Navantia UK is a new force in British industry, supporting the UK’s defence, energy and maritime ambitions. We’re doing this by creating state-of-the-art sovereign defence capabilities, investing in the UK to modernise industrial facilities, and bolstering the nation's energy security. Established in 2022, Navantia UK is a subsidiary of Navantia SA, a Spanish state-owned company with over 300 years of naval shipbuilding history. In January 2025, Navantia UK completed the acquisition of Harland & Wolff and its four historic facilities in Belfast, Appledore, Methil, and Arnish. By combining Harland & Wolff’s proud heritage and facilities with Navantia’s global expertise, Navantia UK is well-positioned to strengthen Britain’s defence, maritime and energy industrial capabilities, supporting jobs and economic growth across the UK.

To lead the preparation, execution and winning of competitive proposals for new strategic and high value contracts for Navantia UK including CAT A UK MOD Programmes (£400M+). This role sits at the intersection of project execution and bids, requiring the application of professional project management, commercial awareness and cross-functional and organisation leadership.

The successful candidate is a hands-on, structured professional who can balance strategic thinking (winning bids) with operational execution (delivering projects).

The Role

Project & Programme Management

• Provision of programme leadership across functions to drive successful bid delivery for major Navantia UK opportunities.
• Lead and continuously improve effective project scope, objectives, governance, deliverables, and performance.
• Plan, execute, monitor and enhance projects using established methodologies and tools (e.g. PID, PMO, Agile, SAP experience-SAFRAN).
• Control project schedules, budgets, and resources effectively coordinating across projects and business units.
• Work jointly with engineering in the product development, costs, risks, assumptions and dependencies
• Influence and coordinate internal stakeholders and external partners to ensure successful delivery.
• Track progress and report performance to senior management and clients, effectively escalating and resolving issues.
• Identify and mitigate project risks and issues proactively whilst actively exploiting opportunity.
• Provide project management rigour to deliver competitive future bids whilst meeting wider company obligations and security requirements. 

Bid Lifecycle Management

• Work with Bid Managers and wider functions to lead the end-to-end bid process, from qualification through submission to successfully secure new contracts.
• Support business development objectives and lead response to Market Engagement/RFI/RFP/RFQ documents whilst defining and improving the win strategy and bid plan.
• Work closely with sales, technical, finance, legal, and operations teams to develop compelling and compliant proposals.
• Manage timelines, milestones, and deliverables to ensure on-time, high-quality submissions.
• Lead, review and improve bid content, including technical, commercial, and project delivery sections.
• Ensure effective deliver and drive deliverables and requirements, assign project timelines and lead gateway reviews according to bid / project requirements
• Drive effective risk and opportunity management within bids and propose mitigation strategies.
• Support pricing strategies and cost estimation in collaboration with finance teams.
• Manage equivalent activities for product development project lifecycles as needed

Stakeholder Management

• Act as a key interface between clients, business development, and internal teams.
• Management and communication of all key documentation and information
• Facilitate workshops, bid and performance reviews, and project meetings.
• Maintain strong relationships with stakeholders to support both bid success and project delivery.

Process Improvement

• Contribute to continuous improvement of bid and project management processes.
• Ensure maintenance and update of bid libraries, templates, and lessons learned.
• Ensure adherence to internal governance and best practices.

• Degree in Project Management, Business, Engineering, or related field (Masters preferred but not essential).
• Extensive experience in project & programme management, bid management, or similar roles.
• Proven experience managing complex engineering (ideally maritime) bids or proposals in a competitive environment.
• Strong understanding of project management frameworks and tools (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, Kanban, EVM, Predict! or equivalent).
• Experience working in cross-functional and international teams.
• Experience managing projects or programmes, within defence, shipbuilding, heavy engineering or construction sectors

***Please note as part of the onboarding process all candidates will need to complete BPSS security clearance***

We are an Opening Doors employer, committed to equal opportunity and an inclusive workplace. Our approach, shaped by our values of service, trust, excellence, agility, dedication, and you, we focus on removing barriers and recognising potential. We are committed to fairness at every stage, including providing reasonable adjustments and actively working to eliminate discrimination.

We believe talent is everywhere, and by widening access to opportunity and welcoming diverse experiences, we aim to create a workplace where every person feels valued and has an equal chance.

If you experience difficulties or are unable to apply for a role on-line please contact us at [email protected] and one of the team will be in contact to help you.