Engagement, Events and Communication Lead FCAS

Location: Bristol

Salary: Circa £40,000 – £52,000 depending on experience

Employment type: Full-time

Seniority level: Mid-Senior level

Job function: Management and Manufacturing

Industries: Defence and Space Manufacturing

Contract: Fixed Term Contract for 2 years (Dynamic hybrid working)

Security Clearance: British Citizen. All successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS) and Security Clearance (SC) after offer.

What we can offer you

• Company bonus: Up to £2,500 (based on company performance and will vary year to year)
• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contributions of up to 14%
• Overtime: opportunity for paid overtime
• Flexi Leave: Up to 15 additional days
• Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave; enhancements available for paternity, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and more
• Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing.

The opportunity

FCAS (Future Combat Air System) is one of the largest, most exciting and challenging programmes within Defence – to design and deliver a Future Combat Air Programme for the RAF in record time. The key cornerstone of FCAS is the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), which sees the UK working with our international partners Italy and Japan. FCAS and GCAP combined present a unique opportunity to influence the design of the platform and wider system to reflect a new approach to weapon integration and employment of effects rather than just traditional integration of effectors to an existing platform.

The FCAS portfolio consists of a number of different projects and contracts looking at different areas within Combat Air. MBDA UK is involved in a number of these projects including the TEMPEST project, where some novel technologies are being explored, the main UK FCAS Acquisition Programme, as well as the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join this programme as our FCAS Engagement, Events and Communications Lead. You will have previous experience of working in internal communications, events management or employee engagement in a complex organisation.

You will develop and deploy an engaging narrative across the FCAS programme within MBDA so our people feel informed, connected and inspired by a shared mission. You will lead the delivery of multi-site events from large-scale hybrid town halls and leadership briefings to in-person offsite events. Through a mix of digital, in-person, and hybrid engagement activities you will shape the narrative to communicate the FCAS leadership team's priorities and the team's achievements.

You will be tasked with turning sophisticated information into something understandable for all of our people. You will have outstanding written skills and experience of delivering engaging content across a wide range of media and formats.

We are looking for someone who can start fast and quickly establish relationships both internally and externally. This is a great opportunity to join a fantastic team and make this role your own.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and deliver the annual FCAS Engagement and Events strategy and plan, aligned with FCAS Leadership objectives and our FCAS Behaviours.
• Lead the planning and delivery of multi-site events — from large-scale hybrid town halls and leadership briefings to in-person offsite events.
• Shape the narrative around communicating FCAS leadership team priorities and achievements through a mix of digital, in-person, and hybrid engagement activities.
• Partner with MBDA external and internal communication Leads as required to utilise existing channels to cascade messaging.
• Provide coaching and support to embed the FCAS narrative consistently within employee communications.
• Capture and showcase success stories from across FCAS teams — highlighting innovation, skills, delivery excellence and demonstration of our FCAS Behaviours.
• Lead development of the FCAS recognition activities to support the FCAS aim and behaviours of delivering a culture of continuous improvement and employee appreciation.
• Evaluate engagement impact through results from the FCAS Culture Survey, attendance data, and feedback through pulse surveys and direct engagement with colleagues.

Required qualifications & experience

• Proven experience in internal communications, events management or employee engagement.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to balance multiple workstreams across sites and stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to craft clear, compelling messages for diverse audiences.
• High attention to detail and strong organisational discipline.
• Comfortable working with senior stakeholders, understanding their requirements and presenting ideas confidently.
• Proactive, adaptable, and energised by high-impact environments.
• Able to translate complex technical concepts into accessible, motivating narratives.
• Demonstrate partnering behaviours and the ability to work effectively as part of a team as well as operate with autonomy to deliver results and provide solutions.
• Ability to develop positive and effective relationships.
• Collaborative and approachable, with strong interpersonal skills.
• Passionate about defence.
• Experience in defence, aerospace or government-facing environments would be advantageous.

Our company

MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information.