Job Description

Location: Reading, United Kingdom
Thales people architect solutions that are relied upon to deliver operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defensive systems for land, sea, and air. From early warning, to threat neutralisation, our platforms cover all levels from very short-range systems, to extended protection across the entire battle-space including Airspace Mobility Solutions, Vehicles and Tactical Systems and Missile Defence, Optronics, and Radar.
Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that's why we offer you the flexibility to do what's important to you; whether that's part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.
Engineering Work Package Manager
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Engineering Work Package Manager within Thales Optronics and Missile Electronics (OME). As an Engineering Work Package Manager you will work in collaboration with the Programme Managers, the Engineering Delivery Managers, the Head of Engineering Delivery and the wider engineering team to ensure delivery of the engineering projects. This role will be responsible for managing the delivery of engineering work packages, ensuring they are completed on time, within budget, and to the required technical specifications.
SKILLS & COMPETENCIES:

• You know how to use your skills to plan, organise teams, and guarantee the delivery of engineering projects by respecting deadlines, costs and quality with a clear vision of risks and opportunities
• You have good knowledge of subcontract and work package management
• You have proven experience in coordination of various technical activities
• You have outstanding problem-solving skills and a passion to solve hard problems
• You can demonstrate knowledge in financial, workload plan and risks management
• You possess a strong technical understanding of engineering principles, systems, and processes.
• Excellent project management skills, with experience using project management tools and software (e.g., MS Project, Primavera, etc.).
• Ability to manage multiple work streams and suppliers simultaneously.
• Strong negotiation and supplier management skills.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to identify and mitigate risks in project delivery.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.

LIFE AS A THALES ENGINEERING WORK PACKAGE MANAGER
In this role you will be responsible for:

• authoring the Work Package Description with the WP team based on the project structure and customer requirements
• identifying deliverables, milestones and interdependencies with other WP's
• establishing the schedule and the estimates based on a viable solution, and identify the necessary resources and their availability
• initialising the risk and opportunity register and the work package baseline using the relevant key project tools
• defining the organisation and work breakdown required to deliver to the Customer needs
• defining the cost structure, resource profiles, supplier selection and the relevant metrics to monitor the WP
• leading high performing, multi-discipline engineering teams to generate engineering solutions that meet the Customer needs
• contributing and working to the defined engineering delivery strategy and resource profile based on the engineering estimates to ensure the delivery of the project
• the planning and prioritisation of activities required to deliver solutions to the contract schedule, costs and quality
• day to day management of the engineering team's activities ensuring proactive management of issues, opportunities and risks
• updating the schedule, risk & opportunities register and the Estimate to Complete
• managing and reporting of the engineering efficiency for the project
• people management for the engineering team on the project and provide feedback into the people manager reviews with the functional discipline leads

NICE TO HAVE:

• A recognised project management certification is a plus.
• Knowledge and experience of air, land and/or naval products would be beneficial to this role.

#LI-MC2
In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.
At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.
Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact for mid to senior roles, or the for graduate and apprentice roles.
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