Project Manager

Thales Group; East Hagbourne; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A global aerospace manufacturer in East Hagbourne seeks a Project Manager to lead projects in satellite propulsion systems. The ideal candidate will have excellent project management and negotiation skills, with a track record of delivering complex projects. This role requires collaboration with engineering teams and may involve travel to sites across the UK. Join us to drive innovation in space technology.

Qualifications

• Excellent, professional project management skills.
• Ability to manage project teams including coaching.
• Strong negotiation skills with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the project team, ensuring successful delivery.
• Deliver key performance metrics for the projects.
• Create the initial Project Plan and manage it.

Skills

Excellent project management skills

Negotiation skills

Interpersonal communication

Analytical skills

Organizational skills

Job description

Overview

Location: Oxford, United Kingdom

A Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space is a global space manufacturer delivering high-tech solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth Observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer flexibility to support work patterns that suit individual needs.

Working closely with the Engineering and Industrial teams in Harwell and Belfast, the successful candidate will be leading projects for satellites propulsion systems within Thales Alenia Space, and drive positive change in the organisation. The role will include delivering projects and bids, and supporting sales in capturing future business opportunities. This role is based primarily in Harwell, Oxfordshire; and will require visits to our Propulsion manufacturing centre in Belfast.

What the role has to offer

• An influential position; leading a team to deliver on our project commitments to time, quality and budget.
• Challenging and diverse work.
• Your work and that of your team will ensure we deliver on our financial results.
• Designing and executing your strategy for two key Propulsion Product Lines.

Primary Purpose of the Role:

The purpose of this job is to ensure the successful development and delivery of one or more space propulsion projects. It requires excellent management of relationships with internal and external customers, and the use of highly developed networking and influencing skills to ensure that TAS UK delivers the right project outcomes at the right time and to the right cost and quality. The role also requires the identification and management of project management capabilities, and the application of best practices. This will involve providing coaching and direct support to less experienced project team members. It also requires professional project management capabilities to be applied, giving rigour to change control, commercial awareness and stakeholder management.

Principal Relationships:

Relationships must be built and maintained with the following

• Senior members of the Project Management community (e.g. other Portfolio / Programme / Project Managers)
• Senior members of the Engineering team
• Finance
• Bid Managers
• Capture Lead/Sales
• Product Line Manager
• PCC Director and Industrial Manager
• Programme Management Office
• External stakeholders (e.g. customers, suppliers)
• Liaison with other business functions, including Quality, Finance, Commercial, Legal, HR, IS/IT Quality, Health & Safety

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Undertake activities to ensure successful delivery of projects, including the following:
• Deliver key results and performance metrics for the projects, including order intake, sales, gross margin and cash
• Lead the project team, provide tools, coaching and personal support to motivate and equip the team
• Create the initial Project Plan during the bid or Demand phase, including requirements capture, work definition, estimating and scheduling
• Project governance over bid and project delivery activities to apply and control risks
• Ensure business planning and reporting is published in line with directives (e.g. Monthly Project Reviews, Operational Management Meetings, On Time Delivery)
• Drive Quality, Cost & Delivery performance through close collaboration with other functions
• Balance priorities and manage stakeholders to impact delivery performance with strong communications
• Ensure project team members actively manage Risk and Opportunities and have a robust Project Management Plan
• Ensure data integrity of project information including financials and schedule; use Oracle and Primavera toolsets
• Ensure activities comply with Thales Chorus processes
• Apply Lessons Learned to all projects and capture lessons learned in specific projects
• Foster a continuous improvement culture, promote best practice, and implement changes where required
• Travel to TAS/Thales sites and to customers/suppliers’ offices in the UK and overseas as required

Key Performance Indicators:

• Achievement of Business Performance objectives, including OTD, EBIT, Cash and Sales

Skills

Essential

• Excellent, professional project management skills
• Ability to successfully manage project teams, including coaching of project managers
• Excellent negotiation skills with customers, partners, suppliers and other parts of the business
• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills with written presentation and report writing skills
• Strong organisational, managerial and team-working skills
• Analytical skills for cost variance analysis and reporting into company financials
• Commercial, financial and business acumen

Experience

Essential

• Extensive track record of delivering successful complex projects in contexts relevant to Thales
• Experience in a complex, multidisciplinary, multi-site organisation
• Full business lifecycle management including capture, qualification and developing capture plans and winning strategies
• Ability to coach and develop less-experienced project managers
• Extensive client and stakeholder management
• Understanding of scheduling processes (e.g., WBS, OBS, milestones, dependencies, EVM)
• Experience with project management processes (Change Control, Risk Management, Information Management)
• Experience across the project life cycle for complex projects (Development, Implementation, Closure and Support)
• Experience of working across boundaries with knowledge of commercial management, best practice supply chain and finance functions

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In line with Thales\' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment/education history. Some roles may require full Security Clearance.

Thales UK is committed to inclusive and barrier-free recruitment. Reasonable adjustments available for neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability. For adjustments or questions about the process, please contact Resourcing Ops or the Early Careers Team. Great journeys start here, apply now!