Business Development Manager (Transport)

Employment Type: Full time

Location: Hybrid · Didcot, UK (onsite or with customers 2-3 days per week)

Team: Commercial & Partnerships

Seniority: Mid-level

Date Closing: 11:59pm, 20th Jul 2026 BST

Perks and Benefits:

• Work from home option
• Life Insurance
• Wellness programs
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Sabbatical Opportunities
• Salary sacrifice
• Team social events
• Extracurricular clubs
• Cycle to work scheme

Job Description:

Reports to: Senior Business Development Manager

The Challenge:

The Catapult is organised into three Mission areas: Beyond Earth, Autonomous and Connected Earth, and Resilient Earth. Each Mission is tasked with developing a strategic portfolio of interventions which represent the highest opportunity for growth in the space sector. These interventions have been designed to lower the barriers to growth for UK businesses. The Catapult uses its products and services to deliver these interventions and to achieve market impact. The Catapult’s business development team are responsible for engaging with customers, businesses, government organisations and the wider space sector to support the delivery of Mission objectives. Through our Mission strategy development, the Catapult has identified the following key market areas to support UK business growth: Utilities and Infrastructure, Transport, Telecommunications and Digital Technologies, Defence and Security, Healthcare and Financial Services. In addition, there are opportunities for the Catapult across a variety of funding agencies. These markets are the focus of our business development team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build strong relationships with stakeholders in the Transport sector, capturing capabilities and requirements and reporting these through the CRM system.
• Drive sales opportunities identified through the sales plan for the Transport sector.
• Represent the Catapult at industry events and trade shows to promote the organisation’s core capabilities.
• Help refine the Catapult’s value propositions by gathering feedback from customers on what is and isn't working in the current market.
• Work collaboratively with technical and business growth teams to build opportunities in response to customer requirements.
• Manage internal qualification of opportunities to ensure alignment to Mission objectives.
• Facilitate the smooth transition of opportunities from the initial bid stage through to delivery.
• Support the development of high-quality marketing collateral and engagement materials, ensuring the tone and technical language are tailored for the specific audience.
• Produce reports and updates on all business development activities and track progress against KPIs.

Skills and Experience:

• Proven experience in a Business Development or Sales role within the Transport sector with a track record of identifying leads and nurturing them through a structured sales pipeline.
• Experience of securing sales contracts and funding streams.
• A foundational understanding of the Space Sector or satellite applications, with the curiosity to stay updated on emerging industry trends.
• Experience assisting in the development of commercial opportunities and complex sales.
• Ability to build and sustain professional relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Skilled at drafting persuasive proposals and pitches, tailoring technical content to meet specific customer needs and highlight the Catapult’s strengths.
• Confident to present to groups and participate in public speaking opportunities.
• A natural collaborator, experienced in working effectively across different departments (Technical, Marketing, Finance) to close deals.
• Proactive in identifying new business leads through research, networking, and initial customer outreach.
• Proven ability to coordinate the various moving parts of a business development opportunity, ensuring all internal stakeholders provide the necessary input.

We offer a hybrid policy which is designed around collaboration, one 'anchor' day per week working with your direct team and another flexible day per week to be spent collaborating or working with other colleagues.