Project / Operation Manager

You are the execution engine behind every UK contract Xtend signs. This is not a traditional PMO role. You will build delivery, logistics, and operational discipline from the ground up - the structure that lets us scale from a single contract to a portfolio of MOD programmes without compromising quality or pace. The right candidate builds process while delivering the work, not before it.

Core responsibilities

• Own delivery end-to-end across every UK contract - MAB, RAPSTONE, and the programmes coming behind them. Whatever it takes to ship on time and on specification.
• Build the operational backbone: project plans, supplier coordination, RACI, milestones, customer reporting. The structure does not yet exist - you create it.
• Run logistics, equipment movement, demos, and training events. Hands on the kit, not just on the schedule.
• Coordinate execution across UK technical, BD, compliance, and global engineering teams - across time zones and engineering cultures.
• Track delivery, budget, and risk at the project level. Escalate early. Resolve quickly.
• Stand up the new UK facility as a delivery project in its own right - lease, fit-out, lab move, security, IT.
• Be the operational single point of contact when customers need a decision the same day.

• 5+ years running delivery or operations in defence, aerospace, or regulated hardware - ideally in environments small enough that you executed the work yourself.
• Proven track record taking complex multi-stakeholder programmes from kick-off to delivery, against firm contractual milestones.
• Builder, not maintainer. You have built process and structure from a blank page before, not only operated inside someone else's system.
• Equally comfortable in a boardroom, a warehouse, and a lab.
• Sharp written and verbal communication - able to run a customer review and produce the minutes the same day.
• Fluent English; right to work in the UK.
• Strong advantage: ex-military or MOD background, PRINCE2 / APM, prior UAV or unmanned systems exposure.

Environment and expectations

• Xtend UK is a fast-growing defence-tech company. Pace is high, structure is being built, and ownership is real.
• You will be expected to contribute beyond the formal scope of your role. Team members support each other to execute the mission successfully.
• Mission-first mentality. We are building capability that ends up in the hands of operators - that comes before process and hierarchy.
• This role is about making things happen in a setting where the playbook is still being written. Comfort with operational ambiguity is essential.
• Expect to design processes lean and iterate - not to import a heavyweight corporate PMO model.
• Problem-solving and logistics improvisation are part of the daily routine. The work is hands-on as much as it is strategic.
• Execution speed matters. We operate with urgency, high ownership, and a strong bias toward action.