Business Development Manager, Europe

Job Description

Job Title: Business Development Manager, Europe

Location: All UK locations considered with national and international travel. We offer a range of hybrid and flexible working arrangements – please speak to your recruiter about the options for this particular role

Salary: Circa £75,000 + depending on experience

What you’ll be doing:

• Build and sustain long-term relationships with European government customers, end users, and industry partners
• Identify, shape, and progress new business opportunities across the Electronic Systems portfolio in allocated European countries
• Develop a detailed understanding of customer needs and priorities, translating this into clear business strategies and capture activity
• Lead country-level market analysis, including budgets, acquisition processes, geopolitical context, and competitive landscape
• Create and maintain country strategies aligned to sector and business area growth objectives
• Support international capture campaigns, contributing to win strategies, competitive positioning, and bid readiness
• Coordinate international business development activity with internal stakeholders across countries and business areas
• Contribute to marketing and communications activity to support customer engagement and market presence
• Act as deputy for the International Business Development Director for Europe when required

Your skills and experiences:

Essential

• Demonstrable experience within the defence and security sector, including knowledge of European defence markets
• Proven experience developing and managing relationships with international Military, Government and business customers
• Knowledge of international defence contracting, acquisition processes, and customer buying behaviours
• Experience presenting and engaging at senior and executive level

Desirable

• Experience with Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and/or Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) programmes
• Knowledge of electronic systems and defence technologies, including C4ISR, Electronic Warfare, controls and avionics, and power and propulsion

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 European International Business Development Team:

The Electronic Systems (ES) International Business Development team works across Europe to identify, shape, and secure international opportunities for the sector. The team partners closely with customers, industry, and internal business areas to support international capture activity and long-term growth across the ES portfolio.

This role sits within the European International Business Development team and reports to the International Business Development Director for Europe. While the role is contracted to Rochester, Kent, candidates may be based anywhere in the UK. The position operates in a hybrid working model and involves regular travel to UK BAE Systems sites, customer locations across Europe, and other international destinations as required.

The role covers a portfolio of European countries, defined by experience and capability, and plays a key part in developing customer relationships, shaping new business opportunities, and supporting international capture activity across multiple Electronic Systems business areas.

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: 4th February 2026

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.

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