Senior Business Development Manager- Arsenal

Job Description

W.S. Darley & Co. is seeking a highly qualified Senior Business Development Manager to support and grow our Detroit Arsenal portfolio. The ideal candidate is a retired or senior‑level ARMY Officer or NCO with deep understanding of military operations, acquisition systems, and industry engagement. This individual will serve as a key leader in expanding Darley’s presence across Detroit Arsenal mission areas, shaping strategy, identifying opportunities, and building trusted relationships across government and industry.

This position is based in the Detroit Arsenal area (Warren, MI) and requires regular on‑site engagement with Army acquisition, program management, and industry partners.

Founded in 1908, W.S. Darley & Co. (Darley) remains a family owned and operated business, supplying the highest quality equipment solutions to its military and first responder customers. With origins in equipment distribution and Midwest manufacturing, Darley offers a family of leading innovative emergency equipment brands and innovative solutions. Darley prides itself on delivering the highest quality solutions and services from its corporate headquarters in Itasca, IL and its ISO 9001:2015 certified manufacturing operations in Chippewa Falls, WI and Janesville, IA.

Darley also maintains offices in six countries worldwide. Darley Defense, a division of the W.S. Darley company, specializes in using existing contracts to distribute products and services to the Federal Government. Darley Defense specializes in special operational equipment and fire and emergency services.

The Senior Business Development Manager hunts for sales opportunities and closes deals at an aggressive pace. To succeed and generate revenue in a competitive environment, this position must be completely knowledgeable on the customer base/assigned territory, apply the training and coaching received from the Company, create tremendous relationships with both customers and vendors, respond and engage with a sense of urgency, be fully compliant with the rules and regulations in Government contractual sales, contribute with passion to the Team and always be proactively prospecting for new Customers.

The overarching goal of this role is to drive deals upstream so that the Company has the best chance of winning the award. The Senior Business Development Manager reports to the Force Lead of that particular team.

• Understand Darley products, services, contract benefits and value proposition and enthusiastically communicate these during direct sales activities.
• Consistently achieve booked order goals.
• Build instant credibility/rapport and working level relationships with senior executive level decision makers at the Program Executive Offices (PEOs), Program Management Offices (PMs), Warfare Centers and O‑5 /O‑6 Department heads at Major Flag Level Commands.
• Probe the Customer ecosystem to find new contracts that may be forming so that Darley can interdict these upstream and have a high probability of winning the ones that fit our business model.
• Research buying habits of potential customers by analyzing databases with historical purchasing information.
• Interface with current and potential new customers, deliver impactful/concise overview briefs, perform needs discovery and persuade them to use Darley as their Prime Vendor.
• When a prospective customer becomes strong, develop an engagement plan and confer with Force Lead/VP of Sales & BD to determine if a multi‑person effort should be executed.
• After a customer is onboarded, build strong and deep relationships with military customers at all levels including end‑users, supply officers, contracting officers, decision makers and influencers.
• Creatively address customer problems becoming a true resource and solution provider.
• Teach how our contracting vehicles operate and have a working knowledge of various funding methods and how they may be applied to assist customers in their procurement strategies.
• Generate quotes for customers and transition them to Inside Sales / HQ teams to enter into the system.
• Partner with suppliers to provide the best…