Posted Tuesday 30 September 2025 at 00:00
Overview
Great ideas come from different minds. That’s why we bring together engineers, scientists, analysts, and creatives from every background — and give them the trust, tools, and freedom to make a difference. What connects us is the mission: solving meaningful problems and building capability that protects what matters most. And as the challenges evolve, so do we — working on the technologies that will shape tomorrow, not just today.
At Roke
Built over a 60-year heritage, Roke offers specialist knowledge in sensors, communications, cyber, and AI and ML. We change the way organisations think and act – through dynamic insights from the analysis of multiple layers of data. We take care of the innovative, technical stuff that keeps everyone safe – that’s our mission, passion, and motivation.
Joining a team united by purpose and ambition, you’ll be at the heart of an exciting growth journey: having doubled in size over the last 4 years, we intend to double our headcount by 2027. At Roke, every individual counts. We push technical boundaries, together. We re-invest in product innovation, and we empower our people to make a difference.
We are looking for a highly motivated, proven self-starter to join our Defence Sales Team in the role of Business Development and Sales Manager. This is a BD & Sales role reporting directly into the Head of Sales.
The role involves being a customer facing representative of Roke and a trusted advisor to our Clients. You will have a broad technical understanding of communications and sensing in the Defence domain and offer an informed, domain knowledge into existing and new customers, plus act as the voice of the customer into Roke. You will be able to provide clear, concise benefits and advantages of Roke’s class leading products and services, and ensure high and consistent standards are always presented to the customer.
As a Business Development and Sales Manager you will be a part of an International Sales Team responsible for the identification, development and successful closure of Defence Sales opportunities within your designated area of responsibility. Supported by the Head of Sales you will own the full sales lifecycle, ensuring our clients are fully aware of Roke’s products and capabilities, and ensuring Rokes offering is fully aligned to their requirements in conjunction with the bid and business winning functions.
You will work closely with the Field Operations Technicians and other Business Development and Sales Manager to identify key trials and demonstration events, capture the success criteria and ensure the product portfolio is suitably configured to support such activity.
Job Purpose & Key Responsibilities
* Internal and external stakeholder management to drive successful sales outcomes through the full sales lifecycle
* Proactive Business Development from requirements identification, capture and shaping through to order closure including responsible management of labour budgets
* Bid sponsorship, strategy, direction and guidance
* Working with the Head of Sales systematically analyse the market, customers and competitors to produce a rolling 5 year forecast pipeline with robust forecasting in support of business planning
* Build and maintain relationships with customer representatives and key stakeholders, facilitate wider team engagement where relevant
* Growth of Customer Funded Development (CFD) opportunities in current and new areas as aligned to the technology roadmap
* Campaign direction and management, identifying the right marketing resources, events, white papers, innovation and associated non-labour budget; as agreed with the Head of Sales
* Active management of Risks and Opportunities that impact or influence Roke, the Business unit or campaign area
* Active participation within the Sales Team, supporting with related tasks, transformation activities and being a visible leader within the campaign
* Undertake such other reasonable duties, commensurate with the job holder’s experience and qualifications, as may be required for the smooth operation of the business
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
* Strong market driven approach including market assessment, market analysis and strategic relationship building
* Proven pedigree of customer engagement and delivery of successful sales in the Defence domain
* Demonstrable experience of delivering £10m sales per annum
* Demonstrable experience of building and managing a 5-year rolling sales pipeline to accurately forecast and deliver sales
* Familiarity with Defence (UK and/or Export) procurement process and structure
* Knowledge of multi-national defence operations, organisations and structures, and how to align them to products and services
* An existing network of contacts spanning the international community in the Defence domain
* Excellent interpersonal skills with a proven ability to communicate and influence internal and external stakeholders across all levels
* Experience of working in, and managing, small agile teams and delivering complexity at pace and across a wide customer base
* Experience of delivering briefings, demonstrations and proposals to a diverse audience including students where English isn’t the first language
* Additional language skills are useful, but awareness of any cultural sensitivities is more important
* An ability to analyse problems and communicate effectively to the wider team
* Previous experience using CRM applications such as Salesforce
Education and Qualifications
* Technical education and/or qualifications in a relevant field
The Benefits and Perks
* Flexi-time: Working hours to suit you and your life.
* Annual bonus: Based on profit share and personal performance.
* Private medical insurance: Includes cover for existing conditions.
* Holiday: 30 days leave plus bank holidat and the ability to purchase extra.
* Chemring Share Save: Monthly savings into a 3- or 5-year plan.
Clearances
Due to the nature of this role, we require you to be eligible to achieve or currently hold SC or DV clearance. As a result, you should be a British Citizen and have resided in the U.K. for the last 5 years or 10 years or DV Clearance.
The Next Step
Click apply, submitting an up-to-date CV. We look forward to hearing from you.
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