Business Development Director - Defence

Nigel Wright Group is delighted to have been appointed exclusively, by a PE backed manufacturing business, that supplies into the defence sector. The company is fast growing and has plans to double in size from its current circa £20m turnover. This is an extremely exciting opportunity for a high quality Business Development Director to make a significant impact, drive their career onto the next level and achieve a highly lucrative equity stake. Package: £90K - £110K 40% bonus equity. Role Profile: Lead the Business Development Function: Drive new business growth across UK and international markets, with particular focus on defence, aerospace, and government clients. Sales Strategy & Execution : Define and implement the Company’s sales and marketing strategy, including campaign management, capture planning, sales forecasting, bid management, and negotiation. Market Development: Identify and pursue new opportunities across the Americas and Europe, engaging with OEMs, director government customers, and wider business networks to generate future programme requirements. Stakeholder Management: Build and manage strong relationships with customers, agents, partners, and collaborators, representing the Company at industry events, conferences, and exhibitions. Revenue & Customer Pipeline Development : Construct, formalise, and manage a structured revenue and customer pipeline, ensuring consistency, transparency, and accountability in how opportunities are identified, qualified, and converted. Championing Sales Infrastructure : Lead the selection, implementation, and adoption of appropriate tools (e.g., CRM systems) and processes to professionalise and enhance the effectiveness of the Company’s sales function. Leadership & Mentoring: Train, mentor, and develop junior members of the team, fostering a high-performance culture and ensuring the consistent delivery of effective demonstrations, trials, and campaigns Collaboration with Senior Leadership: Work as a member of the senior management team to shape and deliver the Company’s growth strategy, contributing commercial insight and customer perspective to Board-level discussions. Commercial Discipline: Help ensure rigour in contract negotiation, RFI/RFQ/BAFO submissions, and agreement of system requirements and acceptable terms and conditions. Performance Delivery: Deliver against agreed sales and margin targets, ensuring profitable growth and long-term shareholder value creation. Person Specification: Experience of new customer development and increasing / maximising of opportunities through existing customers in the defence sector. Route to market experience selling into defence prime contractors and OEMs. Can be based anywhere in the UK, however, must be comfortable, spending 4-8 days per month at the HQ in South Wales. Strong at people leadership and market interaction, with the ability to implement effective new systems and processes to help drive commercial performance.

Location: Wales,, GB

Posted Date: 11/7/2025