Project Controller

Location: Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales people architect solutions that enable two-thirds of planes to take off and land safely. We create in-flight entertainment systems that engross 50 million fliers every year and we develop the avionics that control the world’s largest commercial aircrafts. Our simulators train the next generation of pilots for fighter jets, transporters and search and rescue helicopters. And, together, each and every member of our aerospace team makes a difference.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Project Controller

Location: Crawley, hybrid working arrangement with 3 days in the office.

Are you looking for your next career opportunity in Project Controls or are you looking for a change in career? If you have a background in PMO, Planning, Estimating/ Cost office, or Risk this could be a new career opportunity for you!

What the role has to offer

• Opportunity to champion the deployment of best-practice Project Controls across bids and projects, fully aligned with Thales’ standards

• Working within a friendly & supportive team

Our Opportunity

We are looking to recruit a passionate and driven Project Controller to join the Training & Simulation area of Avionics. AVS supplies flight avionics, electrical power generation and conversion, and in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems. It encompasses training and simulation solutions for air, land and joint forces as well as microwave and imaging subsystems.

As Project Controller, you will drive PMO leadership by delivering expert Project Controls that ensure accurate, integrated, and insightful bid and project planning and reporting. You’ll monitor and analyse schedules to empower informed, timely decisions that uphold our customer commitments.

Ideal candidates have experience in planning, scheduling, data analysis, and cost control within complex engineering or manufacturing environments, including schedule compilation, reporting, budgeting, and risk management. Experienced or new to Project Control, we welcome your passion and diverse backgrounds!

What we offer you

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package designed to support our employees’ wellbeing and professional growth, which includes:

• Pension
• Life Assurance – 2 x base salary minimum (8 x salary if part of the pension scheme)
• Income Protection – 50% of salary less state benefits for 5 years
• Annual Leave – 201 hours, bank holidays, plus 1 company day
• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 1:00pm
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• 24 hours paid leave for volunteering activities
• Access to flexible benefits and discounts – dental insurance, buying & selling annual leave, cycle to work, and many more

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

• Lead deployment and performance of Project Controls for Portfolio or Project

• Develop and manage Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) using Primavera P6, ensuring best practices, logical task linking, appropriate detail, and capturing all dependencies

• Facilitate planning workshops and support IMS reviews, monitoring critical path and project health

• Implement and maintain change control over baselines, ensuring clear Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) tracking

• Monitor performance by analysing trends, variances, and cross-portfolio dependencies; recommend corrective actions

• Establish business rhythm through reviews (ETC, schedule, risk) and timely consolidated reporting; define and track metrics with leadership

• Manage accurate resource profiles for labour and material, recommending optimizations

• For senior roles, coach teams in Project Controls best practices and facilitate peer reviews

• Ensure compliance with company processes and provide subject matter expertise on tools

• Promote continuous improvement, innovation, and lessons learned integration to enhance PMO capabilities

About You

At Thales, we are committed to equal opportunities and welcome all talented individuals to consider joining our team. So even if you don't match every statement below but feel you have some of the experience, knowledge or skills needed for this role, we encourage you to apply. It will take all of us working together to deliver solutions to the world’s most critical challenges.

Essential:

• Proven expertise in building strong stakeholder relationships across complex, cross-functional environments and structuring engineering projects using best practices (WBS, IMS, PMB, Critical Path Analysis)

• Experienced in designing, deploying, and enhancing Project Controls, managing systems (schedule updates, performance measures, change control), and leveraging data (variance analysis, SRA, CRA, EVM) for informed decision-making

• Skilled in establishing governance frameworks, coaching teams, and fostering continuous improvement

• Demonstrated strong interpersonal, influencing, and motivational skills; excels in structuring fast-paced environments with customer focus

• Calm, detail-oriented, effective collaborator and communicator, self-driven with strong prioritization and change management abilities

Desirable:

• Proactively mitigate risk via project reviews and daily Project Controls throughout all project stages (Bid to Closure and In-Service Support)

• Experienced in supporting diverse project types

• Skilled in Primavera P6 and Acumen FUSE

• Knowledgeable in advanced Project Control techniques (e.g., Earned Value Management, Schedule Risk Analysis), with deployment experience in senior roles

• Experience of utilising risk management tools in complex environments

Ready to take the next step in your career within Training & Simulation area of Avionics? This is your chance to explore exciting opportunities in Project Controls. Don’t wait - bring your skills and passion to a rewarding new role today!

Security Clearance Statement

This role will require SC Clearance. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant will undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance.

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.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the National Security Vetting (NSV) Agency - United Kingdom Security Vetting - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

#LI-VG1

In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here, apply now!