Head of Sales

Crawley, England, United Kingdom

12/19/2024

Location: Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales people architect solutions at the heart of the defence-security continuum. Interoperable and secure information and telecommunications systems for defence, security, and civil operators, are based upon innovative use of radiocommunications, networks, and cybersecurity. We are ground breaking new digital technologies such as 4G mobile communications, cryptography, cloud computing and big data for use in physical protection systems, and critical information systems.

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.

Title: Head of Sales – SIX UK

Base location: Crawley

Thales

The people we all rely on to make the world go round – they rely on Thales. In a world that is increasingly fast moving, unpredictable – and full of opportunities, they come to us with big ambitions: to make life better, to keep us safer. Combining a unique diversity of expertise, talents and cultures, our architects design and deliver extraordinary high technology solutions. Solutions that make tomorrow possible, today.

The Secure Communications and Information Systems (SIX) team in the UK is seeking an entrepreneurial, creative and collaborative Head of Sales, to lead strategic growth initiatives for both the domestic market and our product exports. These solutions span the military secure communications and information systems market segment; from tactical communications through to complex integrated Naval communications, SATCOM, Crypto and CEMA (Cyber Electro Magnetic Activities). The successful candidate will be capable of driving market leading growth, through team leadership and the ability to run complex and strategic campaigns.

Primary Purpose of the Role:

• Accountable and responsible for achieving or exceeding the budgeted Order Intake for SIX (Secure Communications & Information Systems) Domain.
• Sales and Capture Leadership in the SIX.
• Strategic business development and setting the growth vision for SIX, by working in cooperation with the Business Line Sales leads, the Managing Director and the Portfolio Managers.
• Management and growth of sector pipeline, ensuring GMOI meets /exceeds multiyear budgets.
• Ensuring proactive customer relationships are made and maintained.
• Adherence to governance and quality management of all Capture Campaigns in the domain.
• Team leadership including developing the professional capability of his / her sales & product team.
• Define and lead implementation of Product Line strategy and competitiveness action plans, ensuring Product Plans align with current and emerging market needs.
• Lead implementation of Product Policy decisions and resulting action plan.
• Propose SFRD/CFRD allocations that are approved during SBP, MYB and Development Launch Decision Review.
• Manage Sales budgets as approved in the MYB process, and collaborate with the Portfolio Leads to manage SFRD.
  
  
  

Principal Relationships:

• The jobholder reports to MD SIX and with a dotted line to the VP of Sales & Account Management UK. Annual objective setting and performance against those objectives will be jointly undertaken but led by MD SIX.
• The jobholder will need to develop significant networks & build key relationships built on trust and credibility externally with customers, partners, and government.
• The jobholder will need to develop significant internal networks with peers and senior managers at UK, Domain, Group and Country of destination / Country of origin level.
  
  
  

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Responsible for maintaining SIX opportunity data integrity within the Thales360 CRM tool, ensuring appropriate order intake targets are set by the CBU and GBU.
• Responsible for keeping an accurate pipeline of opportunities in T360, growing the pipeline and using the governance rules effectively to ensure a credible weighted value of the pipe.
• Setting the strategic business development objectives for the sector and agreeing them with VP Sales UK and the MD SIX.
• Responsible for leading, developing and organising a team of individual sales contributors, Sales Managers, Capture Leaders, Business Development Managers and Sales Operations to achieve the strategic and operational objectives.
• Leads, appropriately delegates activities, coordinates and motivates the team for performance, efficiency and timeliness.
• Responsible for the day to day relationship and management of the key internal sales stakeholders, such as BL Sales Directors, the GBU VP of Sales and the UK Key Account Management Team.
• Utilising the Competitive & Marketing Intelligence team and the Market segment analysis of worldwide trends, customer needs, and competitor analysis, to drive relevant product line strategies.
• Agree, in collaboration with the Portfolio leads and the Technical Director, the annual budgets for individual SFRD work packages, ensuring they align with product road maps.
• Lead the generation of the SIX UK Strategic Business Plan, with support from the MD, central marketing team and Portfolio Leads.
• Define Product Line value proposition & competitive positioning, and differentiation with Marketing and Business Intelligence.
• Control and monitor Product Line and Product competitiveness roadmap.
• Lead Product Line Core Team and Product Change Control Board with the Product Line Architects (PLA).
  
  
  

Behavioural Competencies, Technical Skills And Experience

Competencies

The Head of Sales will demonstrate the following:

• Comfortable operating in complex and matrixed organization and drive results out of ambiguity.
• Builds and orchestrates complex multifunctional teams across organizational boundaries.
• Seeks out responsibility for the most challenging and high profile assignments.
• Always delivers what is promised; takes extraordinary steps to achieve major goals; pursues objectives with energy, drive and need to finish.
• Leads with humility and supports his/her team to overcome challenges.
• Creates a highly accountable, high performance culture at all levels.
• Is an entrepreneurial risk taker; prepared to take calculated risks to achieve significant outcomes.
• Collaborative style which builds close and trustful relationships both internally and externally.
• Able to finely balance entrepreneurial spirit and drive for growth, with business acumen and awareness of budgets.
• Quickly understand how organisations operate and can read complex political environments; leverages relationships to optimum effect.
• Has a track record of shaping the thinking of top management and the most senior customers.
• Handles highly sensitive situations assertively, prepared to push back and challenge at senior levels and customers.
• Enables others to maintain perspective in difficult circumstances; avoids passing own stress to others.
  
  
  

Experience

• Proven track record of building key customer relationships.
• Proven track record of winning large orders and delivering complex bids within Defence and Aerospace.
• Experience of the Military Communications market segment.
• Proven track record in implementing a step change in organisational capability.
• An awareness of the Product Lifecycles.
• Experienced in using sound judgement to apply a broad range of key commercial principles to improve the viability of bids e.g. margin, costs, pricing (including for inflation over time), funding, discounting, payments, hedging, export finance etc.
  
  
  

This role will require SC Clearance. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant will undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance. 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.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the National Security Vetting (NSV) Agency - United Kingdom Security Vetting - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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.

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