Business Development Leader - Defence in Rugby

GE Vernova's Power Conversion & Storage business provides electrification systems that are critical to our global customers' power and energy needs for their high-performance applications. We work with the world's major energy, maritime, and industrial organizations, enabling their transition to energy efficiency and decarbonization, including through our specialist motors, drives, and control technologies.

We are expanding our Defence Sales team and are looking for a Senior Business Development Leader with a deep understanding of naval or defence systems — particularly power and propulsion — to develop compelling, competitive technical solutions for global naval customers.

Reporting to the Naval Sales Director, you will develop and lead a coordinated, intelligence‐led approach to stakeholder engagement both internationally and in the UK. Your role will be to identify and track opportunities, and for those that are attractive, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of our position, identify the key influencers in the stakeholder community, including potential allies and blockers and determine the best approach to be taken to win. You will work with the Naval Sales Director to coordinate the activities of those in the sales team and the wider business to bring the potential customer community to the point where a quotation is solicited.

By building rich, actionable enterprise knowledge and fostering purposeful connections in multiple markets, you will directly enhance GEV's market profile, support commercial objectives, and embed lasting strategic value. This role involves close collaboration with our engineering and commercial teams, and with external stakeholders including Tier 1 suppliers, government agencies, and defence customers worldwide.

What You’ll Do

• Using published material, trade shows and personal networks that you will build, you will identify and track naval and defence programmes both internationally and in the UK.
• Determine the attractiveness of each of those programmes as a potential target and help to identify the key opportunities and those with potential to become key.
• For each significant opportunity: Map out the stakeholder community and the key players within it for each significant opportunity and determine an engagement plan.
• Work with the applications engineering team to determine which technologies to promote in each case.
• Identify and report clearly into the team the customer community's aspirations and concerns.
• Identify and report clearly into the team the threats to our progress and, where possible, the activities of our competitors.
• Working with the Sales Director determine the engagement strategy and help coordinate the resources of the wider business to achieve it.
• Work closely with the relevant sales leader once a request for quotation is received to help ensure the proposal is as closely matched to the customer's expectations as possible.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proven experience in international sales campaigns.
• Strong domain knowledge in the defence enterprise.
• Technical background with the ability to appreciate technical solutions and communicate their benefits.
• Experience working directly with government entities, military personnel, Tier 1 defence companies, and cross‐functional teams.
• Track record of team leadership.
• Eligibility for SC Security Clearance (sole UK nationals preferred due to project requirements).

• Experience with defence/military marine systems (e.g. submarine power/propulsion).
• Familiarity with Commercial Operations, inquiry‐to‐order (I2O) processes, and costing for proposal development.
• Strong domain knowledge in the naval enterprise.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines under pressure.
• A proactive, solutions‐focused mindset, with strong documentation and problem‐solving capabilities.
• Proven experience in the marine or defence sector.

It will be necessary to carry out background checks and suitability assessments (UK BPSS clearance OR UK SC clearance) as part of the hiring process.

• Technically challenging work at the forefront of defence innovation.
• Collaborative culture that values technical expertise and cross‐functional teamwork.
• Flexible working arrangements to support your lifestyle and productivity.
• Attractive compensation with a package.
• Career progression opportunities across a global organisation invested in your growth.

• 26 days annual leave + bank holidays.
• Employer‐funded private health insurance, income protection, and life assurance.
• Generous 10% employer pension contribution.
• Customisable flexible benefits package.
• Free on‐site parking (where applicable).
• Hybrid/flexible work model (where applicable).

Flexible Working at GE Vernova

We know that life doesn’t fit into a one‐size‐fits‐all schedule. That’s why we support flexible working, adaptable start and finish times or compressed hours where possible. We trust our people to manage their work in a way that suits them while delivering results on world‐first projects.

We’re always looking for top talent! If this role isn’t quite right, but you’re interested in joining GE Vernova, we can support you to understand where your skills could help. Get in touch today and become part of a team shaping the future of power conversion technology!