Location: Reading, United Kingdom In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible. Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions. Research Sales Manager Location: Primarily Reading but can be based in Bristol, Crawley, Cheadle or Templecombe (This role will involve extensive travel within the UK). Our Opportunity: THALES is looking to recruit an ambitious and driven Research Sales Manager to be responsible for delivering R&T capture activities to meet Order Intake targets, ensuring forecast accuracy and driving a proactive R&T growth strategy for our Research, Technology & Solution Innovation ( RTSI ) organisation. The primary focus is on Customer Funded Research and Development (CFRD) aligned with RTSI Technology Roadmaps and innovation activities. What will you deliver? Capture lead for Customer Funded Research and Development (CFRD) capture activities across all RTSI Research Programmes, responsible for achieving RTSI CFRD Order Intake budget Support the team in leading the generation of opportunities, prioritising them, owning offer development Work collaboratively to develop winning capture strategies for opportunities Contribute to bid / no bid recommendations to ensure effort is not expended where there is little chance of success Maintain an account management approach to customer relationships, ensuring customer intimacy through programme delivery ensuring customer needs are met and opportunities to expand our business are captured. Regular customer engagement with UK defence and government organisations. Liaise with internal and external stakeholders. Within RTSI, work with bid and programme management teams, commercial, finance and other stakeholders to deliver bids effectively and efficiently and prepare appropriately for programme delivery, highlighting any concerns. About You: Who are we looking for? You will have passion for technology and what it can deliver for customers. You will be a strong communicator with excellent business partnering and influencing abilities. You will be able to present the RTSI capture pipeline, capture status and strategies, effectively for senior management audiences. You will have knowledge and experience of the RTSI CFRD Customer base and its various organisations. You will have leadership experience with the ability to encourage and develop a team through coaching, feedback and creating an inclusive and supportive environment. You are able to manage risk where appropriate and foster entrepreneurship and innovation in your role. You will have experience of taking capture opportunities through the entire capture pipeline from opportunity generation to contract signature. You will have an understanding of the bid governance processes. You will be qualified to a level of higher education, and have standard IT skills (word, excel, powerpoint) and ability to operate pipeline tools. Desirable: Experience in defence sector in the innovation or research communities with relevant customer relationships. Knowledge of Thales products and technologies. Degree in engineering/science or equivalent industry experience. Security Clearance statement 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. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance. 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. What We Can Offer We’re committed to giving you opportunities to be your best. We believe in embracing the passion and potential of our people, and to achieve this we offer market leading training, development and experiences, along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry. We hire from within as our first priority, so you’ll have a myriad of opportunities within our diverse, global organisation. Flexibility: Your health and well-being matter to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, hybrid working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions. Benefits at Thales: Alongside a competitive base salary, we offer a variable compensation plan bonus and benefits package, which includes: Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00pm Hybrid working Pension Scheme 28 days annual leave (Plus Bank Holidays) Life Cover Progression and Development Opportunities 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers Development focused targets and relocation support can be provided if required along with a variety of learning, development and career enhancement opportunities. Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales. LI-RS1 In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency. At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working. Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles. Great journeys start here, apply now!