Country Manager (UK)

RSI Europe; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defence technology firm is seeking a senior Country Manager to spearhead the expansion in the UK. The candidate will be responsible for strategy development, managing relationships with local stakeholders, and engaging with national defence clients. Ideal candidates will have a strong network and at least 7-10 years of experience in the defence sector, with a proven track record in dealing with public procurement processes. The role offers autonomy and a competitive package that includes performance incentives.

Benefits

Competitive senior package

Performance incentives

Travel allowance

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7–10 years senior commercial experience in defence or government technology.
• Experience winning tenders or major contracts at national level.
• Fluent in local language and English.

Responsibilities

• Own country strategy and business plan.
• Map procurement cycles and identify opportunities.
• Build and maintain senior relationships across defence and government.

Skills

Senior commercial experience in defence/safety sector

Understanding of public procurement processes

Strong local network

Operational literacy in defence systems

Consultative selling and presentation skills

Stakeholder and programme management

Languages - fluent in English

Job description

Location - UK

Overview

RSI Europe develops remote initiation systems and FPV drones; the company provides products, training and in-field support to defence customers.

We are looking for a senior Country Manager to lead and grow RSI Europe’s presence in UK. This is a high-impact commercial leadership role combining market development, stakeholder engagement, public-sector procurement knowledge, and consultative sales. The Country Manager will open and develop channels, manage local relationships across ministries, services and agencies, and ensure our solutions are positioned to meet national defence, security and border-security needs — while working closely with RSI Europe’s HQ, product and operations teams.

Note: the role requires discretion and a deep understanding of defence decision-making and procurement.

Key responsibilities

• Own country strategy and business plan : market segmentation, target accounts (MoD, armed forces branches, police, customs / border agencies, defence integrators), revenue targets and resource plan.
• Map procurement cycles, funding frameworks and modernization programmes; identify timing and opportunities for engagement.
• Build and maintain senior-level relationships across the defence, security and procurement ecosystem.
• Qualify and develop opportunities through consultative selling - positioning RSI Europe products (remote initiation systems, FPV drones platforms) against operational requirements and capability gaps.
• Lead responses to public procurement processes, framework agreements in-country; coordinate with HQ to prepare compliant commercial and technical proposals.
• Represent RSI Europe in meetings, working groups, demonstrations, trials and industry events; organise and run capability demonstrations and proof-of-concepts with end users.
• Translate operational feedback into commercial and product recommendations for RSI Europe’s product and R&D teams.
• Maintain accurate pipeline, forecasts and opportunity tracking; report to HQ on market progress, risks and go-to-market needs.

Required experience and skills

• Senior commercial experience in the defence, security or complex government technology sector (min. 7–10 years), with preferred track record of winning tenders, framework agreements or major contracts at national level.
• Deep understanding of public procurement processes and practical experience interacting with UK Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• Strong local network across defence, security and government stakeholders, and the ability to build relationships at all levels (technical, operational and procurement).
• Operational / technical literacy in defence systems - comfortable discussing capability, integration, logistics and sustainment with users and engineers; experience with unmanned systems or defence electronics is a strong advantage.
• Consultative selling & presentation skills - able to run professional demonstrations, briefings and workshops with senior audiences.
• Stakeholder & programme management - able to coordinate multi-party pilots, training and delivery programmes.
• Preffered prior experience selling B2G (business-to-government) defence solutions or working within a defence integrator.
• Languages - fluent in local language and English.
• Travel - frequent travel within country and region.

Personal attributes

• Credible and confident public presence - experienced at briefing senior officials and technical teams.
• Commercial drive with high ethical standards and diplomacy.
• Pragmatic problem solver, resilient under pressure, and able to manage long-cycle sales and complex stakeholder landscapes.

Security & compliance

Candidate must be willing and able to comply with local security, background checks and any country-specific clearance processes required to work with defence organisations.

What RSI Europe offers

• Opportunity to lead a fast-growing, battle-proven defence-tech company’s expansion in UK.
• Engage with top-tier military professionals and defense agencies worldwide.
• High level of autonomy.
• Competitive senior package, performance incentives and travel allowance.