Commercial Manager, IPT
Date: Jul 10, 2026
Location: Westlake, TX, US
Company: GKN Aerospace Careers
Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.
GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.6bn in 2025. There are no limits to where you can take your career.
Job Summary
The IPT Commercial Manager supports the Contracts Transformation and Excellence Director in the development, implementation, and sustainment of commercial excellence initiatives across the Defense Business Line. This role is responsible for driving continuous improvement in contractual and commercial processes, delivering data driven insights, enabling business system transformation, supporting capability development, and ensuring robust governance and compliance across the contract lifecycle.
The incumbent will work collaboratively with cross functional stakeholders to enhance operational effectiveness, strengthen commercial capabilities, and ensure consistent application of contractual and commercial best practices in accordance with statutory requirements, corporate policies, and business line procedures.
Job Responsibilities
Commercial Excellence, Transformation & Business Performance
- Support the execution and continuous improvement of commercial excellence initiatives aligned with the Annual Operating Plan and business objectives.
- Develop, maintain, and report commercial performance metrics, providing data driven insights to identify risks, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
- Deliver management reporting and analysis to support business decisions, cost competitiveness, profitability, and cash generation objectives.
- Lead and support transformation initiatives, including Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) implementation, SharePoint enhancement, process standardization, and adoption of commercial best practices.
- Ensure the integrity, accessibility, and effective governance of contractual data, documentation, systems, and business processes.
Governance, Compliance & Risk Management
- Support the administration and continuous improvement of Delegation of Authority and Signature Authority processes.
- Ensure compliance with contractual, commercial, regulatory, corporate, and business line requirements throughout the contract lifecycle.
- Serve as a key point of contact for internal and external audits, ensuring audit readiness and timely closure of findings.
- Identify, monitor, and support mitigation of contractual, commercial, and compliance risks while promoting a culture of strong governance and accountability.
Capability Development & Cross Functional Leadership
- Develop and deliver training initiatives to strengthen commercial capability and promote consistent application of policies, procedures, and best practices.
- Act as a subject matter expert and mentor within the Contracts & Commercial function.
- Partner effectively with Programs, Legal, Procurement, Finance, Supply Chain, and other stakeholders to support business objectives and informed decision making.
- Influence and support stakeholders across the organization to drive adoption of new processes, systems, and ways of working.
- Support strategic initiatives, special projects, and business transformation activities as directed by the Contracts Transformation and Excellence Director.
Job Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Contract Management, Finance, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related discipline.
- Minimum of ten (10) years of progressive experience in contracts management, commercial management, business management, or related functions.
- Demonstrated experience supporting U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) programs and contracts.
- Strong working knowledge of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and government contracting principles.
- U.S. Person per ITAR regulations to comply with export compliance.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree in Business, Law, Finance, or a related field.
- Professional certifications related to contract management, program management, commercial management, or continuous improvement.
- Experience implementing Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems or other enterprise business applications.
- Experience leading transformation, process improvement, or operational excellence initiatives within a complex business environment.
We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?
A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working
Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.
We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.
We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.
