Proposals Manager ILS

About us

Get on board with Damen Naval, along with more than 1,200 professionals based in The Netherlands, Romania, and Germany. We are the naval division of the family-owned Damen Shipyards Group which employs 12,000 professionals globally. Damen Naval designs and builds advanced naval vessels for customers all over the world. With a passion for technological innovation and sustainable solutions, we continue to push the boundaries in naval shipbuilding. You can be part of our team! Are you ready for duty?

The role

The role
As Proposals Manager ILS at Damen Naval you will be responsible for leading and managing the ILS team within the Proposals department, ensuring the timely and high-quality delivery of proposals for naval vessel programs. You will play a pivotal role in developing, professionalizing, and streamlining the proposal process, while fostering collaboration with key departments such as Engineering, R&D, and Purchasing. Your expertise will drive the success of Damen Naval’s tender processes, ensuring compliance with industry standards and customer requirements.

Key accountabilities
As Proposals Manager ILS your responsibilities will include:

• Lead, coach, and mentor the ILS team, ensuring optimal performance and continuous development.
• Plan and allocate resources, tools, and knowledge to enhance the professionalism of the ILS team.
• Oversee the development of high-quality proposal packages, delivered on time and within budget.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to ensure seamless proposal development.
• Provide expert ILS support and guidance to tender teams during proposal preparation.
• Review and validate ILS-related proposal content, ensuring adherence to quality and regulatory standards.
• Identify opportunities for process optimization, cost reduction, and efficiency enhancement.
• Function as a key representative for Damen Naval in customer and industry engagements.
• Continuously improve departmental knowledge retention and transfer processes.

Skills & experience
Damen Naval is looking for candidates for the position of Proposals Manager ILS with the following qualifications:

• Bachelor or Master degree in a technical discipline combined with at least seven years of relevant experience in ILS and proposal management, preferably in naval shipbuilding.
• Strong background in developing proposals for complex projects.
• Proven experience in leading and coordinating high-performing teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Key competencies: customer orientation, leadership and coaching, results-driven mindset, strategic planning and organization, negotiation and decision-making.
• Good command of the Dutch and English language both written and verbal, and German is a plus.
• Excellent references, as a security screening is part of the hiring process.
• Permanent EU citizenship and passport are both required. Candidates with EU (work) visa or with (also) a non-EU nationality and/or passport are not eligible given the requirements imposed by the military nature of our projects.

What we offer
At Damen Naval, we highly value our employees, and we will support your professional and personal development. We also provide our employees with:

• A competitive salary and 8% holiday pay.
• 27 holidays and 13 ADV days.
• Travel allowance of 23 cents per kilometre.
• PME-pension arrangement with an employer contribution of 60%.
• Profit sharing based on company results.
• Flexibility to work from home up to two days a week.
• Additional benefits including a bicycle plan and company fitness.

Why Damen?

Damen has 35 shipyards on five different continents and operates in more than 100 countries. We are still growing and that gives you options. You contribute to this growth while benefitting from the diverse development and career opportunities that our company offers. We will continue to challenge you. With our extensive portfolio of products and solutions you will never get bored and never stop learning. We offer you a world of possibilities.
Working at Damen means contributing to the highest quality in shipbuilding, with an eye to the future and future generations. We want to make the world a better place by becoming the most sustainable maritime solution provider. For that, we need you. Become part of our family.

About Us

We are Damen. We’re a family company that has been building ships for almost 100 years. However, our focus is not on the past, however – we’re looking forward. Our ambition is to become the most sustainable and connected maritime solutions provider there is. To achieve this, we combine digital technology with our philosophy of standardised shipbuilding to offer a portfolio of services that takes care of vessels throughout the entire lifecycle. Working at Damen offers the best of several worlds. Active in more than 100 countries, with over 30 shipyards, we are internationally renowned for quality. And we are still growing, still innovating. Which means we will continue to challenge you. You will never stop learning, and you will never get bored – we promise you that. We offer you an ocean of possibilities. Join our family.