Head of Commercial - Fareham

Head of Commercial – Fareham

Introduction:

Saab UK is part of Scandinavia\’s largest defence company, bringing together the best of Swedish and British innovation. Saab offers world-leading solutions and services in defence, aviation, space, and civil security to keep people and society safe. We currently employ over 500 people across eight sites in the UK, and our specialisations include software engineering, underwater robotics, radars, AI, and armed forces training.

We invest 17% of our annual revenue into research and development, collaborating with a range of partners including industry and academia.

At Saab, we place equal value on what we do and how we do it. We lead by example and our core values of Trust, Drive and Expertise are fundamental to us.

Role Description

The Head of Commercial (HoC) is a key senior management appointment within Saab Seaeye (Seaeye). The HoC is responsible to the VP Commercial Director Saab UK and via dotted line day-to-day tasking and reporting, to the VP MD of Saab Seaeye UK, following the centrally led, operationally devolved principle.

You will deliver Seaeye\’s commercial management services in the pre-(WB) and post- (EB) signature phases in a timely and efficient manner, underpinning Seaeye\’s growth and profitability imperatives.

HoC will be a key contributor to best practice development in commercial management for Seaeye. HoC may be required to deputise for VP Commercial Director. HoC will be the trusted commercial advisor to all personnel working in the OD and other stakeholders.

Organisation

• Reports directly to VP Commercial Director
• Dotted line (day-to-day prioritisation) into VP Managing Director, Saab Seaeye UK

Responsibilities

• Building and leading a team of Commercial professionals to deliver best practice Commercial support and interventions across the entire Saab Seaeye portfolio of pursuits and programmes
• Acting as trusted commercial advisor to and spreading commercial awareness amongst the Seaeye management team and all involved in the WB and EB process (CSR/PSR etc)
• Instilling Commercial Awareness and encouraging commercial innovation
• Adapting, applying and sharing World Commerce and Contracting) (formerly IACCM) best practice and wider commercial awareness with the Seaeye\’s CSR/PSR (or equivalent) and wider population
• Ensuring the highest standards of ethics and legal/contractual compliance
• As part of the Saab UK Commercial function, developing appropriate processes, process improvements, boilerplate, templates, tools and techniques for the wider UK toolkit.
• Being a key participant in relevant communities of practice across Saab
• Acting as deputy for VP Commercial Director Saab UK when required.

Pre-signature :

• Supporting the day-to-day commercial needs of the business with NDAs, MoUs, MoAs, Teaming Agreements, Framework Agreements, Drafting T\’s and Cs etc.
• Ensuring that bids and proposals are commercially compelling and coherent (and where appropriate commercially innovative) and that they deliver the agreed win strategy, drafting the Commercial elements and reviewing any/all aspects of OD Saab Seaeye submissions
• Ensuring proposal responses address both the customer key evaluation criteria and the underlying issues, that they articulate the agreed win strategy, win themes and competitive differentiators and are thus best placed to win.
• Identifying and drawing upon the necessary bid resources (internal and external) to submit winning offers
• Providing incisive and actionable review input and ensuring coherence both commercially and with the solution elements of Saab Seaeye\’ proposals and quotations
• Taking the lead on ensuring Saab UK Saab Seaeye\’s competitive edge through authoring compelling responses to the Social Value sections of solicitations
• Negotiating contract terms and conditions and closing deals that deliver best value to customers and optimum profit with minimum risk to Saab UK.

Post-signature :

• Owning, contributing to and/or reviewing Commercial Risk Registers (ensuring wide organisational understanding of potential impact), managing contract variations (including optimisation of legitimate change potential), solving issues.
• Avoiding and resolving disputes, proposing commercial and contractual solutions, avoiding litigation wherever possible.
• In conjunction with the Programme Management and Technical communities, proactively managing the change provisions of the Underwater projects and programmes portfolio
• Addressing strategic supply chain development/technology transfer issues with the Supply Chain Manager
• Providing advice to Seaeye\’s Procurement teams, especially on flowdown of MOD conditions, QDCs under SSRO regulations etc.
• Working in lockstep with VP Managing Director Saab Seaeye and Heads of Functional Areas to provide them commercial advice and support and drive the Saab Seaeye OD to deliver its strategic objectives.

Requirements:

• Degree in Business management or equivalent
• Optional: Practitioner/Advanced Practitioner of World Commerce and Contracting
• At least 7 years of commercial management experience with a track record of implementing change and managing process improvements in a complex commercial environment
• Deep experience and understanding of the UK Government/Defence acquisition processes and budgets and other domains in which Seaeye operates
• Strong business acumen with a broad understanding of fundamental business principles
• Excellent management, decision-making, and problem-solving skills
• Proven ability to drive process improvement
• Inclusive leadership approach
• Proven track record as a team leader with a clear understanding of commercial management practices
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to collaborate and build a consensus in a high-pressure environment
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English
• In possession of or able to achieve Security Clearance (UK Eyes Only).