Business Development Executive

The role is to act independently alongside a team of established Business Development (BD) Managers with a requirement to collaborate with all other business functions across the range of business winning activities. This work will ensure that qualified opportunities are developed into active sales opportunities and eventually revenue generating business. It will involve working closely with the BD Director and other team members to develop, track and execute opportunities across nominated regions of responsibility.

The BD Executive participates in opportunity management, order intake tracking and reporting, bid-management, proposal preparation and customer relationship management.  They will also support the BD Managers across their regions where additional resource is needed.

The BD Executive will also play a vital role representing the company’s product offering and reputation as part of the BD team on a day-to-day basis, both in the office and on national and international business trips.

• Key Responsibilities

  Reports to the BD Director and will be involved in:

  • Supporting the management of new & existing opportunities to optimise financial and product placement objectives while satisfying the needs of potential customers
  • Opportunity & order intake pipeline management
  • Participation in bid management and where appropriate, campaign planning
  • Pursuing sales opportunities to successful closure
  • Working alongside the Head of Strategic Marketing and Communications to provide market insights, opportunity related intelligence and support to customer engagement activities
  • Working alongside Business Support Manager to ensure proposal responses accurately reflect the customer’s requirements
  • Customer relationship management to ensure the satisfaction of the client from initial contact through to delivery of order
  • Conducting Market & Competitor Analysis
  • Liaising with both Engineer and Research & Development (R&D) functions to ensure technical coherence across BD activities
  • Attending major defence and security conferences and exhibitions (internationally) representing the company’s products, capabilities, and reputation in line with the vision
  • Other related duties as assigned.
• Skills and Experience
  • Entry to this role could be gained through project management or other technical/commercial routes, expanding your career into business development.  Would suit post-graduate level of applicants.
  • Experience in the defence sector is desirable. Exposure to military sales and business development is a definite asset.
  • The ability to work with and understand technical specifications in order to speak confidently to customers and to project and engineering team members is essential.
  • Our ideal candidate would have some knowledge of sales / business development best practices.
  • A business acumen is a definite asset, and an understanding of commercial principles is required.
  • We expect the applicant to perform exceptionally well in a team environment and to demonstrate outstanding people skills.
  • Must also be able to operate day-to-day with little direct supervision and to make timely, rational decisions when necessary.
  • Proficiency in working with Excel spreadsheets and Access databases is desirable.
• Personal attributes and other requirements
  • As a defence contractor, we have a number of security obligations placed upon the Company, which means that all our staff must be able to successfully achieve the relevant security clearances.
  • Hold a valid UK driving licence.
  • You will be expected to support in-house training programmes, as required.
• Working Environment

  Primarily office based (in Newcastle upon Tyne) but with a travel requirement of approximately 50%-60% to external customers (often overseas), exhibitions and conferences.