Marine Systems and Naval Architecture – Business Manager

COMPANY OVERVIEWFounded in 1987, Stirling Dynamics has grown from a handful of expert engineers to a team of 100+ staff. The success of the company is made possible through a customer-focussed, can-do culture. Everything we do is underpinned by our company mission statement:

To deliver innovative technical services and technology solutions into our core markets

To build sustainable, beneficial relationships between suppliers, clients and institutions

To be recognised as an innovator and catalyst of new technologies To continue to make valuable investments

for the future through education, research and development

STRATEGY AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCEStrong financial performance is essential to support investment and growth. Looking forward we aim to achieve the following objectives:

Increased business development and marketing activities to develop new markets

Addition of new engineering capabilities to meet emerging customer needs

Technology refresh for control products and systems

Increased investment in training and professional development schemes

BENEFITS

Up to 30 days

Tax/NI savings

10am-3pm

Up to £1,000

Personal/

Company

Up to £3,000

Private 2x salary

Annual Leave

Pension Scheme

Flexible Working

½ day Friday

Cycle to Work

Bonus Recommend a Friend

Healthcare Life Assurance

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ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION FUELLED BY PEOPLE WITH PASSION

STIRLING AT A GLANCE

70+Aircraft worked

on

400+F-35 pilot

control sets produced

10+Navies supported

worldwide

30+Years of service

2018Stirling wins

Consultancy of the Year at the

British Engineering Excellence

Awards

80%Percentage of

exports

Marine Systems and Naval Architecture – Business ManagerWe offer a range of benefits to our employees to recognise their efforts. Playing hard is equally as important as working hard, so regular events are held throughout the year which provide an ideal opportunity to mix socially.

THE ROLE

Stirling Dynamics, an affiliate company of Expleo Engineering (UK), is a fast-growing, advanced engineering company that delivers a range of complex systems, solutions and technical services to the aerospace, defence and marine markets.

Our strength is providing world-leading technical expertise, innovative products and a service worthy of our premium brand position; we achieve this through working collaboratively within the wider group, our partners and our client base in building strong relationships that focus on delivering on commitments, open communication and transparency.

With annual revenues in excess of £10m and ambitious plans for growth, we are looking to recruit a Business Manager with an established track record to join us and lead our Marine Systems and Naval Architecture (MAR) business unit both in our established and emerging markets worldwide. As we seek to expand and offer our products and services globally, prior exposure to the international marine market is advantageous to this role.

The Marine Systems and Naval Architecture Business Unit provide advanced submarine autopilot systems to the UK and worldwide operators. In addition, Stirling is a leading provider of applied naval architecture consultancy services in the domains of hydrodynamics, hydrostatics, flotation and stability.

Working in a project-oriented matrix management organisation, you will be responsible for the revenue and gross profit of the business unit. You will be liaising closely with business development, engineering, and the project management office to ensure projects and bids are delivered to time, cost and quality.

You will also work closely with the other supporting functions (finance, quality, security and export control) to ensure a seamless delivery of service to the customer.

Applicants must have firm financial acumen, a business development mindset and account management skills. It is highly advantageous that the successful candidate has an existing network of contacts within our key domains and can use these to support Stirling’s rapidly growing business.

The ability to achieve and maintain UK Security Clearance is a mandatory pre-requisite for this role.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

The main responsibilities are:

• Definition of business unit strategy, preparation of rolling 3-year business plans and annualised budgets.

• Deliver the budgeted order intake ensuring the maintenance of overall and business unit Gross Margin.

• Management of the marine project portfolio and stakeholders, ensuring its delivery to time, cost and quality and the management of customer expectations.

• Seek opportunity, for both new and existing customers, with the support of Business Development; covering the whole capture lifecycle including lead generation, capture planning, proposal writing and contract negotiations.

• Supported by Project Managers and Finance; plan, enact and measure business unit performance and ensure on-time and right-first-time delivery to customers of the business unit.

• Interpret the market need to inform the units technical roadmap, support R&D efforts and work to enhance Stirling’s overall capability and offering to the market segment.

• Seek and understand competitors’ offerings in the market segment; their offerings and technologies, assessment of their strengths and weaknesses, define Stirling’s price competitive response.

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Marine Systems and Naval Architecture – Business Manager

Organisational structure:

• The Business Manager reports to the Head of Business (Executive Management).• The Business Manager will work within a project-oriented matrix organisation acting as the

Project Sponsor leading cross-functional teams of project managers and engineers allocated to specific bids and projects.

• Seamless liaison with peer roles in Engineering, Project Management, Finance, Marketing and other Business Managers is critical in ensuring overall business success.

Cultural Considerations:• Stirling needs agile thinkers with a strong can-do attitude. The ability to “do” as well as

delegate effectively is imperative. Pace is an important element of the role; many opportunities are reactive in nature, timely and effective response to customers’ needs is essential for success.

• A UK defence-oriented customer base and a growing worldwide engagement require a mature, effective and locally-targeted approach to cultural considerations for other ways of working, customs and practices.

Qualifications, Knowledge And Skills • Knowledge of the UK marine defence market (particularly submarine, or other near-field

highly regulated industry) - covering customers/competitors, market segment values, trends, new platform developments, technology providers.

• Knowledge of the core engineering capabilities: submarine systems, naval architecture, system design, software product development and reverse engineering.

• It is expected that the applicant would have an engineering background and demonstrable exposure to and success in project management, business development and business management. • An understanding of Export Controls, Dual-Use and Foreign Regulatory Frameworks (e.g. ITAR, EAR) are highly desirable – but not essential.

Personal Characteristics

• Ability to manage multiple tasks, be organised and drive projects to a successful outcome. • Independent, self-motivated, flexible and with a can-do attitude. • Highly developed interpersonal skills with a diplomatic and professional approach to

people. • The confidence to challenge practices and the willingness to question to gain a full

understanding of issues. • A willingness to embrace change and the ability to implement new processes. • Good administrative and financial skills, including record keeping. • A team player who uses initiative is enthusiastic and engaging. • Ability to travel worldwide as required (expectation is 10-15% travelling to meet customer

FACTS AND FIGURESPay & Benefits – Competitive PackageDepartment – Structural and Fluid Dynamics Reporting to – Technical ManagerLocation – Stoke Gifford, Bristol, BS16 1FJContract type – Full time, permanentJob Reference – 12/19

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