Supply Chain Project Manager (Alliance)

BAE Systems; Barrow-in-Furness; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense contractor in the UK is seeking an experienced candidate to lead supply chain management for submarine programs. You will ensure cost, quality, and delivery targets are met while collaborating with various stakeholders. The role requires a professional qualification in Project Management or Supply Chain and previous experience in defense-related environments. The company offers competitive pay, a pension scheme, and extensive benefits, including health plans and lifestyle benefits.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Professional qualifications in Project Management or Supply Chain required.
• Experience in major capital investment programmes required.
• Ability to build positive working relationships with various stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Combat System supply chain for the Submarine programme.
• Conduct monthly performance reviews and driving continuous improvement.
• Own governance and reporting processes for procurement activities.

Skills

Project Management

Supply Chain Management

Analytical skills

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Professional qualification in Project Management or Supply Chain

Job description

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Combat System supply chain for the Submarine programme, ensuring they consistently achieve cost, quality and delivery targets
• Assess and monitor key assumptions, dependencies and exclusions within the supply chain, highlighting and mitigating potential risks to programme delivery
• Own the governance and reporting process for your supply chain scope, ensuring all procurement activity is delivered to schedule, within budget and to required quality standards
• Analyse cost drivers and financial commitments, providing clear insight on in-year spend and long-term procurement forecasts
• Conduct monthly performance reviews, presenting commercial, delivery and quality outcomes for Tier 2 suppliers, and driving continuous improvement
• Ensure commercial and contractual obligations (including material obsolescence, capacity and security requirements) are effectively flowed down to suppliers and supported by strong governance
• Identify emerging contractual or commercial issues early, developing and driving action plans with suppliers to protect programme delivery

Qualifications

• A professional qualification in Project Management (e.g., APMQ) or Supply Chain (e.g., CIPS), or equivalent relevant experience
• Knowledge or experience of working on major capital investment programmes, ideally within complex engineering or defence‑related environments
• Experience collaborating with stakeholders across a range of functions and levels, building positive working relationships
• Background in Supply Chain or Procurement roles, ideally with a focus on improving processes or supplier performance
• Confident analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to interpret data and support informed decision‑making

Desirable Qualifications

• Awareness of single‑source contracting regulations and related procurement frameworks
• Understanding of the UK Defence sector, particularly the submarine enterprise, naval platforms or similarly complex programmes

Security & Vetting

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must, as a minimum, achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Salary & Benefits

Salary: Competitive, as well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts – you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The Submarine Production Supply Chain Team

The Submarine Production Supply Chain team: You’ll join the Submarine Production Supply Chain Team, a small, collaborative group working across the Dreadnought and SSNA programmes. We build and manage the full supply chain lifecycle, ensuring materials are delivered to the shipyard on time, to agreed quality standards and cost. The team develops supply chain strategies that support the shift from a 36‑month build cycle on Dreadnought to 18 months on SSNA, helping suppliers scale to meet future demand. We also create shared tools and reporting, and run regular governance forums to monitor performance, reduce risk and drive continuous improvement. We offer relocation support packages across all Submarines roles, subject to meeting eligibility criteria.

Why BAE Systems?

Why BAE Systems? This is a place where you’ll be able to make a real difference. You’ll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you’ll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.