Business Development Analyst - International Operations and Development in Guildford

Location: Gatwick, GB

Contract Type: Permanent – Full Time

Security Level: BPSS

Visa Restrictions: This position does not offer visa sponsorship

Closing Date: Wednesday 19th August 2026

Interview Date: W/C Tuesday 1st or Monday 7th September 2026

Who are we? We are the UK's aviation and aerospace regulator and recognised as a world leader in its field. Our activities are diverse, enabling the aviation industry to meet the highest safety standards, and we pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to the constantly evolving aviation environment. CAA International Limited (CAAi) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK Civil Aviation Authority and a registered Social Enterprise. As the UK CAA’s technical cooperation arm, we work with governments, aviation authorities, regulators and industry organisations worldwide, providing advisory, consulting, training, examinations and licensing services to strengthen aviation regulation and raise global standards. We also support targeted initiatives and good causes that address aviation challenges in the UK and developing countries.

The Role: As Business Development Analyst, you will provide analytical and commercial support to CAAi’s Business Development team, working across CAAi and the wider CAA to assess international opportunities, support tenders and proposals, conduct market and competitor research, analyse CRM and pipeline data, and contribute to new product and service development. Operating with a good degree of autonomy and within established CAAi policies, processes and governance, the post-holder will gather and interpret information from multiple sources, analyse data and evidence, coordinate inputs from internal and external stakeholders, and translate findings into practical outputs such as opportunity assessments, market and customer briefings, tender summaries, dashboards, reports, business cases, proposals, presentations or process improvements for managers and senior stakeholders.

This role will suit someone who combines strong analytical and organisational skills with commercial curiosity, clear written communication and an interest in international aviation and business development.

Key area of focus/responsibility:

• The Business Development Analyst supports the identification, assessment and progression of business development opportunities for CAAi’s services.
• The role delivers defined research, analysis, tender, proposal and pipeline-management activities as part of the wider business development process, typically under the supervision of managers or senior colleagues.
• The role is responsible for complex commercial analysis, insights, reporting and interpretation of data and information, with work typically planned and prioritised according to business development cycles, opportunity deadlines and customer requirements.

Owns/lead independently:

• Owns the production of clear, accurate and well-structured commercial outputs including opportunity assessments, market and customer briefings, dashboards, business cases, proposals, decision papers and presentation material.
• Gather, analyse and interpret information from multiple sources, including internal systems, stakeholder input, customer and market insight, country, competitor or sector research, tender information and external research.
• Act as the Business Development focal point for tender and opportunity monitoring, including reviewing relevant tender portals, procurement platforms, donor and international financial institution opportunities, government pipelines and partner intelligence, and summarising relevant opportunities for senior review.
• Use digital tools, systems and approved AI-enabled capabilities appropriately to improve productivity, analysis, research, reporting and knowledge management, applying judgement, validation and quality control.
• Maintain and analyse accurate CRM records, pipeline, tender trackers, repositories and other management information relevant to the Business Development and Marketing function, supporting data quality, reporting, governance and continuous improvement.

Supports/contributes:

• Provide analytical and operational support to the CAAi Business Development team, helping managers and internal senior stakeholders assess and qualify opportunities, progress business development activities and deliver commercial and business objectives.
• Support the preparation of proposals, expressions of interest and commercial submissions, including research, evidence gathering, compliance checking, drafting input, coordination of internal contributors and supporting documentation.
• Subject to training, experience and internal governance, support the end-to-end preparation of lower-value/lower-complexity proposals, typically up to approximately £50k, escalating commercial, technical, contractual or delivery risks to senior managers as required.
• Contribute to the development and improvement of products, services, and business development processes and ways of working by identifying market trends, customer needs, opportunities and practical recommendations.
• Support stakeholder engagement by coordinating inputs, clarifying requirements, preparing supporting material and maintaining effective working relationships across CAAi, the wider CAA, customers and external partners where required.
• Support the planning, coordination and timely delivery of defined business development related workstreams, ensuring actions, dependencies, risks, deadlines and stakeholder inputs are captured and managed effectively.

Governance:

• Complete work in line with relevant CAAi governance, approval processes, information security requirements, data protection obligations, commercial/procurement processes and Quality Management System requirements.

Decision Making:

• The role uses analytical judgement and commercial awareness to assess opportunities, progress business development workstreams, support proposals, solve problems and make evidence-based recommendations.
• The post-holder works with colleagues within Business Development and Marketing function and across other relevant business areas to contribute to opportunity identification and qualification, problem-solving, options analysis and recommendations for management decisions.
• The role has autonomy to determine how to perform tasks within clear rules, policies, processes and governance, escalating exceptions, anomalies or situations without precedent to managers or senior colleagues.
• Prioritises day-to-day analysis, opportunity monitoring, analysis, coordination and proposal-support activities in line with agreed business priorities, deadlines and stakeholder requirements.
• Interprets market, customer, competitor, tender, CRM and stakeholder information and data to identify opportunities, issues, options, risks and recommended next steps.
• Works within relevant CAAi frameworks, governance and approval processes, escalating exceptions or situations with no clear precedent.

Matters requiring consultation/escalation and approval by others:

• Makes recommendations to managers and senior stakeholders based on analysis, evidence, commercial awareness and understanding of the relevant business context.
• Identifies and escalates when matters require escalation due to commercial, reputational, technical, contractual, resource, delivery, quality or information security risk.
• Does not hold final approval authority for bid/no-bid decisions, contracts, pricing, commercial commitments, or major business changes unless specifically delegated through existing governance processes.

