Strategic Business Development Manager

Our world-leading Time & Frequency department is seeking a Strategic Business Development Manager to help bring a new generation of resilient timing services to the UK market.

This is an exceptional opportunity to join the global authority in precision timing at a defining moment for UK digital infrastructure. 

Backed by a government investment of £180 million in the National Timing Centre (NTC) programme, we are developing a world-first resilient time distribution capability that will provide industry with a robust complement to satellite systems (such as GPS) – which are increasingly vulnerable to disruption from solar storms, jamming and spoofing. 

This will underpin essential services, including:

• Telecommunications, 

• Online banking, 

• Emergency response,

• Transport networks, and

• Wider digital and data-driven operations.

Together, these services form the backbone of modern society - and your leadership will help ensure they remain secure, reliable and robust even if global navigation satellite systems fail.

Key responsibilities:

This is not a traditional sales position supporting an established portfolio. You will help create the market for a new technology, define how we engage priority sectors and convert emerging customer requirements into credible commercial and adoption opportunities.

• Set and lead the business development strategy for National Timing Centre products and services; defining priority markets, customer groups, propositions and routes to market.
• Identify and prioritise markets and customers where resilient timing could deliver significant benefits; considering customer need, dependencies, regulation, procurement routes and drivers.
• Develop sector-specific value propositions; translating complex scientific and technical capabilities into credible solutions
• Drive opportunities from customer discovery and qualification through proposition development, business cases, bids, tenders and commercial progression, whilst managing commitments, dependencies and risks.
• Collaborate with world-leading Scientists and Engineers to develop pilots and demonstrators that build customer confidence and support the transition from initial interest to operational adoption.
• Build senior relationships and strategic partnerships across government, regulators, industry and tech providers.
• Represent NPL nationally and internationally, using industry forums and to strengthen market understanding, partnerships and adoption.
• Identify and address barriers to adoption; such as technical, commercial, regulatory, procurement and organisational challenges, ensuring customer insight informs product development, design and deployment.
• Oversee the opportunity pipeline, providing programme leadership with evidence-based reporting on performance, market developments, adoption barriers and risks.

You’re an experienced strategic Business Development professional who can create structure in an emerging market, translate complex technology into customer value and build credible routes to adoption.

Essential Criteria:

• Recent and proven experience in setting and delivering business development strategies - including market prioritisation, proposition development and routes to market.
• Strong track record of developing opportunities - from customer discovery and qualification through to business cases, bids, tenders, pilots, partnerships or commercial progression.
• Demonstrable success in building senior relationships and strategic partnerships - across government, B2B, regulated industries, Innovation and funding bodies, or similarly complex stakeholder environments.
• Experience identifying priority markets, customer use cases and barriers to adoption
• Ability to translate complex technical capabilities into clear, credible and sector-specific customer propositions.

Highly Desirable Criteria:

• Experience establishing or leading a business development capability, including team priorities, quality standards, account planning, opportunity qualification and pipeline management.
• Experience identifying priority markets, customer use cases and barriers to adoption for new or emerging technologies, complex technical services or infrastructure programmes, especially in timing, synchronisation or PNT technologies.
• Experience engaging with government departments, regulators, standards bodies, or technology providers.
• Experience representing an organisation nationally and internationally through customer engagement, industry forums, or working groups.

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in specific departments means that nationality, residency and security requirements can be more tightly defined than others. You will be asked about this throughout the recruitment process. To work at NPL, you will need to obtain BPSS security clearance. 

However, to work in this role in the Time & Frequency department, you will need to have an SC clearance with no restrictions, or you must have the ability to obtain an SC clearance.

Please note: Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert therefore we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as practical.

NPL and DSIT have strong commitments to diversity and equality of opportunity, and welcome applications from candidates irrespective of their background, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or age, providing they meet the required criteria. Applications from women, disabled and BAME candidates in particular are encouraged. All disabled candidates (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) who satisfy the minimum criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme.

We’re transforming. As a national laboratory, we’re exploring even more commercial routes to market and that’s presenting us with greater opportunity – for you and us. Our success relies on the diversity and talent of our people, we strive to nurture and respect individuals to ensure everyone feels valued and supported to excel in their chosen field. This value is at the core of our organisation.

We believe in a culture of fairness by treating everyone on the basis of their own individual merits and abilities regardless of their own or perceived identity, background or any other factor irrelevant to a person’s work. At NPL we are committed to the health and well-being of our employees. Flexible working and social activities are embedded in our culture to create a positive work-life balance, along with a broad range of benefits. NPL’s values are at the heart of what we do and they shape the way we interact, develop our people and celebrate success.

As part of our commitment to diversity & inclusion, we signed up to the Institute of Physics' Project Juno in 2015 as a Juno Supporter. NPL were proud to be awarded Juno Practitioner status in 2018. NPL also joined Stonewall as a Diversity champion in 2015, participating in their annual Workplace Equality Index for the equality of LGBT+ community at NPL. In 2018, NPL became a member of the Business Disability Forum and joined the disability confident scheme as level 1 committed employer.

To ensure everyone has an equal chance, we’re always willing to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss, please contact us.