Head of Business Development & Sales

Introduction

Saab UK is part of Scandinavia's largest defence company, bringing together the best of Swedish and British innovation. Saab offers world-leading solutions and services in defence, aviation, space, and civil security to keep people and society safe. Our UK presence has been growing at pace, meaning we can offer a wide range of opportunities for personal fulfilment and career growth. We currently employ over 600 people across eight sites in the UK, and our specialisations include software engineering, underwater robotics, radars, AI, and armed forces training.

As part of the global entity Saab AB, Saab UK combines the innovative spirit of a start-up with the resources and expertise of a larger corporation. Globally, Saab employs over 24,000 people, with operations on every continent. Our partnerships with UK customers and industry mean we are able to deliver innovative solutions to complex challenges, anticipating the threats of tomorrow. We invest 23% of our annual revenue into research and development, collaborating with a range of partners including industry and academia.

Saab is a company that offers our employees plenty of opportunities for growth and advancement. We embrace diversity and are committed to providing a workplace where individuals can thrive professionally, paving the way for future progression. We also recognise the need for a healthy work-life balance to ensure our staff have the chance to live a fulfilling life beyond the workplace.

The Role

The responsibility covers various elements of Saabs portfolio with particular focus on Training and Simulation, as assigned by the Director of BD and Sales. Their responsibilities include the establishment and maintenance of the customer relationships and responsibility for the relevant parts of the Winning Business (WB) process for their assigned prospects. The CSR leads the business realisation in accordance with the WB process from Market Appraisal up to and including Deliver and Follow Up Tender, and for the customer relationships throughout and beyond the WB process.

This is a key role within the sales team and will represent Saab's continued relationship building with the British Army and therefore, the individual will be required to have an intricate understanding of Land operations and be capable of establishing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, creating a narrative and having the capability to identify opportunities for the business across campaigns and sales.

Stakeholder engagement at all levels within the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is essential to this role. Therefore, applicants will need to have had prior involvement in running large campaigns and stakeholder management.

The Head of BD & Sales is responsible for acquiring and maintaining relevant product knowledge, developing a close working relationship with respective Saab Business Units and to work closely with designated Product Sales Responsible (PSR) for each prospect.

To support this and to build Saab's position within the UK market, the Head of BD & Sales conducts business intelligence, as part of the Competitive and Market Intelligence (CMI) process, and business development work in relation to set responsibilities to provide input to commercial proposals and to participate in contract negotiations, acting as the critical bridge across the entire span between the capability requirements of the end user, and the engineering realities of Production.

Principal Responsibilities

• Deliver order intake and gross margin in accordance with set budget.
• Establish and maintain customer relationships.
• Lead on marketing and sales prospects for the Saab Training and Simulation product portfolio.
• Act as a customer-facing Saab ambassador.
• Lead for the WB process from WB MA to WB1 and take decisions in accordance with delegated authority.
• Deliver on KPIs in accordance with annual goals set during the IPM process.
• Identify, prioritise and qualify new business opportunities and leads.
• Update all qualified cases in the CRM tool.
• Create business-winning strategies for each opportunity.
• Conduct market, customer and competitor analysis in order to develop business.
• Develop and maintain relevant product knowledge.
• Collaborate with the PSR for respective projects.
• Participate and support contract and commercial negotiations.
• Maintain, evaluate and manage market networks and consultants.
• Maintain, evaluate and develop relations with other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) for Business-to-Business opportunities.
• Synchronize with other Saab stakeholders in relevant cases.
• Participate at exhibitions and other customer-facing events.
• Work in alignment with Saab's policies and directives.
• Participate in and support other Operational Countries or Country Units as required.
• Other tasks within the Country Unit as deemed relevant from time to time.
  

Required Skills and Experience

Essential

• Experience and understanding of the UK Defence, acquisition process and budgets.
• Knowledge of British Army Collective Training and the Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP)
• Experience of working at or with DE&S
• Leadership and teamwork skills.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English.
• Developed social skills and a positive attitude.
• Service oriented approach.
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Documented experience of marketing and sales or other relevant sectors.

Desirable

• Knowledge of business and planning processes.
• Have sufficient product knowledge in terms of technical base specifications and commercial aspects in order to be able to assume the CSR role.
• Negotiations experience.