

Security Clearance Requirement:

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires Security Clearance (SC). It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. 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. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance.

At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

Summary

Location: Crawley

Type: Full time