Draken
Senior Commercial Manager
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Draken offer exciting careers that matter.
We believe that mission success does not start with the mission itself. It begins with our people.
Draken also believes in fair reward and recognition for our employees. As such, we offer competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package including up to 12% matching pension contributions, bonus incentives, discounted PMI, electric car scheme, tech vouchers, wellbeing programmes and much more.
The Role
We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Commercial Manager to join a dynamic team and drive the optimisation of contracts and commercial performance across multiple contracts.
This role requires expertise in contract management, ensuring contracts are executed efficiently and align with commercial objectives and corporate policy.
To be successful in this role, you’ll bring:
- Relevant experience as a Senior Commercial Manager or in a similar commercial management / complex contracting role.
- Knowledge of complex contract structures, contractual obligations, commercial risk management, negotiation, and financial principles including pricing, cash flow, margin and value drivers.
- Experience in contract preparation, negotiation, in-life contract management, contractual change and claims management, and delivering commercially robust outcomes within governed approval frameworks.
- The ability to provide clear commercial insight, manage risk and opportunity effectively, influence stakeholders, and deliver sound decisions aligned to business objectives.
Key Responsibilities
- Contract Management: Lead the day-to-day operations of key business contracts, ensuring smooth delivery and client satisfaction.
- KPI Development: Refine and enhance the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to maintain existing contracts, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to determine how data will be collected, analysed, and utilised for root cause identification, impact analysis, and mitigation implementation driving business objectives.
- Negotiate, draft, and manage contracts with key clients, suppliers, and government entities. Identifying and mitigating contractual risks.
- Provide commercial guidance to internal teams and senior stakeholders.
- Leading commercial activity across the contract lifecycle, ensuring robust delivery, value for money and alignment with business objectives.
- Shaping customer and stakeholder engagement, including negotiation, decision support and cross-functional collaboration.
- Providing commercial oversight of compliance, contract controls and risk management, with clear governance and documentation throughout.
- Driving continuous improvement, strengthening commercial capability and providing commercially informed support to the wider business.
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This is a hands-on role where you’ll contribute to meaningful work and play a part in helping the organisation achieve its objectives.
Experience / Skills / Qualifications
- Minimum 5 years' experience in developing, reviewing, drafting and negotiating contract terms and conditions.
- Strong contract analytical capability.
- Contract Compliance: Ensure adherence to contract terms and milestones.
- Risk Management Proficiency: Demonstrated ability to apply effective risk identification, root cause analysis, and proportionate mitigation strategies to manage risks successfully.
- Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
- Broad business awareness and experience of managing the commercial elements of complex, high tech, challenging projects through the full development and contract lifecycle (ideally within the aerospace & defence sector).
- Combines experience, intuition and strategic thinking to make considered judgements about commercial opportunities and risks.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills.
- Experience of working with UK MOD, other foreign government departments, and export customers is ideal.
- Experience in company and corporate insurance is desirable.
Essential Criteria
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline, such as Commercial or Business Management, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or Law.
- Significant commercial management and/or complex contracting experience, including contract preparation, negotiation and in-life management, with the ability to manage commercial issues across the full contract lifecycle.
- Sound commercial and financial judgement, including the ability to assess risk, pricing, cash flow, margin and overall commercial impact.
- Proven ability to manage contractual change, claims, risks and opportunities, delivering controlled, compliant and value-driven outcomes.
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Desirable Criteria
- Relevant professional qualification or membership, such as CIPS, WorldCC (IACCM), or equivalent.
- Experience in defence, aerospace, or other complex contracting environments.
- Familiarity with MOD standard contract forms, terms and frameworks.
- Experience managing company and corporate insurance.
- Ability to obtain and maintain the required security clearance.
Our employee values
Draken is committed to eliminating unlawful and unfair discrimination and we celebrate the differences that a diverse workforce brings. A range of perspective and talent supports our values and drives our success, with a mix of voices generating better discussions, business decisions and outcomes for all.
At all our sites internationally, every member of the Draken team is accountable to ensure that we are all treated fairly and with respect.
We are also an Armed Forces friendly organisation, and as part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, welcome applications from veterans and services spouses and partners who met the criteria in our job specifications.
In line with our Disability Confident Commitments, we provide reasonable adjustments to facilitate our interview process, please liaise with us if any reasonable adjustments are required.
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Whether it is adversarial support, electronic attack or customised rotary-wing training, we offer the most accurate and advanced readiness training in the industry. Our vast, differentiated fleet, cutting edge hardware and experienced instructors are engaged to help your mission take off.
Being ready is not only a matter of when. But where. We provide services in the UK, US and across the NATO countries. Making sure that our allies can manoeuvre around defeat and prepare to prevail.
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