Influencing Others:

• The role requires the ability to communicate information in a succinct, clear and impactful manner, using evidence and analysis to support agreed activities and recommendations.
• The role may require frequent interaction with individuals within and outside the Business Development and Marketing Function, and occasionally with customers, partners and other external stakeholders, to exchange information, clarify requirements and advance agreed processes, typically with limited need for negotiation.
• Uses analysis, evidence and structured recommendations to influence, planning, prioritisation, decision-making and continuous improvement within the relevant function.
• Communicates findings clearly and confidently through written outputs, dashboards, reports, presentations and verbal briefings, adapting style to audience needs.
• Supports cross-functional collaboration by translating technical, operational or commercial information into clear and practical business insight.

Stakeholder coordination and collaboration:

• Builds effective working relationships across relevant CAAi teams, wider CAA functions, subject matter experts, corporate support teams and external stakeholders where required.
• Coordinates inputs from colleagues and stakeholders to support timely, accurate and high-quality outputs.
• Encourages consistent use of relevant systems, processes, data, templates, repositories and reporting practices.

Managing Others:

• The role does not normally have direct line management responsibility. However, the post-holder may provide guidance, coordination or task support to administrative, first-line support or less experienced colleagues where required to progress agreed workstreams.
• May coordinate inputs from colleagues, technical SMEs, partners and subcontractors for analysis, proposals, business cases, project documentation, reporting or process improvement activities.
• May provide guidance to colleagues on relevant processes, tools, templates, data quality, research outputs, reporting or knowledge management resources.
• May support onboarding, knowledge sharing or informal coaching for colleagues involved in related workstreams.

About You:

• Good analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to gather, interpret and summarise market, customer, commercial and other information from multiple sources.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear briefings, reports, commercial documentation and presentation material.
• Good planning, organisation and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and fixed deadlines.
• Good commercial and customer awareness, with the ability to understand business objectives, customer/stakeholder requirements, market opportunities and delivery constraints.
• High attention to detail and accuracy when working with data, documentation, requirements, governance processes or formal submissions.
• Confident user of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
• Ability to conduct structured market, customer, country, competitor and sector research and translate findings into clear business insight and practical recommendations.
• Ability to work independently while remaining collaborative and aligned to team priorities.
• Confidence using digital tools to improve research, analysis, productivity, reporting and knowledge management.
• Awareness of AI-enabled tools and their potential application to research, summarisation, analysis, reporting and productivity, with appropriate source checking and human review.
• Experience in business development, commercial analysis, bid or proposal support, market research, consulting, strategy or a similar role.
• Experience supporting proposals, tenders, expressions of interest, commercial submissions or other deadline-driven bid documentation.
• Experience conducting market, customer, competitor, country, sector or opportunity research and presenting findings to support commercial decisions.
• Experience gathering, analysing and presenting information to support decisions, planning, delivery or improvement activity.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders to gather information, coordinate inputs and deliver outputs to deadline.
• Experience preparing structured business outputs such as reports, opportunity assessment, briefings, trackers, dashboards, business cases, proposals, process documentation or management information.
• Experience using business systems, reporting tools, CRM, tender-monitoring tools, project management tools, spreadsheets or data repositories, or the ability to develop capability quickly.
• Experience working in a team environment while managing own workload and priorities.

Essential Qualifications:

• Degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Ability to develop dashboards, trackers or structured reporting outputs using Excel, Power BI, CRM reporting or similar tools.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled research, productivity, automation or analytical tools, with an understanding of responsible use, confidentiality, quality checking and source validation.
• Ability to synthesise complex technical, operational or commercial information into clear business insight.
• Understanding of proposal development, tender compliance, opportunity qualification, bid/no-bid processes or new product and service development approaches.
• Effective presentation and storytelling skills, with the ability to turn analysis into practical recommendations.
• Experience working in aviation, transport, infrastructure, regulatory, government, international development, training, consultancy or professional services environments.
• Experience supporting international, government, regulatory, donor-funded or public sector activities.
• Experience supporting product or service development, market assessment, customer and competitor analysis, project delivery, proposal development, opportunity qualification or business case preparation.
• Experience using CRM systems such as Microsoft Dynamics/D365 or similar business systems.
• Experience working in a multicultural or international environment.
• Experience supporting continuous improvement, governance, quality management, reporting or lessons learned processes.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Relevant university degree or equivalent qualification in business, aviation, economics, international development, marketing, data analysis, engineering, technology or a related technical/commercial discipline desirable.
• Recognised professional qualification in business analysis, data analysis, commercial analysis, market research, proposal/bid management, marketing, project management, process improvement or equivalent desirable.

Additional Information:

• For many appointments within the CAA, these roles require access to operationally sensitive infrastructure and/or Nationally Protected information. For these roles the post holders must undergo National Security Vetting and achieve the appropriate level of clearance.
• BPSS - To be vetted you must have the right to work in the UK so that meaningful checks can be undertaken. If you do not meet these requirements, we may not be able to accept your application.
• The CAA values high ethical standards and personal integrity among employees. If invited for interview you will be asked to complete a declaration of interest.
• Relocation & Property: The CAA will be relocating from Aviation House (Our Gatwick Office) to new premises in a few years’ time. Our move is driven by strategic, operational and environmental considerations. We will be moving to a new local home, up to a 15-mile radius of Aviation House, to minimise disruption for our valued colleagues and customers. We are now working with colleagues and visitors to understand what we need in our new office, before we start our property search. We will sell Aviation House and land, vacate the site and move to new premises, but we do not expect to move before 2028.
• Inclusive Recruitment: We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and welcome applications from all backgrounds. As a Disability Confident employer, candidates who meet the minimum requirements will be guaranteed an interview.
• If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.
• Use of Artificial Intelligence by candidates in the CAA recruitment process: We recognise that many of our candidates find Artificial Intelligence to be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be rejected on that basis.