Head of Business Development in Ashford

We are currently recruiting a Head of Business Development to join QinetiQ Target Systems (QTS) within our Business Development Team. QTS is a wholly owned subsidiary of QinetiQ Group PLC specialising in the design and manufacture of a range of state of the art Unmanned Aerial and Surface Target systems including the world leading Banshee target. QTS targets are used to enable realistic weapons test and evaluation and operator training in over 40 countries worldwide with QTS providing a complete managed service in over 15 of these countries.

What will I be doing?

• Reporting to the QTS UK Managing Director (but with accountability to the QTS Canada Managing Director), you will develop and own the growth strategy of the targets business areas (QTS UK & QTS Canada), as a member of the senior leadership team of both sites deliver orders in line with budget and strategy over a 1-3 year period.
• Protecting and securing new customers, shaping the market strategy for the 4-5 year period.

Strategy

• Own, set and deliver the market strategy and deliver against challenging objectives.
• Develop and deliver a growing order intake pipeline.
• Provide clear guidance regarding current and future customer requirements to guide investment and product roadmaps.

Customer/Partner Relationships

• Build and retain strong relationships with customers and partners to close deals and provide the businesses with sound, profitable contracts.
• Ensuring that customer focus is at the heart of the business decision making.

Leadership

• Provide business winning leadership capability to the business.
• Form strong intra and inter-company collaborative working relationships to develop great solutions for customers.
• Identify key risks in delivering the growth strategy and to work with the team to remove them as impediments to growth.

In Year Accountabilities

• With the support of the Customer Account Management organization and Single Route to Market partners, deliver the in-year orders and a growing order intake pipeline in accordance with budget.

Opportunity Analysis

• Think broadly and creatively about the industry and customer landscape, effectively considering wider factors and identifying longer-term opportunities that fit with QinetiQ’s core capabilities.
• Understand the geopolitics affecting market conditions in several territories.
• Considers wider implications such as reputational consequences when evaluating an opportunity.
• Identifies market shaping opportunities by thinking in terms of positioning and brand rather than just capability and price.
• Finds new and creative possibilities in adjacent markets that benefit the longer term.
• Maintains the C4C / CRM to ensure transparency and communication of pipeline and capture forecasting.

Relationship Building

• Actively seeks to build and maintains trusting relationships with a wide network of relevant people in the industry, customer and QinetiQ, leveraging these relationships appropriately.
• Develops QinetiQ’s profile in a locality or market.
• Develops broad network with industries, government, and relevant agencies.
• Leverages relationships effectively to increase business opportunities.
• Champions authenticity, transparency and trust.

Customer Focus

• Ensures we understand the customer’s needs – focusing on what will deliver value to them.
• Champions strong customer relationships that lead to long-term business partnerships.
• Effectively uses in depth customer knowledge and understanding to propose solutions that lead to competitive advantage.
• Provide thought leadership into targeting customers through initiatives that generate demand for our capabilities.

Business Alignment

• Optimise growth and profitability for QinetiQ over the medium and long-term, taking into account the wider market landscape.
• Encourages others to think in terms of ‘Win strategy’ focusing on how to win and what to sell.
• Develops and drives plans for introducing new product and entering new markets.
• Comprehensive understanding of concepts and principles within BD and an understanding of the technological disciplines within the business including project delivery.
• Can build a compelling business case, using information from multiple sources which guide decisions regarding new market entry and investment decisions.
• Brings to the strategy review a price and plan to win (knowledge of cost base/supply chain, customer need, customer engagement strategy and timescales).
• Strong coaching, facilitation and consultancy skills with a proven track record of being able to influence at all levels.
• Strong influence to the business ensuring that any special projects are shaped and aligned to the strategy of the business.

Personal Impact

• Communicates clearly, credibly and positively when engaging different stakeholders, focusing on earning trust and getting buy-in.
• Enthuses their audience as well as delivering a clear message and call to action.
• Manages meetings so they are informative and energising and colleagues leave feeling motivated.
• Listens well; knows when to stop and listen; asks the right questions at the right time.
• Adapts their approach to interact effectively in different company and national cultures.
• Champions credibility in their different approaches to gain buy in and engage others.

Leadership

• Acts as a role model in demonstrating commitment to QinetiQ values and behaviours.
• Is committed to execution excellence through continuous improvement and works pro-actively with various Functions to accomplish this.
• Communicates frequently and clearly with team members at all levels.
• Leads and drives employee engagement.
• Identifies key drivers to business performance and leads multi-disciplinary teams to address opportunities and risks.
• Clearly articulates business objectives to all levels of the organization and ensures Functions have plans in place to fulfil the business growth need.
• Leads annual business plan creation and subsequent forecast updates.
• Supports and promotes a safety centric culture.

What do I need?

• You will have previous demonstrable experience in a sales/business development role at a management level in a global environment and be familiar with the global defence market, preferably with knowledge of test & evaluation, training solutions for live weapons firing, aerial and surface remotely operated targets.
• You’ll also be highly skilled at managing relationships and conflicting priorities at a senior level and have experience of leading a team of BD professionals, including raising the bar on performance and actively managing poor performance.
• We also ask that you:

• have applicable business or engineering qualifications.
• have at least 5 years demonstrated success in defence business development with a minimum of 2 years global experience.
• are a leading advocate and practitioner of winning business, liaising with customers at a senior level, structuring propositions and overseeing the creation of proposals and bids.
• have a comprehensive understanding of concepts and principles within sales and an understanding of the technological disciplines and project delivery.
• have experience of leading a team of professionals.
• have strong coaching, facilitation and consultancy skills with a proven track record of being able to influence at all levels.
• have knowledge of challenges and changes in the sector and how they may relate to QinetiQ.

Why Join QinetiQ?

As we continue to grow into new markets around the world, there’s never been a more exciting time to join QinetiQ. The formula for success is our appetite for innovation and having the courage to take on a wide variety of complex challenges. As a QinetiQ employee, you’ll experience a unique working environment where teams from different backgrounds, disciplines and experience enjoy collaborating widely and openly as we undertake this exciting and rewarding journey. Through effective teamwork, and pulling together, you’ll get to experience what happens when we all share different perspectives, blend disciplines, and link technologies; constantly discovering new ways of solving complex problems in a diverse and inclusive environment where you can be authentic, feel valued and realise your full potential. Visit our website to read more about our diverse and inclusive workplace culture.

Benefits

• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Generous holiday allowance, with the option to purchase additional days
• Options to join Health Cash Plan, Private Medical Insurance and Dental Insurance
• Employee discount portal: Personal Accident Insurance, Travel Insurance, Restaurants, Cinema Tickets and much more
• We are proud to support the Armed Forces community by honouring the Armed Forces Covenant and maintaining our Gold Award standard in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme
• Volunteering Opportunities - helping charities and local community

Our Recruitment Process:

We want to make sure that our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible and we aspire to bring out the best in our candidates by creating an environment where everyone feels valued, heard and supported. If you have a disability or health condition that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your Recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments. Many roles in QinetiQ are subject to national security vetting being completed, applicants who already hold the appropriate level of vetting may be able to transfer it upon appointment. A number of roles are also subject to additional restrictions, which mean factors such as nationality or previous nationalities may affect the roles that you can be employed in. Please note that all applicants for this role must be eligible for SC clearance, as a minimum.