Principal Contracts Specialist

Reposted 21 Days Ago
Be an Early Applicant
Harlow, Essex, England, GBR
In-Office
Mid level
Aerospace • Industrial
The future of aerospace and defense
The Role
The Principal Contracts Specialist will provide contractual governance, support bids and proposals, negotiate contracts, manage existing contracts, and work cross-functionally to resolve commercial issues, while ensuring compliance and risk management.
Summary Generated by Built In

Date Posted:

2026-04-21

Country:

United Kingdom

Location:

Harlow, Essex

Position Role Type:

Hybrid

Benefits:

  • £: Competitive salary
  • Contributory Pension Scheme (up to 10.5% company contribution)
  • 6 times salary ‘Life Assurance’ with pension
  • 25 days holiday (increasing with service) + statutory public holidays, plus opportunity to buy and sell up to 5 days (37hr)
  • Company bonus scheme (discretionary)
  • Flexible Benefits scheme with extensive salary sacrifice schemes, including Health Cashplan, Dental, and Cycle to Work amongst others
  • Enhanced sick pay
  • Enhanced family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, paternity & shared parental leave

Work Culture

  • 37hr working week, although hours may vary depending on role, job requirement or site-specific arrangements.
  •  Early 1.30pm finish Friday, start your weekend early!
  • Remote, hybrid and site based working opportunities, dependant on your needs and the requirements of the role.
  • Up to 5 paid days volunteering each year.
  • Flexible working culture focused on output, with more formal flexible working arrangements on request (assessed subject to role) - please highlight any requests to the Talent Acquisition team.

About us

At Raytheon UK, we take immense pride in being a leader in defence and aerospace technology. As an employer, we are dedicated to fuelling innovation, nurturing talent, and fostering a culture of excellence.
Joining our team means being part of an organisation that shapes the future of national security whilst investing in your growth and personal development. We provide a collaborative environment, abundant opportunities for professional development, and a profound sense of purpose in what we do. Together, we are not just advancing technology; we're building a community committed to safeguarding a safer and more connected world.

Our Business

As a leading defence and aerospace company operating across the United Kingdom, Raytheon UK helps to solve our customers’ toughest challenges. We are a major supplier to the UK government and customers around the globe, providing defence solutions across all domains: land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. We also provide digital and training transformation solutions to commercial and military customers.

With circa 2000 employees and major facilities operating throughout the UK including Broughton (Wales), Livingston and Glenrothes (Scotland), and Harlow, Gloucester, and Manchester (England); we are committed to investing in British careers and technology development.

TTS

Through advanced technology and our people’s expertise, our Training Transformation Services is modernising what’s possible in the training and preparation of our armed forces. With a real blended approach to learning and using the latest innovative systems and technology, we ensure our service men and women really are prepared for any situation.

About the role:

As a highly valued contracts and commercial specialist you are expected to be a business enabler, supporting both the winning and subsequent delivery of a profitable business.  Making our company one that our customers see as easy to contract with and work with through the delivery of their programmes.  You will provide contractual and commercial governance and advice to the bid and project teams as the subject matter expert in your contracting area, support multiple contracts and provide flexibility as the business requires.

Main Duties:

  • Provide full contractual and commercial support through development, approval and issuance of bids and proposals, whether in response to RFP/ITN or as part of the company strategy.
  • Identify any commercial risk, provide input to the overall risk plan and implement effective risk mitigation.
  • Lead in the negotiation of contracts.
  • Manage new and existing contracts effectively, including all contract change control and support to the other functions, including contract flow-downs. 
  • Resolve all commercial issues promptly and effectively.
  • Manage the financial aspects of the contract, including forecasting and milestone plans (including timely claim submission).
  • Be the commercial face of the organisation to the customer, as the day to day contact and subject matter expert.
  • Assure the successful completion, closedown and archive of contracts.
  • Be the champion of change and improvement.

