Sales Manager UK

The (Senior) Sales Manager is focused on executing the SES Space & Defence business strategy and driving business development and sales efforts with direct end-users and strategic partners to fulfill the long-term vision in the Government market. In this capacity, the (Senior) Sales Manager will be responsible for identification, qualification, pursuit and capture of strategic and commercial initia-tives in the UK Government market through engagements with integrators and the end-user community to expand SES in the UK market. This includes building relationships and engagements with deci-sion makers, system integrators, solutions providers as well as the end-user community. The main objective is to find new opportunities for SES and to secure related customer engagements for SES, with a view to meet and exceed SES budgets and business plans for the outlined key market(s).

You will be responsible for (this is not an exhaustive list):

Go-to-Market Strategy

• Execute the strategic business development / strategic sales plan for the UK Government market, leveraging SES’ (Managed and Sovereign) MEO/GEO solutions and portfolio for said government so as to achieve SES objectives and acceleration of adoption of SES solutions among UK Government end-users
• Main responsibility is to be SES’ main Point of Contact for all commercial matters regarding the Skynet SDW program, by (pro-actively) identify, develop and win new business;
• Analyze the market, trends, customer segmentation and competitor activity, to determine target customer groups, channels and sales planning
• Support business planning and general planning & execution processes with an eye toward government applications and growth opportunities
• Develop sales pipeline forecasting to give a view on indirect demand by strategic partners and channels to accelerate sales opportunities 

Customer Capture 

• Develop customer alignment and excitement into SES differentiated core (Managed and Sovereign) GEO and MEO assets (among which GOVSAT-1 and O3b mPOWER), while working with corporate assets to ensure proper resourcing is allocated for delivery and growth of the market 
• Be a major catalyst through business development and account management activities to grow strategic partners and channels to accelerate the UK Government sales 
• Support or specific lead proposal efforts and effectively introduce Managed and Sovereign solutions to government customers in retained markets

Account Management

• Develop strategic account plans to grow key government customers with direct engagements to Governments as well as via indirect fulfillment
• Be SES’ day-to-day commercial PoC in Team Aurora (Skynet SDW), by managing the rela-tionship with Babcock, Intelsat and GovSat and - in coordination with Babcock - UK MoD
• Meet - and strive to exceed - the (team) sales targets
• Manage customer relationship from lead generation up to project fulfillment processes
• Develop, manage and execute the strategic partners in the selected market(s)
• Constantly optimise value proposition offered to SES’ customers; conduct workshops with core customers and partners to introduce new SES technologies and capability options
   

YOUR PROFILE:

Must Have

• University degree (ideally with legal, commercial, and/or technical background) and/or Military Academy degree and/or relevant Military background
• Minimum 10 years’ experience in the Government industry
• Ideally a 10 years military career with (UK) Armed Forces, with substantial exposure to related com-munications services
• Fluency in English; knowledge of other languages is an additional asset
• Demonstrated leadership experience in international and multi-cultural environment
• Knowledge of satellite communications industry by identifying and anticipating customer needs, as-sessing their implications, determining their impact and developing/implementing adequate action plans
• Excellent knowledge of technical, financial and operational aspects of the business
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 50% of the time for customer and/or partner engagement

Nice to Have

• Preferably UK national, living in the UK. 
• UK security clearance in place or willingness to start vetting process. 

Competencies

• Forward and driven sales hunter with ability to effectively make commercial offers, negotiate solu-tions and drive the sales process by personal engagement
• Able to negotiate and close deals for high-value communications services at customer senior de-cision-making levels
• Proven ability to understand specific and tailor-made needs of customers, create industry in-sights, execute solutions and campaigns for market adoption that position SES as a thought leader
• Ability to understand and influence specific procurement routes in UK Government market
• Ability to multi-task and balance strategic thinking/tactical operations to execute segment vision and objectives
• Entrepreneurial spirit and focus on closing deals
• Accountability and decision making, ability to be responsible for evaluating options and presenting recommendations on initiatives aimed at having significant contribution to business success 
• Problem-solving, ability to respond to different situations, considering a range of possible options within overall organizational policies to determine best solutions for customer and SES
• Excellent project management and planning skills
• Capability to work in accurate and organized manner with proven attention to detail
• Lead by example in organizational ethics and morale