Business Development Manager - Nuclear in Bristol

Salary range: £65,000 to £85,000 per annum depending on experience

Location: Hybrid / Bristol / Manchester / Glasgow

Working Pattern: We operate a flexible hybrid working pattern at the Occam Group, with time split between the office, client sites and working from home. Closing date 20th of November 2026, but we encourage early applications.

Occam Group believes in providing straightforward, high quality, good value engineering consultancy and support. We use our knowledge and expertise to develop a safer and more sustainable future because we recognise the importance of having a positive impact on the future of our planet and society.

We are seeking a Business Development Manager to grow our nuclear engineering consultancy and integrated assurance business across both defence and civil nuclear markets. You will identify and develop opportunities, build relationships with customers and partners, and translate their engineering and assurance needs into well-defined, commercially sound proposals. Working closely with our technical specialists and business team, you will manage opportunities from early engagement through to contract award and maintain client relationships thereafter. Your remit will span defence nuclear programmes and infrastructure, alongside civil nuclear new build, operations, decommissioning and waste management. This is a business development role, rather than a technical delivery position, suited to a proactive, commercially minded individual who can develop existing accounts and win new customers. Experience in at least one nuclear market is essential, with the ability and appetite to develop business across both.

Duties to include:

• Develop and convert a sustainable pipeline of nuclear engineering and assurance opportunities across defence and civil nuclear markets.
• Develop our defence and civil nuclear market strategies, working with technical leaders to align our engineering and assurance services with customer needs.
• Identify and qualify nuclear engineering opportunities, assessing customer needs, programme priorities, strategic fit, procurement routes and the likelihood of winning.
• Build and maintain relationships with defence nuclear customers, civil nuclear owners and operators, engineering contractors and supply chain partners, developing existing accounts and securing new business.
• Develop and implement account and campaign plans across both nuclear markets, using insight into investment programmes, customer priorities and procurement pipelines to position Occam for future opportunities.
• Work with technical specialists to shape nuclear engineering and assurance solutions, clear value propositions and compelling proposals that address customer requirements.
• Lead and coordinate bids, including bid/no-bid decisions, proposal writing, pricing inputs and internal reviews and approvals.
• Support commercial negotiations and contract award, working within delegated authority and ensuring a clear handover of scope, commitments and risks to delivery teams.
• Maintain accurate opportunity records, forecasts and action plans, reporting progress against agreed order intake and growth targets.
• Represent Occam at customer meetings, industry events and networking forums, sharing market insight and lessons learned across the business.

Essential Requirements:

• A demonstrable track record of winning business and developing customer accounts in the UK defence nuclear or civil nuclear market, with the ability to pursue opportunities across both.
• Experience selling engineering consultancy, technical services or integrated assurance into the nuclear/defence sector, with sufficient technical understanding to discuss customer challenges credibly and work with specialists to shape solutions.
• Good understanding of nuclear customers, supply chains, procurement processes and the regulated engineering environment.
• Demonstrable ability to build credible relationships with technical and commercial decision-makers.
• Experience managing opportunities from qualification through to contract award, including proposal writing, bid coordination and commercial negotiation, with sound judgement on pricing, margin and risk.
• Strong written and verbal communication, organisation and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across technical and commercial teams, maintaining accurate pipeline forecasts.

Desirable Requirements:

• Business development experience across both defence nuclear and civil nuclear markets.
• An established network within defence nuclear organisations, civil nuclear owners and operators, engineering contractors or specialist consultancy partners.
• Familiarity with nuclear engineering, safety, security, environmental assurance, human factors or systems engineering services across the nuclear lifecycle.
• Experience developing nuclear market campaigns, securing work through frameworks and building partnerships or collaborative bids.
• A relevant technical or business qualification, or equivalent practical experience.
• Pre-existing UK National Security Vetting (SC/DV).

Due to the nature of the work that the Occam Group undertake, you must be a UK national in order to apply. You will be required to undergo pre-employment screening and must be able to satisfy clearance criteria for UK National Security Vetting.

Benefits:

• Annual bonus linked to company and individual performance
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays
• Loyalty leave
• Attractive pension scheme - matched pension contributions, up to 8% from day one
• Family Friendly Policies
• Private healthcare
• Targeted professional development
• Life Assurance (4x salary) and Income Protection (75% of salary)
• Paid membership fees to a professional institution
• Cycle to work salary sacrifice scheme
• EV lease salary sacrifice scheme

Individuals from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply, as we believe that diversity and inclusion are fundamental to creating a dynamic and thriving workplace culture.