Defence – Account Project manager

Leading the edge of transformation

You might know us for the great work we do across our wide variety of projects. We're proud to say it's thanks to our people's diversity of thought, expertise and knowledge. And when you join us, you'll be a part of this genuinely collaborative environment, where everyone's voice is valued and treated equally.

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Read more about how you can thrive with us.

Rise to the challenge and join us in the Programme Delivery Practice as an Account Area Lead in the Defence Market’s Submarine account. 

 

The Submarine account is one part of our Aerospace and Defence market where Atkins has established a significant presence across land, see, air, and digital domains. Our Submarine portfolio has a strong focus on work with Babcock, BAES and the Submarine Delivery Agency. The nature of the work we do is diverse, ranging from the deployment of individuals to augment our clients’ teams, through to the mobilisation of large, multi-disciplinary teams using collaborative forms of contract.

 

Our technical offering is also broad with significant expertise across design, engineering, nuclear safety, asset management, digital and project management / controls propositions (amongst others). This is an area of the market in which Atkins has shown significant growth and retained this growth trajectory through the challenges of Covid. Because of this growth we are reinvesting in the right skills to allow us to build a solid account model for the future and deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients.

Your purpose

 

This is an account management role, working as part of the Atkins Submarine Account within our Aerospace and Defence market. Our Account Area Leads have a crucial role to play in ensuring we build a strong and trusted relationship with our client, and that we maximise value for our client at all times. The Account Area Lead role will be a client-facing central point of contact for a client area, providing continuity for the client from bidding through to project delivery.  You will be accountable to the account leadership team for delivery of the Account Area Plan and setting of priorities within the Account Area to achieve the plan.

Working with the Client Manager and Delivery Director you will determine the business development, delivery support and resources they need to deliver the Account Area Plan. Overall account responsibility for business development and delivery will remain with the Client Manager and Delivery Director respectively (who in turn report to the Client Director). The balance of responsibilities will vary between Account Area requirements and individual skills but in general it is expected that the Account Area Leads will take a greater lead in aspects requiring client engagement.
This is an exciting chance to join a dynamic team as we drive an agenda of delivery and sales excellence to achieve year on year growth.

 

You will have management responsibility for a portfolio of projects, generally operating as Project Manager or Project Director on these.

 

These responsibilities include:

• Establishing robust project management plans and delivery arrangements

• Controlling financial and schedule performance

• Controlling quality, ensuring we are achieving the client’s goals

• Administering the contract in accordance with the contract

• Ensuring we have the right resources to deliver the work
 

 

Bidding:

 

You will be responsible for supporting and leading bidding activities in your area, satisfying Atkins internal governance requirements whilst achieving high quality bid management standards. Note that, depending upon the scale of any opportunity, a full complement of bid resources will be mobilised to support this activity.

 

 

Developing opportunities:

As an Account Area Lead a key part of your role is building high levels of client intimacy to ensure we fully understand the client’s needs. Through delivery this translates into a strong focus on quality and achieving the client’s outcomes. It also includes helping the account build a pipeline of future opportunities in the short, medium and long-term horizon. You will be encouraged to understand the breadth of the Atkins value proposition and, with support from the Market team, help to identify opportunities to help our clients.  You will also act as a bridge into our practices, articulating strategic capability development needs and support both market and practice strategies and plans

 

Account growth:

Our Submarine Account is in a period of significant growth. Account Area Leads are an integral part of our Account Team, and will work in support of the Client Director, Client Manager and Delivery Director to set the account strategy, manage our engagement, and deliver the target growth over the next few years. This role is therefore ideal for someone interested in a demanding role that straddles the strategic through to operational excellence.
 

 

What you can bring

 

 

• Strong project management and communication skills and recognised qualifications

• Experience in engineering or project management consultancy

• Domain expertise in nuclear engineering, naval engineering, defence, naval bases, submarines

• Experience in managing complex bids and proposals

• Relevant and recognised qualifications (nice to have) – APM, Prince2, MSP, MoP, MoR, Scrum, SaFE, DSDM

• Desire to operate at strategic and detail levels

• Ability to communicate complex  concepts with ease to a wide range of stakeholders

Why work for Atkins?

 

Our Aerospace, Defence, Security & Technology (ADS&T) teams provide independent and objective advice in mission-critical sectors. Join us to make a direct difference in helping our country to achieve its security and defence goals. From advisory, conceptual design and acquisition, through transformation, manufacture, certification and in-service support. You'll be working alongside some of the top people in the industry.

We value diversity and believe that everyone deserves to thrive, without exception. So, you'll be part of a culture that wants to see more women in senior roles. We have signed the MoD's "Women in Defence" and "Women in Aviation and Aerospace" charters. These pledges include providing opportunities for women to succeed at all levels. We're also committed to being a Military friendly employer and have been recognised with the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) Gold Employer Recognition Award.