International Business Development Manager - Defence in Bournemouth

Aerospace & Defence

Flexible Location – site based or hybrid with travel to site in West Country / South Coast area as required

Up to £75,000 Base Salary, Bonus & Benefits

Our client, part of a highly successful international parent, is a market leader at the forefront of design, manufacturing and technology for an innovative, diverse range of safety-critical products and solutions for global aerospace and defence markets. This is a newly created opportunity for an ambitious business development professional to play a pivotal role in building and maintaining strong relationships with Defence customers and in-country agents in order to deliver ambitious growth in sales and profitability.

This will require the development of business and commercial strategies that will support us as the supplier of choice for the design, development and sole source supply of products by identifying new opportunities and routes to market that will enhance margin whilst still providing exceptional value to the user community and the customer base.

The role demands the undertaking of wide-ranging “pro-active” business development activities with an emphasis on establishing, developing, promoting and positioning the activities of the business to achieve new international defence sales.

The Role:

• Develop a “winning strategy” for achieving new international sales by identifying, developing, negotiating and closing new business opportunities in order to generate profitable new business.
• Play a leading “outward facing” role in developing all opportunities and routes to market, including with customers in international militaries & governments alongside close collaboration with intermediaries, in-country agents, defence primes and military users in order to secure growth opportunities.
• Travel regularly across core international markets, assist customers to shape their requirements in order to develop a strong position for winning new and lasting business.
• Lead the entire sales process from prospecting, lead generation, identification of user needs and product positioning through to proposal issuance and closing negotiation to secure the booking.
• Build on the company’s competencies, brand and expertise in the Defence market to continue to seek new opportunities that generate profitable new business.
• Work closely with and review the existing network of agents to increase visibility, “grass roots” market intelligence, support commercial activities and validated opportunities.
• Review the market and competition, gather intelligence to facilitate the development of new products, services and solutions.
• Keep updated with customer procurement and replenishment cycles; liaise with the user community, draw upon the internal technical expertise available to evolve the product offering, but without losing sight of the need to win new business.
• Take pro-active ownership of the sales business development of the portfolio including identifying key milestones and capture plans to involve, drive and communicate with the supporting team.
• Assist the process of generating annual booking and sales targets by producing and maintaining an accurate list of prospects and opportunities. Regularly contribute to the updating of sales forecasts and booking plans.
• Support the engineering team with the development of new ideas and concepts to meet current and future customer needs.
• Perform all other duties as required, directed, or needed to achieve business goals.
• Attend military trials, defence trade shows, conferences & PR events as required.

The Person:

• Strong ethical and moral compass: able to work across functions within a non-political, open and honest business culture that has an overarching commitment towards “value creation”.
• A proven history of achievement in International Business Development within a Military Aerospace & Defence environment is highly preferred. However, outstanding candidates with Defence experience as part of a broader sector portfolio who are looking to specialise in this field will also be considered.
• Able to identify, develop, negotiate, capture and close opportunities in order to generate profitable new business.
• Degree qualified or equivalent in a business, marketing or engineering discipline, you will be an ambitious business development professional with a “hunter/go-getting” approach who is ready for a new challenge.
• An understanding of the complex procurement process that nations adopt within a defence environment.
• Experience of working with and managing in-country agents – able to demonstrate a high level of “cultural sensitivity”.
• Able to perform within a close-knit, agile, highly responsive team-based environment that specialises in low volume, highly complex products with long lead times.
• Be self-sufficient and able to quickly grasp technical knowledge of the company’s products – “in house” expertise which can be drawn upon as required.
• Strong presentation, financial & commercial skills and have a natural flair for developing strong customer relationships, combined with the intellect to understand their current and future needs.
• Able to understand wider market opportunities, competitors, technologies and trends.
• Strong commercial understanding of customer budget plans, procurement process, bid management, contractual terms, pricing and gross margin analysis.
• Able to generate the respect of others whilst remaining focused on “winning business”.
• Familiar with a formal sales operating process which also captures and develops emerging opportunities into defined and qualified prospects.
• A strong influencer who can demonstrate attention to detail and display a logical and disciplined determination to capture new business.
• Able to prioritise information: ensure internal colleagues and the customer are always up to date.
• Key personal attributes sought include drive, determination, teamwork, creativity, good communication skills and a winning mentality.
• An accomplished negotiator, who is responsive to the needs of customers, can close business and adhere to high ethics and codes of conduct.
• Experienced in the use of MS Office tools, ERP and CRM systems.
• A willingness and ability to travel overseas, sometimes at short notice.
• Hold or be able to hold UK Security Clearance.