Sales Lead in Basildon

Salary: £70,000 - £78,000

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Your impact

At Leonardo, we have a fantastic opportunity for a Sales lead to join our Sensors sales team with a focus on Complex Weapons in the United Kingdom (UK) and growing our export business. The role of the Sales lead is to identify, develop and execute new business winning opportunities. You will be responsible for engaging closely with customers, industry partners and end-users in both the UK and abroad, in order to close deals that meet our sales targets.

The ideal candidate will have a good understanding of both the UK and International defence and aerospace markets, as well as experience and proven success in strategic selling of Complex Weapons or associated technology. This is a high profile role focussed on a key growth area for the organisation, with the successful applicant regularly briefing senior leadership with the opportunity to visibly excel and become a significant contributor to the organisation’s success over the next decade. Experience of leading business capture and devising and implementing complex strategies is highly valued.

What you’ll bring

The Sales lead reports to the Head of Sales and is responsible for key stakeholder management and engagement, identifying, developing and executing multiple strategies to meet both customer and business requirements. They will be responsible for working with key industry partners and reporting all aspects of those relationships. The Sales lead will be the main external Leonardo point of focus for the Precision Guidance business area and work closely with the Precision Guidance IPT to ensure coherence of approach and provide advice and feedback for the future direction of product development. An understanding of global Complex Weapons developments and future direction of travel would be beneficial.

The role will require considerable external engagement with customers, weapons primes and end users. Therefore, the role holder must have excellent communication skills and be credible when engaging with customers to negotiate commercial and technical solutions. The successful candidate will be required to build a detailed capture plan to secure internal pursuit, bid and resourcing approvals. They will also develop win strategies, generate the price to win for individual supporting aspects of the campaign and provide oversight and input into the drafting of proposals.

Key Responsibilities

• Secure order intake to meet forecast targets for current and future years (IBP) by managing and delivering a portfolio of campaigns and sales opportunities.
• Identifying and generating new business in the UK and through exports.
• Develop bespoke win strategies; generate the price to win for pursuits as part of a broader global strategy.
• Be the primary Leonardo point of contact for the Precision Guidance line of business.
• Provide SME knowledge into the Precision Guidance programme teams.
• Develop and maintain relationships with Customers & End Users.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key internal and external stakeholders including Regional and Divisional Marketing, our Capability function and other Leonardo lines of business.
• Track opportunities & present detailed prospects to SLT in order to secure pursuit, bid and resourcing approvals.
• Identify, create and validate opportunities for future sales and growth.
• Provide input to and support marketing & communications (MARCOM) events (exhibitions, demonstrations, conferences), as planned and directed.
• Assist in the preparation of private venture (PV) investment business cases to develop new capabilities.

Person Specification

• Relevant sector experience and commercial knowledge. In particular, knowledge of Complex Weapons.
• Self-starter and highly motivated and able to set short and long-term planning goals in line with campaign and business needs.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team as required.
• Innovative thinker able to anticipate and overcome problems in a complex international sales environment.
• Experience of export campaigns, International customers and UK MOD support Defence export opportunities. Experience in developing, managing and leading strategic campaigns within the Defence sector.
• Excellent communication, influence and presentation skills.
• Experienced and confident briefer, comfortable in all environments, from senior internal stakeholders, across industry, UK Government and International partners and customers.
• Required to make frequent visits (including overnight stays) to customer facilities in both the UK and overseas.

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV).

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location: GB - Basildon - Home Based

Contract Type: Permanent

Hybrid Working: Hybrid