Head of Projects – Defence Sector

National Composites Centre

Bristol based with hybrid working (2 days on site per week)

Salary: Competitive Salaries; Our average salaries for this role are £67,892 to £83,014, however open to discussion if your existing salary is above this range.  

Security Clearance: You may be required to undertake government security clearance if successful.  No existing clearance required.

Closing Date: 22^nd July 2025 – applications may be reviewed during the advertising period.

Purpose of Role

Innovating for Defence - Innovation in defence is vital to UK national security

NCC has worked in partnership with defence customers since its inception. As a Centre of Excellence for Defence Innovation, we have an established national role in delivering cutting-edge products and technologies that address mission-critical challenges. This includes accelerating the development of advanced materials, digital engineering, process innovation and systems integration.

Located in the UK’s largest defence cluster, we are an innovation and development partner to industry and government. We are investing in building new (open and secure) innovation capabilities across our focus areas to deliver a truly unique capability.

In partnership with other centres in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, we collaborate with the Ministry of Defence, defence industry primes and SMEs to create an integrated UK solution to future defence innovation.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in leading a rapidly growing area of the NCC, helping to shape the future of defence technology in the UK.

Reporting to the Director of Sector Delivery and leading the Defence Delivery Team.

Specific Responsibilities Include

• Strategic Roadmap development and delivery - Support the development of the sector or technology strategic roadmaps.
• Deliver the sector or technology business plan Revenue, Gross Margin and Impact targets.
• Lead the delivery team – currently made up of 8, with 2 direct reports. Expectation to potentially double in near future.
• Represent the team at senior leadership level, playing an active role as a delivery leader.

• Finance Management - Develop and deliver the business plan to achieve the agreed KPIs including Impact, Revenue and Gross Margin.

• Customer & Stakeholder Management – Develop stronger relationships with external and internal senior stakeholders, supporting the expansion of the Defence portfolio.
• Portfolio Governance – Lead the defence delivery team to ensure project delivery meets Time, Cost and Quality requirements.
• Business Development – supporting tenders, bids and identifying new business development opportunities.

Skills and Experience Required

We like to see diverse applications and generally prioritise people with experience across Defence, Manufacturing or Research & Development.

• Prior experience working at Programme Management or Head of Projects level.
• Defence sector background – current or previously.
• Engineering project experience – many of our project managers are ex-engineers.
• Willingness to undertake government security clearance, if required.
• Proven experience leading teams including full line management responsibilities.
• Experience managing and delivering projects – knowledge of project planning, budget management, resource management, RAID and reporting.
• Experience supporting business development activities.

Desirable (apply if you have everything else please!) - Knowledge of composites technology, its development and application. 

Why This Role?

• Help secure the future success of the NCC’s Defence portfolio — through structured, collaborative campaign delivery.
• Shape how we pursue and win major opportunities, working with a diverse and committed team.
• Operate at the heart of a growing Defence Delivery Team, contributing to its culture of excellence, inclusion and continuous learning.

Not sure you meet all the requirements? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs if they think they may not meet every qualification, when in fact they often do. At the NCC we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We ensure that all hiring decisions are made without regard to age, race, national origin, sex, disability, gender, gender identity, religion, or any other protected characteristics, and will treat all applications with the strictest confidence. We’re always open to hearing how we can support flexible working in different ways, including part-time work. Please don’t be afraid to ask about what we can do to support your needs. All requests will be carefully and fairly considered. We wish you every success in your job search.

Why the NCC?

We see our success in yours. The future of composites manufacturing relies on the NCC, and we rely on the right individuals to make it happen, whether they’re engineers or not!

Diverse challenges – the NCC isn’t just about aerospace. We’re working with over 16 sectors and a variety of customers, from private ventures to the global tier 1 companies, providing variety to your experience.

Innovation – a world-leading research and development centre, the work we do brings novel and innovative solutions to industry, with the future firmly in mind. So we need innovating thinking not just in Engineering, but across all support functions.

Development in composites, and you – if the scope of exciting work isn’t enough to sway you, our ethos of continued learning and development and flexible working patterns will.

We look forward to hearing from you. #fulltime