Business Development Manager - Maritime​/Defence

Overview

Business Development Manager –

Location:

Portland, Dorset – Sector:
Deployable Infrastructure (Maritime & Defence) – Salary:
Up to £60,000 Plus Commission and Benefits

Holt Engineering is supporting the appointment of a Business Development Manager to lead, develop and expand a Deployable Infrastructure portfolio across UK maritime and defence sectors, including (but not limited to) the Royal Navy, NavyPODS, Atlantic

NET, and wider modular infrastructure programmes.

The successful candidate will be accountable for identifying, qualifying and progressing opportunities aligned to the organisation’s strategic capabilities, driving structured business development from market scanning through to handover for detailed capture and proposal development. This role is a visible market-facing position, strengthening client relationships, enhancing presence, and ensuring the new business pipeline is accurate, actionable and aligned to growth objectives.

• Strategic Market Development
• Build and maintain a deep understanding of the maritime defence market, including customer priorities, funding cycles, capability gaps and competitor activity
• Identify and evaluate market segments, prospective clients and contracting routes aligned to technical and operational capability
• Shape early client engagement to position the business ahead of formal procurement phases

• Client Engagement & Representation
• Represent the organisation to existing and prospective customers, presenting capability, innovation initiatives and value propositions
• Deliver high-quality presentations, briefings and technical/operational overviews tailored to the audience
• Undertake structured networking, attendance at industry events, and targeted relationship-building with decision-makers, influencers and partners

• Opportunity Identification & Qualification
• Identify, assess and prioritise profitable opportunities, including early-stage intelligence gathering, procurement insight, competitor mapping and internal capability alignment

• Capture Preparation & Handover
• Lead, coordinate and de-risk upstream BD activity to move opportunities from concept into formal capture
• Develop outline bid strategies, win themes, solution approaches and partnership models ahead of handover
• Where required, lead capture activity and support proposal development

• Partnership & Supply Chain Development
• Identify and cultivate relationships with teaming partners, specialist suppliers and subcontractors aligned to specific opportunities or capability gaps
• Support the creation of teaming agreements, NDAs and collaborative delivery models

• Marketing, Brand & External Positioning
• Support the development of marketing collateral, capability brochures, case studies and thought-leadership content
• Identify PR, events and marketing channels that enhance visibility within defence and infrastructure sectors
• Contribute to improvements in brand messaging, website content and customer-facing communications

• Governance & Cross-Functional Working
• Ensure BD activities align with internal governance requirements, including Gate Reviews
• Work collaboratively with operations, finance, ICT, security and support teams to ensure opportunities are accurately costed, risk assessed and viable
• Comply with business operating procedures and contribute to process improvements supporting sustainable growth

• Records Management & Information Governance
• Maintain accurate, compliant and audit-ready records relating to BD and marketing activity in line with retention processes
• Ensure appropriate information security handling, including classification and storage requirements for official-sensitive material

Essential

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in business development, capture, client engagement or strategic programme roles within defence, engineering, maritime or complex infrastructure
• Degree-level education
• Demonstrable project/programme management experience, able to operate across strategic and delivery-focused activities

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification (MBA, Marketing, Defence Studies or similar)
• Formal capture management or bid-management training (APMP, Shipley, etc.)

Essentia…