Hays
Senior Defence Business & Programme Manager
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Location: North London, with hybrid working and UK customer travel
Salary: Competitive and flexible for the right person
We are supporting an international defence technology business in appointing a Senior Customer Programme Manager to help develop and deliver its growing UK portfolio. This is not a traditional programme management position. The successful person will combine customer-facing programme leadership with business development, helping identify and shape new opportunities with the UK MOD before retaining ownership through contract award, delivery, and customer acceptance. The organisation develops specialist communications technology for military users operating in demanding environments. This is an opportunity to take significant ownership of its UK customer relationships and play a central role in both business growth and programme delivery.
The Role
You will act as the senior customer interface across a portfolio of UK defence programmes, working closely with military users, procurement stakeholders, defence primes, and internal technical teams. Your responsibilities will span the complete customer lifecycle. This will include understanding emerging operational requirements, developing new opportunities, supporting capture and bids, and leading resulting programmes through integration, delivery, and acceptance. You will work across engineering, operations, supply chain, and commercial functions to ensure that proposed solutions are technically credible, commercially viable, and successfully delivered.
Key Responsibilities
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- Develop trusted relationships across the UK MOD, DE&S, military users, and relevant defence partners
- Identify, qualify, and shape new customer opportunities
- Support capture activity, bids, tenders, demonstrations, and commercial proposals
- Translate operational requirements into deliverable technical solutions
- Lead customer programmes from contract award through integration, delivery, and acceptance
- Act as the principal interface between the customer and internal delivery teams
- Manage programme scope, budgets, schedules, risks, dependencies, and reporting
- Coordinate engineering, commercial, supply-chain, and operational stakeholders
- Maintain customer confidence when resolving technical or delivery challenges
- Identify follow-on opportunities and support long-term account growth
- Represent the organisation at customer meetings, industry events, and trials
- Travel within the UK and internationally when required
About You
We are looking for someone who can operate confidently across both business winning and programme delivery. You may currently work in business development, account management, capture, customer programme management, or programme leadership within the defence sector. Your job title is less important than your ability to develop opportunities, build credibility with customers, and remain accountable through delivery.
You will ideally bring:
- Experience working with the UK MOD, DE&S, Armed Forces, or UK defence primes
- A strong track record in customer-facing defence or technology programmes
- Experience supporting or leading business development, capture, bids, or tenders
- The ability to understand and discuss complex technical products or systems
- Strong commercial awareness and confidence working around contracts and budgets
- Experience coordinating cross-functional engineering and delivery teams
- Excellent stakeholder management, negotiation, and communication skills
- The ability to take ownership and operate effectively within a growing international business
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Experience within tactical communications, secure communications, soldier systems, C4ISR, military electronics, or mission-critical technology would be particularly valuable.
What's on Offer
- A competitive package with genuine flexibility for the right person
- Hybrid working and a high degree of autonomy
- Ownership of strategically important UK customer relationships
- Exposure to specialist defence communications technology
- The opportunity to influence both future growth and programme delivery
- An international environment with long-term development opportunities
This role would suit someone who does not want to choose between sales and delivery. You will have the opportunity to help create new business, win it, and remain accountable for delivering what was promised.
Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job, you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers, which can be found at hays.co.uk
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