Head of Supply Chain

Overview

The Head of Supply Chain owns all product‑related procurement, production scheduling, supplier development and end‑to‑end supply chain architecture across Tekever's UK manufacturing operations. The role builds the supply chain that allows us to ramp serial production of the AR3 and AR5 platforms while protecting margin, lead time, quality and sovereign‑content commitments to UK and allied customers. You will be hands‑on enough to fix a stalled production line on a Tuesday, and strategic enough to negotiate a multi‑year framework with a tier‑one composites supplier on a Wednesday.

Key Responsibilities

• Procurement and product‑related purchasing – Own the full purchasing portfolio for direct materials across all UK‑built platforms. Build and execute the annual procurement plan; deliver year‑on‑year cost‑out targets without compromising quality or lead time. Lead commercial negotiations on long‑term agreements, framework contracts and one‑off strategic buys, including price, payment terms, liability, IP, warranty, obsolescence and exit clauses. Establish category strategies for each major commodity, including make‑vs‑buy assessments in conjunction with Engineering and Manufacturing. Drive should‑cost analysis, total‑cost‑of‑ownership thinking and value‑engineering initiatives in partnership with Engineering.
• Production scheduling and planning – Act as the key UK stakeholder in the Group Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning (SIOP) process. Ensure the UK build plan, materials plan and supplier call‑off plan are fully aligned to the Group SIOP outputs. Operate and continually improve MRP/ERP master data, BOMs, lead times, safety stocks and reorder policies; partner with IT on ERP rollout, migration or upgrade as the business scales. Set and hold inventory targets that balance availability against working capital; report and reduce dead, slow‑moving and obsolete stock. Lead the UK production planning function, ensuring customer commitments, engineering changes and operational disruption are reflected in the shop‑floor schedule in real time and fed back into the Group SIOP process.
• Supplier development and management – Segment the supplier base; build differentiated relationships ranging from arm's‑length transactional through to strategic, jointly‑invested partnerships. Lead supplier qualification, audit and onboarding in line with AS9100/IPC and Tekever quality requirements; partner with the Quality function on PPAP, first article inspection and ongoing performance management. Run a measurable supplier performance regime: OTIF, PPM, NCR, cost, responsiveness, capacity, financial health, ESG and cyber posture. Drive supplier development plans for under‑performing or single‑source suppliers – capacity expansion, process improvement, dual‑sourcing, in‑sourcing or replacement. Identify and develop UK‑based suppliers to support sovereign‑content and prosperity commitments associated with MoD, Home Office and allied programmes.
• Supply chain setup and rationalisation – Stand up the supply chain for the new Swindon manufacturing facility, including inbound logistics, goods‑in, warehousing, kitting, line‑side feed, stores and outbound dispatch. Lead the rationalisation of the existing supplier base inherited from Tekever's historic Portuguese and UK operations: consolidate spend, eliminate duplication, dual‑source critical components, and exit poor‑performing suppliers in a controlled way. Design and operate the network: which parts are sourced in the UK, which in mainland Europe, which globally; how risk is spread; where buffers sit; how spares and MRO are positioned to support deployed customers including Ukraine, the UK Home Office and the RAF. Build the supply chain risk and resilience programme: geopolitical exposure, single points of failure, conflict minerals, sanctions, export control, and the cyber security of the supplier base. Ensure full compliance with UK Strategic Export Controls, ITAR/EAR where applicable, and the security and IT‑handling requirements of UK MoD and allied defence customers.
• Leadership – Build, lead and develop a multi‑disciplinary team across buying, planning, supplier quality, supplier development, logistics and stores. Scale the team in line with production ramp. Sit on the UK operations leadership team; partner closely with Engineering, Programmes, Manufacturing, Quality, Finance and Commercial. Represent supply chain to the executive, to customers (including MoD), to investors and to government stakeholders involved in the OVERMATCH programme.

Qualifications

• Significant senior supply chain leadership experience in a regulated, engineered‑product environment – defence, aerospace, automotive, complex electronics, medical devices or similar.
• Demonstrable track record of standing up, scaling or rationalising a supply chain through a major step‑change in volume – a new factory, a programme ramp, a major acquisition or an in‑sourcing decision.
• Deep, hands‑on capability across both strategic procurement and tactical production planning – this role is not split between two people.
• Strong supplier development credentials: you have personally turned suppliers around, qualified new ones to AS9100/IPC/equivalent, and walked the shop floor of your strategic partners.
• Fluent with ERP/MRP environments (SAP, IFS, Microsoft Dynamics, Epicor or comparable) and the master‑data discipline that makes them work.
• Commercially sharp: contract negotiation, cost modelling, working‑capital management, currency exposure.
• Comfortable in the regulatory environment of UK defence: export controls, security classification, sovereign‑content obligations.
• Eligible for UK SC clearance and must be eligible for BPSS from day one.
• Desirable: MCIPS qualified or working towards.
• Direct experience with UAS, aerospace structures (composites and metallics), avionics, RF payloads, EO/IR sensors, or small propulsion/battery systems.
• Experience working to UK MoD, DE&S or international defence customer requirements – DEFCONs, FAR/DFARS, ITAR.
• Prior experience supplying or supporting an active operational theatre, including spares and MRO at pace.
• Lean/Six Sigma/SCOR or equivalent operating‑system credentials.
• Degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management or a related discipline.

Company Overview

Tekever is the European leader in AI‑driven Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), delivering autonomous platforms – including the AR3, AR3 EVO and AR5 – to defence, security and government customers across the UK, Europe and allied nations. Our systems have logged over 10,000 operational flight hours in Ukraine and form the aerial platform for the Royal Air Force's StormShroud programme. Through our five‑year, £400m OVERMATCH investment programme, Tekever is building the UK's largest drone production capability – including a new 254,000sqft facility in Swindon – and creating more than 1,000 highly skilled British jobs.

What We Offer

• Salary commensurate with level of experience.
• Company pension contribution matched up to 10%.
• 25days annual holiday + 8Bank holidays.
• Medical insurance.
• Dental insurance.
• Salary‑sacrifice initiatives (EV Scheme, Cycle to Work, Tech Scheme).
• Discretionary annual company bonus.