Senior Commercial Manager – Defence

Overview

In this role you will provide senior commercial leadership for a portfolio across Maritime & Land domains within a UK defence and technology organisation. You will shape and govern long-term commercial strategy and ensure alignment with business objectives, working with integrated delivery teams and senior stakeholders. You will lead negotiations and drive governance to mitigate risk and enhance capability development. This is a strategic, cross‑functional role with significant impact on complex programmes.

Pay / Benefits

• salary £75,000–£85,000
• hybrid working (minimum 3 days onsite)
• permanent role
• UK security clearance eligibility
• benefits package unknown
• on-site/off-site flexibility unknown

Responsibilities

• Act as senior commercial leader overseeing a complex programme portfolio
• Design and implement a portfolio-level commercial engagement strategy with a 3–5 year horizon
• Lead and influence senior/internal/external stakeholder relationships
• Provide governance and assurance on medium-to-high-complexity proposals and contracts
• Oversee Integrated Delivery Teams ensuring commercial strategy is embedded across people, processes and tools
• Lead negotiation strategy and influence outcomes up to Executive Committee level
• Ensure best practice, risk management and compliance across the portfolio
• Contribute to ongoing development of commercial capability within the organisation

Key requirements

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a commercial management or leadership role
• Background in defence, aerospace, maritime or similarly regulated, complex engineering environments
• Experience leading large, multi-stakeholder programmes or portfolios
• Proven ability to lead complex commercial negotiations and influence senior stakeholders
• Solid understanding of commercial governance, contracts, and non-standard arrangements
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to operate at senior leadership level
• Strategic mindset with a collaborative and inclusive leadership style

• excellent communication
• strategic thinking
• collaborative and inclusive leadership
• commercial governance
• contracts and non-standard commercial arrangements
• risk management

…