Assistant Availability Manager

Assistant Availability Manager – 12 month fixed term contract – Bristol, United Kingdom

Bristol, United Kingdom

Reporting to the Availability & Performance Manager (AVPM), the primary purpose of this role is to provide Supply Chain and Asset Management services to a range of Royal Naval Sensor Systems managed by the MSET contract, whilst complying with contractual and legal logistics commitments. The role supports the reliability and availability of assets, coordinates logistics and documentation, and implements supply‑chain activities to meet or exceed all contractual KPIs/PIs.

• Work closely with Asset Management, Digital, ILS and Obsolescence teams to develop provisioning tools that allow a real‑time, forward and backward look of assets and availability.
• Support the AVPM in ensuring all logistics management tools and processes are fit for purpose and regularly reviewed for efficiency and accuracy; conduct trend and data analysis to standardise best practices across the contract environment.
• Assist the AVPM during internal audits and, if requested, support asset audits conducted by the customer and GIAA at each site and sub‑contractor premises.
• Contribute to the annual review and update of all required asset control documentation and deliverable documents.
• Compile and deliver the Disposal Plan on behalf of the AVPM.
• Represent the AVPM at the weekly logistics meeting, providing a monthly brief, and support the AVPM at customer asset meetings.
• Coordinate with the Customer Service Office or Operations personnel to ensure material deliveries comply with customer needs, align with the Asset Management Plan, and meet contractual KPIs/PIs.
• Anticipate customer issues, raise alerts when appropriate, and resolve any arising problems or constraints.
• Support annual workshops and education sessions to ensure optimisation and adherence to shared best practice.
• Collate and review KPI/PI measure data to ensure it accurately captures contractual performance and is fit for customer review.
• Contribute to ensuring MSET transformation activity is sufficiently supported from the Asset Management function.

• Excellent communication and strong stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to solve problems and remain calm under pressure when responding to operational incidents and competing priorities.
• Experience of working and collaborating in a matrix environment.
• Excellent planning skills.
• Strong understanding of the MOD Supply Chain Process and Procedures.
• Strong understanding of the Supply Chain Process.
• Demonstrable commercial and contract knowledge.

We’re committed to giving you opportunities to be your best. We believe in embracing the passion and potential of our people and, to achieve this, we offer market‑leading training, development, and experiences, along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry. We hire from within as our first priority, providing a myriad of opportunities within our diverse, global organisation.

Your health and well‑being matters to us and that’s why we offer flexibility to do what’s important to you – whether that’s part‑time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

This role will require SC Clearance. It would be advantageous if currently held; if not, it is a requirement that the successful applicant will undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance. You must generally have resided in the UK for the last 5 years (or 3 years in some circumstances) to be eligible for full SC clearance. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance, please refer to the National Security Vetting Agency () and the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting Agency.

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier‑free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro‑diverse applicants or those with a disability or long‑term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, or if you need this job advert in an alternative format, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid‑to‑senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.