Candidate Requirements:

Essential:

  • Eligible for SC Clearance
  • Relevant degree or equivalent experience.
  • Experience in reviewing and drafting contractual documents
  • Strong commercial awareness, business principles and governing law.
  • Experience of commercial risk management.
  • An ability to respond to tasks with tenacity and flexibility, whilst working cross functionally in a multi-disciplinary team.
  • Strong communicator and relationship builder with both internal and external customers.
  • An ability to remain calm under pressure and collaborate with others.
  • Positive, self-motivated and the ability to work independently.
  • A willingness and ability to travel occasionally (outside of Hybrid working).

Desirable:

  • Previous experience of contracting in the Defence sector.
  • Accreditation in Commercial and Supply Chain management.
  • Basic programme management skill set – Risk Management/Programme Gating/ Metrics.
  • Strong record of problem solving and dispute resolution.
  • Experience of working with international suppliers or customers.
  • Experience of Financial Management.
  • Awareness of Data Protection and other relevant commercial and contract legislation.
  • Familiarity with business process management tools (IPDS, SAP or similar) and the competitive bidding process.

Please ensure the role type defined below is appropriate for your needs before applying to this role. This position is classified as:

Hybrid: Employees who are working in Hybrid roles will work regularly both onsite and offsite. Ratio of time working onsite will be determined in partnership with your leader.

#LI-MF1

RTX adheres to the principles of equal employment. All qualified applications will be given careful consideration without regard to ethnicity, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.  

Privacy Policy and Terms:

Click on this link to read the Policy and Terms

Skills Required

  • Eligible for SC Clearance
  • Relevant degree or equivalent experience
  • Experience in reviewing and drafting contractual documents
  • Strong commercial awareness, business principles and governing law
  • Experience of commercial risk management
  • Ability to respond with tenacity and flexibility
  • Strong communicator and relationship builder
  • Ability to remain calm under pressure and collaborate
  • Positive and self-motivated
  • Willingness to travel occasionally
  • Previous experience of contracting in the Defence sector
  • Accreditation in Commercial and Supply Chain management
  • Basic programme management skill set
  • Strong record of problem solving and dispute resolution
  • Experience working with international suppliers or customers
  • Experience of Financial Management
  • Awareness of Data Protection and relevant legislation
  • Familiarity with business process management tools

RTX Compensation & Benefits Highlights

The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about RTX and has not been reviewed or approved by RTX.

  • Healthcare Strength Company materials highlight comprehensive medical, dental, and vision options with HSA‑eligible plans and company HSA contributions where applicable, alongside wellness incentives. This depth is presented as part of a broad, competitive package.
  • Retirement Support Retirement programs include a 401(k) with company matching and, in some business units, an additional age‑based retirement contribution, supported by a unified RTX Savings Plan structure. These features signal a competitive total retirement offering.
  • Leave & Time Off Breadth Time‑off and flexibility options include paid time off, family leave, and alternative schedules such as 9/80 in many roles. These options are highlighted as valued work–life balance features.

RTX Insights

Am I A Good Fit?
beta
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.

The Company
HQ: Waltham, MA
185,000 Employees
Year Founded: 2020

What We Do

With more than 185,000 global employees, RTX pushes the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges.

Similar Jobs

Teya Logo Teya

Strategy Manager

Fintech • Payments • Financial Services
In-Office
London, Greater London, England, GBR
1000 Employees

Teya Logo Teya

Head of Supply Chain and Logistics

Fintech • Payments • Financial Services
In-Office
London, Greater London, England, GBR
1000 Employees
Hybrid
City of London, City and County of the City of London, England, GBR
205000 Employees
Hybrid
City of London, City and County of the City of London, England, GBR
205000 Employees

Similar Companies Hiring

Onebrief Thumbnail
Software • Defense
US
350 Employees
Turion Space Thumbnail
Aerospace • Artificial Intelligence • Hardware • Information Technology • Software • Defense • Manufacturing
Irvine, CA
150 Employees
Outpost Space Thumbnail
Aerospace • Defense
US
24 Employees

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account