Business Development Manager – Underwater Battlespace & Autonomy

Job Title: Business Development Manager – Underwater Battlespace & Autonomy

Location: Portsmouth Broad Oak. We offer a range of hybrid and flexible working arrangements – please speak to your recruiter about the options for this particular role.

Salary: Up to £85,000 dependent on skills and experience with executive package

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading the Underwater Battlespace Campaign (including underwater weapons and autonomy) within the business sector

• Leading business development activity across complex and high-value opportunities in the underwater battlespace market including early market engagement, detailed understanding and planning, positioning to win and developing and closing opportunities with the capture lead

• Identifying, creating and developing new opportunities for the business and maturing to bid decision stage, then collaborating with Capture Leads to secure successful outcomes

• Driving growth by uncovering and progressing opportunities both within existing accounts and new customers/markets; both UK and international

• Engaging extensively with customers to build strong, lasting relationships and shape requirements. Represents the customer voice within the business

• Manages, develops and maintains strong stakeholder relationships beyond the end user and buying community including key influencers, government departments representatives, local stakeholders, trade bodies and industry partners

• Collaborating with cross-functional internal stakeholders to align strategic objectives and secure business wins

• Collaboration with other lines of business to present an integrated offering to the customer

• Presenting business cases and opportunity updates to senior internal stakeholders and decision-makers

• Supporting marketing activities, including representing the business at key industry events; including delivering presentations

• Interpret and act on market intelligence and customer insight to develop country plans and inform investment decisions

Your skills and experiences:

• Proven track record of securing and winning business within the defence industry

• Demonstrate successful BD/sales experience in the military underwater battlespace market, understanding operational/customer needs and hence be able speak authoritatively with the customer. Areas include anti-submarine warfare and autonomy

• Demonstrable success in products sales and as part of an integrated solution

• Strong understanding of defence market dynamics, customer needs, and procurement cycles

• Experience engaging with key defence stakeholders, including MOD and international customers

• Ability to lead business development efforts from early opportunity identification through to bid submission

Benefits:

As well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts – you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The Business Development team:

As the Business Development Manager, you will have a unique opportunity to lead business development activities within a strategically important area of the defence industry.

You will play a pivotal role in shaping growth opportunities, influencing customer requirements, and collaborating to secure high-value contracts. With strong exposure to senior stakeholders, both internally and externally, the role provides visibility, autonomy, and the chance to directly impact business strategy. Involvement across the full business winning lifecycle from early engagement through to successful contract award makes this position ideal for a commercially minded leader with a passion for securing future growth.

Why BAE Systems?

This is a place where you’ll be able to make a real difference. You’ll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you’ll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date: 6th August 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

#LI-JP1

#LI-Hybrid