Business Development Manager

Business Development Manager - Air Domain - UK, Middle East & Africa Region

Defence | Aerospace | Autonomous Systems | ISR

We are supporting a highly innovative defence technology organisation seeking an experienced Business Development Director - Air Domain to drive customer engagement, opportunity development and strategic growth across the UK, Middle East and Africa.

This is an outstanding opportunity for a former Royal Air Force officer or senior air-domain professional with a strong understanding of capability development, operational requirements, military stakeholder engagement and defence acquisition.

The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in shaping future air capabilities, supporting the adoption of advanced autonomous systems and intelligence solutions, and developing long-term strategic relationships with military and government customers.

The Opportunity:

You will lead business development activities within the air domain, serving as the primary relationship owner for key military stakeholders while supporting regional growth strategies and campaign execution.

Working closely with operational, engineering, product, commercial and leadership teams, you will help translate customer challenges into innovative capability solutions and drive opportunities from early engagement through to contract award.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain trusted relationships across the Royal Air Force, MOD, capability organisations and innovation communities.
• Build and execute engagement plans aligned to strategic growth objectives.
• Identify, shape and convert opportunities from early market engagement through to bid and contract award.
• Maintain awareness of emerging operational priorities, capability gaps and procurement strategies.
• Act as the organisation's air-domain subject matter expert across the UK, Middle East and Africa region.
• Advise regional teams on air operations, doctrine, command and control, airworthiness considerations and operational employment concepts.
• Support customer problem definition, use-case development and solution positioning.
• Provide insight into military force structures, acquisition processes and decision-making pathways.

Campaign & Opportunity Management

• Develop and execute strategic campaign plans for priority opportunities.
• Create stakeholder maps, engagement strategies and opportunity roadmaps.
• Monitor progress against campaign objectives, pipeline targets and opportunity milestones.
• Support bid development activities, including customer insights, competitive positioning and win strategies.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with engineering, product, operations, finance, legal and delivery teams.
• Support demonstrations, trials, proposals, pricing strategies and solution development.
• Ensure customer messaging and engagement activity is aligned and credible.
• Provide specialist air-domain support across wider business initiatives as required.

Candidate Profile

• Former Royal Air Force service or equivalent senior air-domain experience.
• Strong understanding of RAF operations, capability development and stakeholder structures.
• Credibility and confidence engaging with senior military, MOD, government and industry stakeholders.
• Experience shaping opportunities, demonstrations, trials, bids and capability proposals.
• Knowledge of one or more of the following:
• Autonomous Systems
• UAS/UAV Operations
• Electronic Warfare (EW)
• Airspace Integration
• Air Capability Development
• Degree in Aerospace, Engineering, Defence Studies, Security or related discipline.
• Experience supporting Middle East and/or African defence customers.
• Knowledge of RAF innovation, experimentation or rapid capability organisations.
• Leadership experience across multidisciplinary teams.
• Understanding of mission systems, payload integration, command and control systems and emerging air-domain threats.

What's on Offer;

• Opportunity to influence the future of defence and autonomous air capabilities.
• High-impact strategic role within a rapidly growing technology organisation.
• Competitive salary package.
• Company pension with employer contributions.
• Private medical insurance.
• Additional flexible benefits.
• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements.

Interested?

If you have a strong RAF background and a track record of developing opportunities, influencing stakeholders and delivering growth within the defence sector, we would be keen to hear from you.

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