Defence Sales Manager in Elstow

Aeropeople has partnered with a privately-held Aerospace OEM company that is hiring a Defence Sales Manager to join their team. The role will be hybrid, with an expectation to be on site no more than one day per week at their Bedford location (negotiable). The company’s first production aircraft will deliver up to a 90% reduction in carbon emissions compared to other aircraft and is expected to be in flight from 2026 and in service from 2028, capable of carrying up to 100 passengers or 10 tonnes of weight. Joining the team offers the chance to contribute to an innovative, values-driven organisation and help shape the future of aviation.

The Defence Sales Manager role is a hands-on, delivery-focused position – you will support and lead sales activity in the defence and security sectors within the UK, EU and US, maintain and develop relationships, and progress commercial agreements across a range of customers. Applicants selected for interview must be eligible to obtain and hold an appropriate UK security clearance, if required.

• Coordinate and lead sales activities and develop a disciplined, structured and repeatable approach to campaign management.
• Manage Defence sales activity: oversee daily sales activities in the UK, EU and US defence markets, progressing opportunities from initial enquiry through to contract closure, while supporting and coordinating with geographically dispersed sales personnel.
• Maintain accurate records of defence sales opportunities in the CRM system, categorise and prioritise them appropriately; act as the custodian of defence-related sales data to support reporting, pipeline management and team collaboration.
• Work closely with the Marketing team on campaign planning, coordination and CRM management updates; coordinate with internal teams to identify and attend defence and security-focused events, exhibitions and trade shows that are likely to generate leads or strengthen existing relationships.
• Maintain regular engagement with new and existing defence and security customers, building strong, value-driven relationships and supporting repeat business.
• Document and act upon defence customer and market feedback to support product development, enhancement or refinement and commercial success.

• Negotiable basic salary dependent upon experience
• Flexible working hours
• Early finish on Fridays at 12.45pm
• Hybrid working – 1 day per week on site
• Company pension scheme with Royal London
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Life Assurance, four times salary
• Private Medical Insurance scheme
• Health Cash Plan including discounts
• Employee assistance programme 24/7
• Onsite, free parking

• Ability to coordinate the full sales process, using a CRM to maintain and develop sales pipelines, applying lead generation and qualification methodologies to support consistent progress.
• Strong communication and organisation skills, able to translate detailed technical or product information into clear, engaging discussions with defence and security customers.
• Experience in supporting or undertaking people management, or willingness to develop in a line management capacity.
• Experience contributing to end-to-end sales processes, including pipeline development, opportunity qualification and tracking, contract negotiation, and contract progression.
• Familiarity with working within structured sales methodologies and campaign-based sales processes.
• Evidence of continuous professional development relevant to sales, business development, defence, security or aviation.
• Commercially focused professional with experience managing complex and detailed sales environments.
• Comfortable working within structured sales processes and will evaluate, prioritise and progress opportunities to ensure resources are focused on high-value prospects that have the greatest impact on business growth.
• Work collaboratively across teams and bring a strong commitment to upholding organisational values while contributing directly to commercial growth.