NPI & Bid Manager

A fantastic opportunity for a NPI & Bid Manager has arisen to join a leading, high-precision engineering and manufacturing organisation operating in a highly regulated environment. You'll be embedded within a specialist domain of supply chain and project procurement professionals, supporting complex NPI and bid activity across critical product and supplier categories.

This role focuses on delivering high-quality project procurement and supplier partnership management, ensuring effective supplier performance, contract development, and strategic sourcing decisions across a key portfolio. You will lead a Project Procurement team, influence DFM/DFT activity, and drive production readiness, make/buy strategy, and total cost of supply improvements.

Key responsibilities of the NPI & Bid Manager role and not be limited to:

Lead and develop the Projects & Bid / Project Procurement team.
Provide clear status updates on projects and ensure business priorities are met.
Ensure parameters and agreements are in place for new products transferring into production.
Identify and establish long-term supplier partners, focusing on total cost of supply and mutually beneficial partnerships.
Align with category managers to reduce the supplier base and ensure suppliers are the right size and demonstrate expected behaviours and outputs (quality and on-time delivery).
Ensure the team remains agile - continually monitor market conditions and adjust sourcing strategies accordingly.
Lead production readiness reviews and capacity planning to ensure suppliers can meet commitments and deliver required volumes.
Identify, present and influence technology enablement solutions to drive efficiency.
Ensure the NPI & Bid team supports and influences future designs with Engineering, using intelligence and capability from the supply chain.
Maximise DFM and DFT opportunities to reduce design cycle time, remove cost, and deliver efficient designs.
Collaborate and influence equivalent leads in Operations, Quality, Engineering, Programme Management and other functions to meet business objectives.
Implement make/buy strategies, including "turnkey" supplier solutions to reduce lead times and internal processing cost.
Continuously identify and deliver efficiency and cost savings initiatives.
Report monthly to senior leadership on initiatives, opportunities, risks, and progress against objectives.Key skills and experience required for NPI & Bid Manager and not limited to:

Proven experience leading and developing multi-disciplinary procurement or project sourcing teams within a complex engineering or manufacturing environment.
Strong leadership capability - track record of driving performance, developing talent, and aligning team objectives to business strategy.
Demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate across Engineering, Quality, Operations and Programme Management.
Extensive experience in strategic sourcing, supplier management and category strategy development - Aerospace, Defence, or other highly regulated sectors preferred.
Strong commercial acumen with focus on total cost of ownership, value optimisation and supplier performance management.
Track record of delivering measurable cost reduction and identifying long-term value creation opportunities.
Experience establishing and managing long-term supplier partnerships, including negotiation of complex agreements and intellectual property considerations.
Strong understanding of NPI and bid processes, with experience supporting DFM and DFT activities.
End-to-end product lifecycle management understanding (concept through production and sustainment).
Experience leading production readiness reviews, capacity planning and make/buy decisions to ensure supply readiness and resilience.
Ability to apply technology enablement and digital procurement tools to improve efficiency and decision-making.
Highly analytical - able to interpret market trends, risk, and supplier performance data to inform sourcing strategies.
Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, comfortable presenting to senior leadership.
Strong understanding of compliance, governance and intellectual property requirements in a defence or aerospace context.To apply for this NPI & Bid Manager candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK