Aerospace & Defence

South Wales  - Travel to Site as required (Relocation Assistance Available)

Market Leading Package, including Share Options

Our client, part of a highly successful international parent has been at the forefront of design, manufacturing and technology for an innovative range of products to worldwide customers within the demanding Aerospace and Defence sectors.

As a result of rapid growth and contract wins, they are seeking an experienced Director of Engineering who will be responsible for implementing engineering strategy and in delivering the Product Development Road Map in line with organisational goals for highly engineered proprietary products.

Reporting to the President and Managing Director, you will be an influential part of the Senior Leadership Team and will play a key role in supporting the team with “best in class” technical expertise, strategic oversight and the decision making process. This will require close working with your peers to ensure that adequate and appropriate engineering resources is allocated to support the delivery of customer orders as well as in providing the necessary technical expertise to support the pursuit of profitable new business.

As the champion of the company’s Safety Management System, you will also oversee the Quality Assurance and Compliance of the business to ensure that appropriate accreditations of the business are retained/gained and will play a leading role in driving improvements across all areas of the function to enhance project delivery, support legacy business and develop lean business

The Role

• Instil a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, responsiveness to customers, on-time delivery and development of profitable new business; set the standard and pace
• Provide clear vision and leadership to the Engineering, Quality and Compliance teams; inspire, motivate and coach the team to help them develop new skills and support succession planning
• Own the process, procedures and tools employed by the team in executing the work assigned to them to ensure quality, safety, delivery, performance and customer requirements are being met
• Evaluate and continuously improve the company’s Business and Safety Management Systems
• Oversee, authorise, validate and qualify all aspects of design to ensure fitness for purpose
• Anticipate, identify and resolve technical issues that pose a risk to safety, quality, schedule or performance
• Oversee Intellectual property strategies that protect the company's proprietary designs, processes, and inventions
• Seek and understand competitor offerings and technologies in the marketplace, assess their technical strengths and weaknesses and support a competitive response
• Play an active role in the preparation of technical and contract documentation to support the bid management process
• Maintain understanding and compliance to standards and regulations as required in and/or by contract, including ISO 9001, DAOS, MAA Regulatory Articles, Def-Stans, Mil-Standards
• Drive KPI’s across the function to ensure that all projects are delivered on cost and on time to the highest quality standards; play an active role in creating value and improving efficiency & productivity
• Establish and be accountable for the Annual Business Plan for R&D as well as issues associated with CAPEX, departmental overheads and budgetary management
• Be part of the strategic plan process and deliver on the longer term product development goals
• Complete all required reporting within established timeframe, present information in a concise manner to various audiences, present at quarterly reviews with the parent, answer related questions with a knowledgeable and forward-thinking approach
• Hold the Head of Design Organisation post as defined in the MAA Regulatory Articles

The Candidate

• Strong ethical and moral compass: able to work across functions within a non-political, open and honest business culture that has an overarching commitment towards “value creation” and the on time delivery of consistently reliable engineered products
• Credible leader, influencer and motivator of others, people orientated and able to give insight into the development of the team, making changes and improvements
• Well-developed inter-personal skills: dynamic, positive and enthusiastic, with the ability to negotiate, think laterally and act through reasoned decision making
• Results orientated, good judgement and decision making skills; able to balance the requirements to work strategically in order to meet the company’s overall business plan with the “hands on” requirement to walk the floor and think on your feet
• Honest and open communicator who is able to prioritise information, keep colleagues informed and has a natural flair for developing strong customer relationships
• Strong presentation skills – able to develop and confidently deliver high impact, technically focused presentations to colleagues, customers and the parent company
• Educated to Degree level or equivalent in an engineering related subject
• A Chartered Engineer, ideally able to evidence continuing post-graduate professional development in general management disciplines
• Strong Defence & Aerospace Industry sector experience, including a technical understanding of MoD processes, components and design standards (DAOS, MIL STD, DEF STAN, STANAG) is highly desirable, although exceptional individuals with experience of working within other highly regulated sectors where “quality is critical to safety” may be considered
• Comfortable working at pace and able to demonstrate a successful track record of delivery in leading an engineering function across the full lifecycle within a highly responsive project orientated manufacturing and/or engineering environment
• Possess the technical, project management and systems engineering skills necessary to be able to respond quickly to a wide range of challenges associated with the development of small batch/proto-types, legacy and third party equipment, licensing, multi-site operations and support for low volume, highly complex products with long lead times
• Able to add value by utilising “imagination” to develop creative new products for the industry as well as in reducing costs and making business improvements
• Inspirational with the managerial, commercial, and financial competencies to influence and implement the company strategic plan
• Able to demonstrate a strong technical background with experience in Quality Assurance &  Compliance, also knowledgeable with all health, safety, and environmental requirements
• Well-developed strategic skills with the willingness to challenge existing practices
• Capable of enhancing our reputation in front of customers and regulators and be physically capable of taking an active part in product trials - Land, Air and Sea
• Full UK Driving Licence, valid Passport and willing to travel overseas
• Hold or be able to hold UK Security Clearance

Given the current health environment, this role will progress in the early stages through digital interviews. In the first instance, please reply with your CV quoting ref 20/1990 to our retained consultant David Smalley at Daniels Smalley Partnership, Pencoed Technology Centre, Pencoed CF35 5HZ or email david@dspsearch.co.uk