Business Development Manager - Marine

Breathehr; Coventry; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and benefits

Bonus / commission opportunity

Events and networking opportunities

Job summary

Breathehr is seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to drive growth of our engineering consultancy within the marine sectors. This client-facing role focuses on identifying opportunities, forming strategic relationships, and converting them into profitable projects across the marine industry.

You will work closely with engineering, technical and project delivery teams to move opportunities from initial engagement through to proposal, negotiation and contract award, leveraging your

Qualifications

• Proven experience in business development, sales or commercial roles within marine, offshore or engineering sectors.
• An established network of marine industry contacts.
• Experience preparing or supporting tenders, proposals and commercial submissions.
• Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills.
• Degree or equivalent qualification in engineering, naval architecture, marine engineering or related discipline.
• Willingness to travel regularly to meet clients and attend industry events.
• Chartered Engineer or relevant professional membership.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a business development strategy for the marine markets.
• Identify new clients, markets, projects and strategic opportunities.
• Develop and maintain a robust sales pipeline and forecast future opportunities.
• Build long-term relationships with key stakeholders.
• Lead or support responses to RFQs, tenders and framework opportunities.
• Coordinate with engineering and project teams to develop credible proposals.
• Represent the company at industry conferences and client meetings.
• Develop account plans for key strategic clients.

Skills

Marine industry network

Sales pipeline management

Negotiation

Communication

Travel readiness

Strategic account development

CRM management

Education

Engineering degree or related

Chartered Engineer or professional membership

Tools

CRM software

Tender/proposal tools

Job description

Role Purpose:

We are seeking an experienced and commercially driven Business Development Manager to lead the growth of our engineering consultancy within the marine sectors. This is a client-facing role focused on identifying new opportunities, developing strategic relationships and converting those opportunities into profitable engineering and consultancy projects. Working closely with our engineering, technical and project delivery teams, you will be responsible for developing opportunities from initial client engagement through to proposal, negotiation and contract award. The successful candidate will bring an established network within the marine sector and be able to engage credibly with both technical and commercial stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

Business Development & Growth

• Develop and implement a business development strategy for the marine markets.
• Identify new clients, markets, projects and strategic opportunities.
• Develop and maintain a robust sales pipeline and accurately forecast future opportunities.
• Build long-term relationships with key stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to expand existing client accounts and introduce additional consultancy services.
• Develop strategic partnerships and relationships across the marine supply chain.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activity and emerging technologies to identify opportunities for growth.

Client & Relationship Management

• Act as a senior commercial point of contact for key marine clients.
• Develop trusted relationships with decision-makers, technical authorities, procurement teams and senior management.
• Understand client requirements and translate them into commercially viable engineering solutions.
• Maintain regular engagement with existing and prospective clients.
• Represent the company at industry conferences, exhibitions, networking events and client meetings.
• Develop account plans for key strategic clients.

Opportunity & Bid Management

• Identify and qualify opportunities from early market engagement through to contract award.
• Lead or support responses to RFQs, tenders and framework opportunities.
• Coordinate with engineering and project teams to develop technically credible and commercially competitive proposals.
• Develop proposals, presentations and capability statements.
• Support commercial negotiations and contract discussions.
• Ensure opportunities are appropriately qualified in terms of technical capability, commercial value, risk and probability of success.
• Maintain accurate CRM records, pipeline information and sales forecasts.

Market Development

• The successful candidate will help identify opportunities across relevant marine markets, which may include:
• Commercial shipping
• Shipbuilding and vessel design
• Naval and defence
• Ports and marine infrastructure
• Offshore energy
• Offshore wind
• Subsea and marine operations
• Vessel decarbonisation and alternative fuels
• Electrification and hybrid vessels
• Marine asset integrity and lifecycle engineering
• Digitalisation and marine technology

The precise market focus will depend on the Lorillion’s existing capabilities and growth strategy.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills Required:

We are looking for a commercially minded individual who understands the marine industry and is comfortable operating at the intersection of engineering, consultancy and business development.

Essential Experience

• Proven experience in business development, sales, account management or commercial roles within the marine, offshore or engineering sectors.
• An established network of relevant marine industry contacts.
• Demonstrable experience developing new business and converting opportunities into contracts.
• Experience working with technically complex products, projects or engineering services.
• Experience preparing or supporting tenders, proposals and commercial submissions.
• Strong understanding of marine engineering.
• Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills.
• Ability to build credibility with senior technical and commercial stakeholders.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of project profitability.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with technical and operational teams.
• Willingness to travel regularly to meet clients and attend industry events.
• Degree or equivalent qualification in engineering, naval architecture, marine engineering, business or a related discipline.
• Chartered Engineer or relevant professional membership.
• Existing relationships with ship owners, marine operators, ports, offshore energy companies or marine contractors.
• Experience selling engineering consultancy or professional services.
• Knowledge of UK and international marine procurement processes.
• Experience working on framework agreements and/or long-term consultancy arrangements.
• Experience within offshore wind, defence, decarbonisation, vessel design or marine infrastructure.

Personal Attributes

• The successful candidate will be:
  • Commercially driven, you are motivated by winning quality, profitable work.
  • Technically credible – you can understand engineering challenges and communicate effectively with technical teams.
  • Relationship focused – you can build trusted, long-term client relationships.
  • Strategic – you can see beyond individual projects and identify wider account and market opportunities. o Entrepreneurial – you are proactive in finding and developing new opportunities.
  • Influential – you are confident engaging with senior stakeholders.
  • Collaborative –you can bring engineering, commercial and project teams together.
  • Organised – you are disciplined in managing opportunities, CRM activity and forecasting.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• Success in the role will be measured through:
  • Growth in marine-sector revenue and gross margin.
  • Value and quality of the qualified sales pipeline.
  • New marine clients acquired.
  • Growth of strategic/key accounts.
  • Conversion rate of qualified opportunities.
  • Tender and proposal success rate.
  • Development of new markets and service lines.
  • Client retention and repeat business.
  • Quality and accuracy of CRM and sales forecasting.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Performance-related bonus / commission opportunity.
• Opportunity to work on technically challenging marine and offshore projects.
• Direct exposure to senior clients and industry stakeholders.
• The opportunity to influence the company's marine-sector growth strategy.
• Professional development and career progression.
• A collaborative environment working alongside experienced engineering and technical specialists.
• Regular opportunities to attend industry events and develop your marine-sector network.

Location and Travel:

• You must be eligible to work in the UK and have no restrictions for world-wide travel.
• You will have a base at our Head Office in Coventry, however, with the nature of the role will require you to spend most of your time travelling and meeting clients and prospects.
• We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace and welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or background.