Principal Project Manager

MBDA UK Limited; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus up to 21% of base salary

Pension up to 14% total contributions

Flexible working arrangements

Enhanced parental leave (maternity/adp

Facilities: subsidised meals + parking

Healthcare Cash Plan

Job summary

MBDA UK Limited is seeking a proactive Project/Programme Manager to drive complex contracts across a multinational environment. You’ll manage risks, budget, and stakeholder engagement in collaboration with MBDA Polska and the Poland Programme Office.

Ideal candidates will lead cross-functional teams, navigate ambiguity, and promote best practices in EVM and schedule risk assessments while supporting growth across MBDA’s UK and European operations.

Qualifications

• Experience in Project/Programme Management, ideally in a matrix organisation.
• Strong risk management skills and forecast accuracy.
• Sound business judgement with ability to solve complex problems.
• Strong communication and motivational skills.
• Experience in leading projects from a business perspective, including EVM and schedule risk assessments.

Responsibilities

• Build relations with the MBDA Polska team to enable delivery of key contracts.
• Engage with sectors and NATCOs to manage ICT for major contracts and Poland Programme Office transition.
• Coordinate with MBDA sectors, the Polish customer and PPO team to deliver Polish projects.
• Travel semi-regularly to Poland facilities and stakeholders to strengthen relationships.

Skills

Project management

Risk management

Stakeholder management

Financial forecasting

Budget management

Negotiation and influencing

Tools

Earned Value Management (EVM)

Job description

With the recent growth across our Project Management function, you will have an opportunity to grow your skills and develop your career within a collaborative and encouraging environment.

Salary

Circa £50,000-65,000 depending on experience

Dynamic (hybrid) working

1-2 days per week on-site due to workload classification

Security Clearance

British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship

Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

What we can offer you

• Company Bonus: Bonus of up to 21% of base salary
• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…
• Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more.

The opportunity

• The role will involve a particular focus on building relations with the MBDA Polska team to facilitate the development of an important arm of the MBDA company.

• The role will also involve engagement with other sectors and NATCOs to develop and manage the ICT of all of our key contracts, and secure its overall transition and on-going management by the Poland Programme Office

• There will also be extensive engagement with other MBDA sectors, the Polish customer and the wider PPO team to ensure successful delivery of the Polish projects.

• The role will require travel on a semi-regular basis to deepen understanding of the Poland facilities and stakeholder groups, and ensure strong stakeholder management.

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You will be working on

• Working in an exciting, complex and changing environment, where there are opportunities to contribute and make a difference in delivering capability to our customers.
• A great platform to embed your partner/stakeholder management skills, across a diverse multi-functional, international, organisation.
• Exposure to working within a vibrant Project Management community
• Opportunity to gain professional/accredited project management qualification
• High level of integration between functional directorates and customers within UK and our European counterparts.
• There are opportunities for progression across MBDA!

What we're looking for from you

• Project /Programme Management experience – ideally gained in a matrix organisation
• Strong risk management skills and experience
• Sound business judgement including an appreciation of complex problems and how to solve them
• Strong communication and motivational skills

• Experience in financial forecasting and budget management across multiple workstreams.

• Confidence in leading Working Groups that engage stakeholders across a variety of functions, including Programmes, Commercial, Finance, Technical and Facilities
• Ability to embrace new challenges and deal with a level of ambiguity
• Experience of leading projects from a business perspective, including EVM, schedule adherence and schedule risk assessments
• Bidding & estimating experience
• Negotiating and influencing skills, with the ability to establish and maintain relationships and work collaboratively across various levels and with internal and external collaborators
• Drive and motivation in leading project teams to strive for excellence in the face of adversity
• Engage, share standard methodology and find opportunities for innovation

Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity, Disability and more…

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information.

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