Fit for Defence Executive

Fit For Defence Executive

Permanent

Home based, with occasional travel (South West England location preferable but not essential)

Full Time

Competitive salaries and excellent benefits including up to one day's paid leave each year to undertake volunteering opportunities

Make UK Defence support manufacturing and engineering businesses operating across the UK defence supply chain, helping strengthen capability, improve resilience and create commercial opportunities for members. Central to this is the Fit for Defence programme - a capability development scheme designed to help manufacturers meet the standards needed to win and deliver defence contracts.

The Fit for Defence Executive will support the delivery and growth of the Fit for Defence programme, while also assisting with the development and management of commercial partnerships.

This is a delivery-focused, outward-facing role that requires strong organisation, stakeholder engagement skills and commercial awareness. You’ll help ensure programmes run smoothly, partners are supported effectively, and opportunities for growth are identified and progressed.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the day-to-day delivery and administration of the Fit for Defence programme
• Coordinate assessments, workshops, mentoring sessions and partner activity
• Maintain programme records, participant tracking, KPIs and reporting dashboards
• Act as a key point of contact for participating companies
• Support commercial partnerships, sponsor engagement and partner activity
• Prepare briefing notes, presentations and follow-up materials
• Work closely with internal teams across policy, communications and events
• Support roundtables, workshops and wider industry engagement activity
• Maintain CRM records, track performance metrics and identify process improvements

Person Specification

• Highly organised, with strong attention to detail
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities and deadlines
• A strong communicator, written and verbally
• Confident engaging with a range of stakeholders, including senior industry representatives
• Proactive, commercially aware and comfortable working in a fast-moving team
• Competent using CRM systems and Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint

Experience in programme coordination, partnerships, membership organisations or B2B environments would be helpful, but an interest in manufacturing or defence and a willingness to learn are just as important.

What’s on Offer

• Exposure to senior decision-makers across UK defence and manufacturing
• A key role in a nationally recognised capability programme
• Opportunity to support commercial growth and strategic partnerships
• The chance to make a real impact in an important and growing sector

Apply or email Kerry at Insignis Talent - Kcritchell@insignistalent.com

With over 125 years of experience, Make UK is a leading provider of essential business support and a champion for manufacturing industry in the UK. Make UK has the close ear of Government and is a trusted provider of essential services for world leading manufacturing companies across the country. Everything we do is designed to inspire British manufacturers to compete, innovate and grow.

Make UK staff enjoy a good benefits package and values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Benefits to include, but not limited to: Free parking, meal service on site, no bank holiday/weekend work, flexible hours, health cover, matched pension contributions up to 8%, and life assurance.

We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and we recognise the contribution that Service personnel, both regular and reservist, veterans and military families make to our organisation and have pledged to support this by signing up to the Armed Forces Covenant.

Our Values at Make UK: Inclusivity & Diversity, Integrity, Innovation, & Collaboration