Obsolescence Manager

Location: Templecombe, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

UK Services is a holistic life cycle process through which the combination of management and engineering actions necessary to assure effective and economical through-life support of a system or capability are accomplished as an integral part of the acquisition process.

The Obsolescence Management function within UK Services has cross-domain responsibilities.

Obsolescence Management activities are aimed at ensuring that Obsolescence is managed as an integral part of the whole product life cycle, in order to minimize the obsolescence risk and hence cost and detrimental impact.

Based Crawley or Templecombe - Hybrid working arrangement: 3 days per week on site (based on full time hours )

Primary Purpose of the role

Normally based on the Project Site, the primary purpose of the Obsolescence Manager Role is to:

Manage the obsolescence activities to minimise risk to the Project(s) and to deliver coherent and relevant Obsolescence Plans and Reports on time, within budget and meeting quality standards.

Interface between the Component Engineering function and the Project team and its customers.

Core tasks and responsibilities

• Issue the obsolescence deliverables on time, within budget, and in accordance with specified contractual requirements. The Obsolescence Manager shall ensure that all obsolescence-related documents delivered to the customer are published in the company Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system. He/she is responsible for managing the document review process.
• Manage the Work Package(s) budget and resources he/she is accountable for. He/she shall ensure that the required resources are allocated in the company Programme Management tool.
• Define and maintain the obsolescence strategy on related equipments covered by the Project(s) he/she is responsible for, flow-down that strategy internally and to suppliers via the Subcontract Management function and monitor obsolescence accordingly.
• Regularly report progress on his/her Work Package(s) to the relevant Project Manager(s) and Functional Management as required.
• Pro-actively monitor obsolescence issues (current or forecasted) affecting the programme(s) he/she is responsible for and recommend appropriate mitigation activities and managing the LTB procurement process as necessary.
• Liaise with customers (internal and external) to ensure that expectations are aligned;
• Risk identification, management and reporting to the Project Manager;
• Additional Project-specific activities and responsibilities as agreed with the Project and Functional Managers.

Project Specific Tasks and Responsibilities

The role may additionally have need for Project-specific skills and experience as agreed with Project and Functional Management.

Qualifications & Experience Required

• Engineering degree or HND in a numerate discipline.
• Microsoft Office (mandatory). Microsoft Office (mandatory): Strong proficiency beyond basic usage, including experience with macros and advanced Excel functionalities.
• Relevant experience preferred.
• The experience required depends on the size and exposure of the programme(s). But, as a minimum, an experience of one year in one of the following domains is required: Programme Management; Programme Control; Work Package Management; UK SERVICES; Engineering
• Experience in the obsolescence domain is not necessary but is preferred.

Security Clearance Requirement:
Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires you to be a sole British National and achieve Security Clearance (SC) without any caveats.. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment.
To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years' residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.
Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance: .

At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

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