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.
24 Month Fixed Term position
Primary Purpose of the Role:
The Work Package Manager – Skills and Competency is responsible for maintaining and evolving the IAS Skills Referential, collaborating closely with Job Function Managers, key stakeholders, and Function Academies to define and articulate core capabilities for each Job Function within IAS. This role ensures the identification and continual assessment of function and domain-specific skills and competencies required at every level, delivering clear competency and skill roadmaps that guide role-relevant learning journeys. The Work Package Manager (WPM) balances strategic and hands-on delivery to design, coordinate, and embed structured learning pathways, fostering a skilled, competent, and SQEP (Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel) workforce aligned with current and future organisational capability needs.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead on IAS Skills Referential, assigning owners, gathering and structuring learning content for each skill from Level 1 beginner to Level 4 Mastery
- Define core capabilities and competency requirements for each Job Function, detailing skills needed across all competency levels.
- Lead structured training needs analysis activities across job functions and translate TNA outputs into actionable learning and development plans.
- Guide and coach job function heads through the TNA process, ensuring they understand how to identify skills gaps and development priorities.
- Identify skill gaps and development needs at function and domain levels, driving strategies to develop and sustain SQEP within IAS
- Create, publish and maintain a Knowledge Map for IAS to include S&E’s, Skill owners, SME’s, PDA’s, PLM’s
- Provide clear, visible competency and skill roadmaps to ensure employees at all levels have defined, role-relevant learning and development journeys.
- Align learning and development initiatives with business objectives, future capability requirements, and organisational standards.
Skills
- Proven experience in learning & development, training project management, or organisational capability roles.
- Strong understanding of training needs analysis methodologies and practical application.
- Demonstrated ability to maintain and develop competency frameworks, job role mappings, and learning roadmaps.
- Analytical and problem-solving capabilities with attention to detail and a methodical approach.
- Experience working with senior stakeholders to define skills, capabilities, and development priorities.
- Ability to translate skill gap insights and business needs into actionable learning and development solutions
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.
If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities. Join the Talent Community here.
Join Thales in the UK – Innovate with us and shape the future!
Skills Required
- Proven experience in learning & development, training project management, or organisational capability roles.
- Strong understanding of training needs analysis methodologies and practical application.
- Experience working with senior stakeholders to define skills, capabilities, and development priorities.
- Excellent project management, communication, and facilitation skills.
Thales Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Thales and has not been reviewed or approved by Thales.
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Retirement Support — Retirement plans with employer contributions and matches, profit sharing, and share purchase opportunities are emphasized across multiple regions. These elements are positioned as competitive components of total rewards.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO that increases with tenure, paid holidays, and paid military, maternity, and paternity leave are described. This breadth supports work–life balance across locations.
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Flexible Benefits — Hybrid work options, flexible schedules, and parental supports such as childcare benefits and leave for sick children are available in several markets. Flexibility is presented as a core part of the employee experience.
Thales Insights
What We Do
Thales is a global high technology leader investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations – connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum technology – to build a future we can all trust, which is vital to the development of our societies. The company provides solutions, services and products that help its customers – businesses, organisations and states – in the defence, aeronautics, space, transportation and digital identity and security markets to fulfil their critical missions, by placing humans at the heart of the decision-making process.
