At a Glance
- Tasks: Drive growth in inflight entertainment by winning and expanding airline partnerships.
- Company: Join Spafax, a leader in content technology for top airlines worldwide.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, performance bonuses, and access to WPP's extensive resources.
- Other info: Dynamic role with travel opportunities and a chance to influence industry trends.
- Why this job: Shape the future of passenger experiences with innovative media solutions.
- Qualifications: 8-12 years in IFE business development; strong communication and negotiation skills.
The predicted salary is between 54000 - 84000 £ per year.
About Spafax
Spafax delivers content technology and media assets for the world’s leading airlines, including Emirates, the Lufthansa Group, Singapore Airlines, and many others. We curate a vast catalogue of global Movies, TV, Audio, and Games across every major entertainment market. We provide next-generation experiences for passengers, so the combination of creativity and technology is at the heart of what we do. We are headquartered in London, with offices in Germany, Dubai, Canada, LA, Beijing, Singapore, and HK. Spafax is part of WPP, one of the largest marketing companies.
About the Role
This role is an opportunity to shape the future of inflight entertainment and digital passenger experiences on a global scale. You will drive growth by winning, retaining, and expanding airline partnerships, combining commercial excellence with strategic insight. Working across teams, you will transform data into compelling propositions, build long-term relationships with senior stakeholders, and bring innovative products to market. As a visible industry leader, you will represent Spafax at key events, influence product direction, and deliver measurable impact. This is a role for a proactive, entrepreneurial leader who thrives on creating value, driving results, and turning vision into reality.
Main Duties & Responsibilities
- Winning-Retaining-Expanding
- Win new airline partnerships for IFE Content, Creative Services, and Digital Experiential Products.
- Design and enforce a data-driven bid/no-bid framework that scores and prioritises RFIs/RFPs and sales opportunities.
- Proactively engage new and existing airline customers to position Spafax’s media products and services.
- Maintain and publish a monthly prioritised BD pipeline with clear stages, probabilities, and next actions.
- Identify key airline customers and develop direct relationships with key airline executives.
- Support all receiving IFE/IFC/DIGITAL/OTT RFIs/RFPs by providing sales relevant strategy and inputs targeted individually to each airline.
- Secure contracts with at least 3 new airlines based on research and assessment agreed with reporting lines.
- Structure complex, multi-year agreements with Finance & Legal; own business casing and approvals.
- Partner cross-functionally with Content, Media, Engineering, Data, Ad Ops, Marketing, and Legal teams.
- Co-pitch Spafax’s capabilities together with the Global SVP BD and Regional account teams.
- Identify and develop key strategic partners for future partnership developments.
- Identify new products, services, and solutions for Spafax to take to market.
- Retain business and support regional account directors with performance narratives and data-backed recommendations.
- Protect delivery and SLAs by supporting ops teams; support early escalation and fast resolution.
- Spot churn risk early via health scores and support regional account directors to deploy mitigation actions.
- Champion the voice of the customer internally and support product owners to prioritise features.
- Maintain accurate renewal dates, expansion plans, and risk notes in CRM.
- Deliver renewal forecasts with probability integrity.
- Expand Business and Upsell
- Upsell Spafax products and services to existing customers.
- Investigate and assess possible customer product/features demand.
- Create a high-level requirements document to be shared with the VP BD IFE Tech & Innovation.
- Internal Education & Sales Enablement for Regional Teams
- Deliver internal sales methodology and training sessions to regional account teams.
- Lead the creation and rollout of a standardized airline sales toolkit.
- Intelligence Reports
- Produce and publish reports on airline, IFE/IFC/OTT market trends and actionable insights.
- Maintain a forward view of airline digital trends and translate into go-to-market playbooks.
- Strategic Influence & Industry Presence
- Represent Spafax in aviation events, exhibitions, and shows.
- Deliver thought leadership and secure executive access to airlines and relevant partners.
About You
Qualifications:
- 8–12+ years in IFE business development within aviation, travel media, adtech, OTT, or related sectors.
- Proven track record acquiring new airlines and an active network of airline contacts.
- Familiarity with airline commercial structures, CSPs, OEMs, IFE/IFC ops, tech constraints, Data Analytics, and Risk/Opportunity management.
- Strong financial acumen: Proposal creation, servicing models, forecasting, and business casing.
- Excellent executive communication and negotiation skills.
- 2+ years of Agentic AI experience.
- Bachelor’s degree required, MBA or equivalent advantage.
Competencies:
- Hunter mindset with consultative selling.
- Enablement specialist who can codify methodology and teach it.
- Analytical storyteller who turns data into strategy and action.
- Cross-functional collaborator.
- Ownership & velocity—moves initiatives from idea to contract to launch.
Tools & Platforms (Nice to Have):
- CRM (Salesforce/HubSpot), pipeline analytics, pricing/yield tools.
- Familiarity with agentic AI platforms, presentation design, market intelligence platforms.
Travel: ~25–40% (industry events, airline HQs, partner meetings).
In return, we offer:
- Competitive base + performance bonus aligned to KPI structure.
- A great team of fantastic colleagues.
- The benefits of being part of WPP – the wide agency network and access to a central resource.
To apply please copy the link below into your browser: Application Link
Applicants who progress through the interview process may be asked to complete an assignment.
Spafax is an Equal Opportunities employer.
IFE Business Development Director in England employer: Spafax
At Spafax, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters creativity and innovation in the heart of London. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through comprehensive training programmes and opportunities to engage with industry leaders at global events. As part of WPP, we provide our team with access to a vast network and resources, ensuring that every member can thrive and contribute to shaping the future of inflight entertainment.
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We think you need these skills to ace IFE Business Development Director in England
Some tips for your application 🫡
Highlight Your Analytical Skills:In the business intelligence field, showcasing your analytical skills is a must. Make sure your CV includes relevant experience with data analysis tools, programming languages like SQL or Python, and any projects where you've interpreted complex data sets to drive business decisions.
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Tailor Your Documents for Us:When applying for a full-time role at Spafax, tailor your CV and cover letter to reflect our organisational goals and strategies. Mention specific tools and methodologies that align with what we do—this shows you’ve done your homework and are genuinely interested in our mission!
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How to prepare for a job interview at Spafax
✨Show off your analytical skills
In a business intelligence role, you're going to need to demonstrate your analytical prowess. Be prepared to discuss specific tools you've used, like SQL, Tableau, or Power BI. Have real-world examples ready where you’ve turned data into actionable insights – this is what makes us shine in interviews!
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✨Portfolio of Projects
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✨Know their business model
Get familiar with Spafax’s business model and recent data-driven decisions. Be prepared to discuss how your skills can specifically support their objectives or challenges. Understanding their landscape shows that you’re not just a data buff, but you’re also genuinely interested in how BI can impact their bottom line.
