Strategy and Defence Sales Manager

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

Governments and private industry rely on us to create satellite‑based systems that provide trusted, anytime‑anywhere connectivity and positioning—helping care for our planet, manage its resources thoughtfully, and explore our Solar System with curiosity and purpose. We view space as a new horizon for collective progress, shaping a more sustainable life on Earth. As a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space partners with Telespazio through the Space Alliance to deliver a full suite of integrated solutions and services.

Working closely with the UK Chief Executive Officer and the senior leadership team, the successful candidate will develop and deliver the company’s strategic plan, and sales activities into commercial and UK defence customers.

This role is based primarily in Harwell, Oxfordshire

• Would you like to be part of our Thales Alenia Space in the UK future?  

• Do you enjoy leading a portfolio of strategic and sales opportunities?

• Could you see yourself executing a capture strategy for bids, winning new business for the organisation?

• Can you bring innovation into the execution of this mixed portfolio of activities ensuring commercial results for the business?

• Do you see yourself as a problem solver, someone who can help customers feel confident and overcome any challenges in partnership with you?

• Can you inspire a team to deliver outstanding commercial results for our customers?

What the role has to offer

• An influential position.

• Challenging and diverse work, from landing on the Moon in 2030 to exploring the observable universe, your projects enable space missions that further humanities understanding of Space.

• Your work and that of your team will ensure we deliver our financial results to the full satisfaction of stakeholders.

• Designing and executing a UK-wide strategy.

Our Opportunity

The primary role of the Sales and Marketing team is to identify, qualify and secure opportunities in line with the UK Business strategy. In addition, the team use market research to identify future potential opportunities to inform priority decisions about R&D investments in new capabilities and technologies. The team leads the annual update of our Strategic Business Plan which enables future business planning, including facilities and resources.

The Strategy and Business Development are divided into two key roles “Strategy & Defence” and “Institutional & Sales”, both roles report to the CEO and together they are responsible for securing profitable business for TAS. This includes:

• Acting as capture leads for major opportunities

• Maintaining TAS-UK pipeline opportunities forecast values and order intake dates with accuracy, entering into T360 through the Central Sales and Operations team on Sales and Marketing

• Provide schedule forecast of future bids to Bid Team

• Define and implement capture plans in order to win ex-group business for TAS and provide intra-group support for TAS opportunities

• Provide relevant input to all Gate reviews including Price to Win, Customer context and Hot Buttons, and Win Strategy

Major outputs include Strategic Business Plan, Multi Year Budget, Order Intake forecast – updated by monthly reviews, Customer mapping and engagement plans and Capture plans for major opportunities.

Specifically, the “Strategy & Defence” role covers:

• Defining the TAS-UK strategy, including inputs to the Strategic Business Plan to identify future prospects.

• Primary relationship for TAS-UK into the TAS-JV Strategy Organisation

• Providing winning contributions to TAS bids into UK Government

• Securing ex-group orders from UK agencies (MoD, DSTL)

• Manage Customer relations including stakeholder mapping and engagement plans for all major customers (MoD, DSTL) in accordance with SAM or KAM

You will work for the UK Chief Executive Officer to:

• Define the company strategy, by working closely with all relevant stakeholders

• Deliver on forecast orders on an annual basis (including meeting targets for Gross Margin on orders intake)

• Identify, qualify and subsequently secure spacecraft propulsion and refuelling opportunities for external (non-JV) customers.

• Identify, qualify and subsequently secure sales opportunities for the UK Defence market.

• Define, create and motivate associated Capture Plans - including engagement strategy to

• secure the opportunity, definition of ‘Win themes’, competitor analysis, capacity to deliver, etc. in an agile and adaptable way

• Ensure capture plans for TAS in the UK opportunities are coordinated across the TAS JV

• Provide accurate forecasting of opportunities with a 5 year horizon, including forecasting of required bid resources

• Perform other duties as directed by management that are consistent with the overall expectations of a Sales Manager position.

• Work closely with the Bid Team to ensure customer expectations are met within the RFx response.

• Engage in competitiveness challenges, seeking and capitalising on the opportunities to deliver better results for our customers.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Meeting annual targets for order intake and GMOI

• Meeting pipeline growth targets and increasing probability of winning opportunities with a 5 year horizon

About you:

The successful candidate will have outstanding people skills and be an exemplar of the Thales Leadership Model, you will need to have influence over many aspects of the business through the portfolio of sales opportunities you lead, this means you need to be an expert in helping people understand the goals and engage in them.

This role provides challenges and excitement in equal measure and is ideally suited to someone who has strong business acumen, customer focus, who is tenacious, flexible, dynamic and resilient. You will have strong interpersonal and communications skills together with being a team player and a skilled negotiator.

• Demonstrates a professional, committed approach to all tasks undertaken.

• Displays passion, energy, drive, agility and resilience in achieving work-related goals under difficult circumstances; enjoys performing through teamwork.

• Self-Motivated/Flexible with a constructive 'can do' attitude, always seeking positive outcomes; resilient when challenged.

• Ability to deliver through influence rather than authority.

• Able to question / challenge established processes and offer innovative alternatives.

• Demonstrates attention to detail, particularly in investigating problems, and a pride in producing accurate work.

• Must be able to work in a multi-disciplined team environment with Suppliers, TAS employees and Customer.

• Excellent communications skills.

Principle Relationships:

Relationships must be built and maintained with the following:

• CEO

• Head of Operations and Competitiveness

• Head of Engineering

• CFO

• Propulsion Competence Center Director

• Key stakeholders (UKSA, Export Customers, UK MOD)

• CTO / Technical Director

• Head of Communications & Government Liaison

• Bid & Project Management function

• Commercial

• Supply Chain & Procurement

• Technical Management

• TAS marketing and sales team; including export leads, equipment sales leads and KAMs

• TAS domains representatives (notably DOSF, DESI and DONI)

• Thales UK marketing and sales teams

Skills and Experience:

• Ability to demonstrate a strategic vision for the future direction of the business for all of our colleagues.

• Team player who can interface at all levels within projects, operations, engineering and manufacturing, representing the business to outside government and customer organisations, and who can operate successfully in a multi-cultural environment.

• An ability to quickly assimilate and utilise a knowledge of the technical and market environment and apply this to the commercial requirements of the business.

• A self-starter, capable of working on own initiative, with a high level of integrity.

• First class communication skills – you create an open environment where you share information and ideas and innovative thinking is stimulated.

Benefits:

• Performance-related bonus

• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00

• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with opportunity to buy up to 40 hours/year (pro rata)

• 24 hours volunteering paid for

• Private healthcare

• Pension scheme

• Life cover

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app

• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers

• Gym membership discounts

Security Clearance Requirement:

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions.  This role requires Security Clearance (SC). It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. 

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years.  In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels.

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At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities. Join the Talent Community here.

Join Thales in the UK – Innovate with us and shape the future!