Senior Commercial Officer
Salary £ 50,000 - £55,000
Bedford
Vacancy listed 01/04/2026
Application deadline 14/05/2026
Details
ARA is a unique SME representing some of the best engineering of our time. With a strong and rich heritage, we are proud to have a passionate workforce of highly skilled engineering and aerodynamic professionals. We are a leading specialist in model design and manufacture, aerodynamic testing and numerous associated technologies, e.g. Computational Fluid Dynamics.  We are actively involved in research, providing meaningful and innovative solutions and services to our global customer base.

Our site in Bedford is centred around our impressive transonic wind tunnel – the equipment which drives it – whilst the research performed is often unique to ARA and involves many bespoke processes.

Job Brief:

As a Senior Commercial Officer you will be involved in ensuring that proposals to ARA’s customer are priced, developed and approved in an acceptable manner to submit the associated offers, as well as negotiating, agreeing and supporting contracts that provide a robust commercial framework within which ARA can deliver best of class capabilities to customers while minimising risk and maximising shareholder value.  In addition, you will provide support to contract delivery activities as relevant.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Work with Bid Managers to understand requirements and corresponding solutions, generating a suitable commercial proposition
  • Contribute to the generation of the bid plan such that Commercial inputs/milestones can be satisfied 
  • Lead and manage the Estimate Review Form (ERF) process such that credible prices are available for approval (aligned to the bid plan)
  • Lead and manage the Request for Bid Approval (RBA) process on behalf of the Bid Manager
  • Manage senior stakeholders expectations throughout the bid activity
  • Prepare high quality proposals for customer submission and conduct/support contract negotiations with customers
  • Undertake relevant contract administration and the preparation of data to support Senior Management reviews
  • Maintain awareness of governance processes and awareness of best commercial and governance practice
  • Interpret contract requirements and provide advice to delivery project managers and the senior team
  • Support contract closure.
  • Compliance with Health & Safety, Quality Standards and Site Security Procedures
 
Needs to Know:

  • Currently operating within or has relevant Commercial/operational/business experience
  • Demonstrable, strong Commercial customer engagement/management experience, preferably in a technical environment.
  • A good understanding of how the opportunities the business pursues fit into the overall business strategy
  • Analytical experience or knowledge
  • IT literate with a good knowledge of Work Excel and other MS Office Packages
 
Needs to Be/Have:

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including in pressurised situations and to senior stakeholders
  • Ability to articulate and influence management information in a simple and succinct manner
  • Highly collaborative with curiosity and an enquiring mind
  • High levels of integrity and drive to ‘do the right thing’ for customers and ARA
  • Be a confident, self-motivated individual with strong organisational skills and discipline
  • Have the ability to listen and identify opportunities as a result of feedback/emerging opportunities
 
Key relationships:

  • Head of Business Development, Commercial and Procurement
  • BD team
  • COO and team
  • Wide range of technical staff within ARA from across all engineering functions
  • Engagement with adjacent enabling functions, eg Legal, Group Tax etc.
  • External business relationships as relevant to the role.
Measures of Performance:

  • Demonstrable contribution to bid plans and adherence to timescales
  • Clear articulation of Commercial propositions and proposed solutions
  • Early and pro-active flagging of issues and proposed mitigations
  • Positive behaviour set (particularly under pressure).
 
Please note that we operate a preferred supplier list for recruitment agencies. We are not seeking additional agency support for this vacancy and kindly ask that speculative approaches are not made.

The successful candidate must satisfy security clearance requirements – including the last 5 years continual UK residency.

Aircraft Research Association Ltd is proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer. We recognise the value in an inclusive and diverse workforce and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified people.

Benefits

Annual leave – 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays per annum
Contributory pension scheme whereby the company matches up to a 7% contribution
Private medical insurance
Life cover of 3 x basic annual salary
Enhanced company sick pay
BAE shares as part of the BAE share incentive plan (SIP)

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