Subcontract Manager in Bristol

At Babcock, we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together. If you join us, you can play your part as a Senior Procurement and Supply Chain Manager at Hawthorn, near Corsham, Wiltshire.

The Role

As a Subcontract Manager, you’ll help drive one of the most exciting areas of our Mission Systems business - ensuring our space and defence programmes have the right suppliers, contracts and commercial foundations to succeed. This is a role with significant influence. Your work will directly support national security, space capability, and cutting‑edge technology programmes, giving you the opportunity to shape high‑value supply chains that make a genuine difference. You’ll build strong commercial strategies, guide a high‑performing team, and work with senior leaders across Babcock to deliver robust, innovative and resilient supply solutions. The experience you gain here will accelerate your leadership journey, broaden your commercial capability, and give you exposure to some of the most complex and high‑value subcontract portfolios in the UK defence and aerospace sector.

Day‑to‑day, you’ll be required to:

• Lead the end‑to‑end procurement and supply chain strategy for a portfolio worth approximately £100m annually.
• Manage performance across a strategically important and diverse supplier base.
• Drive risk management and opportunity identification across the full supply lifecycle.
• Develop and lead commercial strategies that ensure all supplier contracts align with prime contract requirements, legal standards, regulatory frameworks and trade controls.
• Coach, inspire and develop a talented procurement team, elevating commercial capability across the function.

This role is full time, 37 hours per week and provides hybrid working arrangements with days onsite and days working from home.

Essential experience of the Subcontract Manager

• Extensive experience in Procurement, Supply Chain Management and Commercial Management within complex, high‑value environments.
• Proven expertise in drafting, negotiating and managing large and complex subcontracts.
• Strong leadership experience and the ability to guide and develop teams.
• Confident stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels.
• Deep understanding of contract law, supplier performance management, risk management and commercial governance.

Qualifications for the Subcontract Manager

Essential:

• CIPS, IACCM/WorldCC or equivalent professional accreditation.
• Degree in Business, Commercial Management, Law or a related field.

Desirable:

• Experience within regulated, engineering, defence, manufacturing or infrastructure sectors.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held.

What We Offer

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee share scheme
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement.
• ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity
• Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email careers@babcockinternational.com with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing Date: 01/05/2026