Field Sales Manager (Defence and Aerospace)

TUV SUD Limited; Fareham; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A global leader in testing and certification services is seeking a dynamic Field Sales Manager in Fareham, UK. This role involves building relationships with customers in the Defence & Aerospace sector, promoting services, and analyzing market opportunities. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of procurement cycles and sales strategies relevant to this sector. Competitive salary and benefits including hybrid working options are offered.

Benefits

Minimum of 33 days holiday entitlement

Contributory pension plan

Private medical insurance

Employee assistance programme

Qualifications

• Proven ability to build and maintain relationships.
• Experience managing complex bids and responding to RFPs.
• Knowledge of export control regulations (e.g., ITAR, EAR).

Responsibilities

• Build relationships with customers in Defence & Aerospace.
• Promote and sell services aligned with customer needs.
• Conduct market research and identify emerging opportunities.

Skills

Strong understanding of Defence & Aerospace sector

Consultative selling skills

Building relationships with contractors and agencies

Ability to gather and interpret customer feedback

Education

Experience in Defence & Aerospace sector

Tools

CRM systems (e.g., Microsoft Dynamics)

Job description

At TÜV SÜD we are passionate about technology. Innovations impact our daily lives in countless ways, and we are dedicated to being a part of that progress. We test, we audit, we inspect, we advise. We never stop challenging ourselves for the safety of society and its people. We breathe technology, we strive for professional excellence, and we leave a mark. We take the future into our hands. We are TÜV SÜD.

Role Overview (This is a field based role)

The TÜV SÜD Group is a global leader in testing, inspection, and certification services. With over 70 years of experience in the UK, TÜV SÜD has built a strong reputation for supporting defence, aerospace, rail, automotive and marine clients in validating that their high reliability products and systems are fit for purpose in the demanding environments in which they are intended to operate. Our accredited laboratories and secure facilities offer comprehensive testing, including environmental, EMC, and mechanical stress testing, ensuring compliance with international requirements. TÜV SÜD’s collaborative approach and deep technical expertise make them a trusted partner for qualifying mission-critical systems and components.

We are looking for a dynamic and strategic Field Sales Manager with experience in the Defence & Aerospace sector. This role combines direct customer engagement with strategic market insight to drive growth. The ideal candidate will not only promote and sell our existing services but also gather intelligence on future customer needs to help shape our long-term business strategy.

Duties and responsibilities

Customer Engagement & Sales Enablement

1. Build and maintain strong relationships with existing and prospective customers across the Defence & Aerospace sectors.

2. Promote and sell the company’s current portfolio of services, ensuring alignment with customer needs and procurement cycles.

3. Represent the company at industry events, trade shows, and customer meetings to enhance visibility and credibility.

Strategic Insight & Future Needs Analysis

1. Engage customers in strategic conversations to uncover future capability requirements, technology interests, and operational challenges.

2. Translate customer insights into actionable intelligence to inform product development, R&D priorities, and investment planning.

3. Collaborate with internal teams to align business strategy with anticipated market demand.

Market & Opportunity Analysis

1. Conduct market research to identify trends, competitor activity, and emerging opportunities in the Defence & Aerospace sectors.

2. Track and evaluate government tenders, funding programs, and partnership opportunities.

3. Maintain a pipeline of qualified opportunities and support the development of capture strategies and proposals.

Essential Criteria : Industry Knowledge

• Strong understanding of the Defence & Aerospace sector, including procurement cycles, regulatory frameworks and testing standards (e.g., DEF STAN, MIL-STD), and key stakeholders.
• Familiarity with environmental, EMC, and mechanical testing standards and their relevance to Defence & Aerospace applications.

Technical Acumen

• Ability to understand and communicate complex technical services such as Def Stan 00-035 and MIL-STD-810, Def Stan 59-411, MIL-STD-461, EMC testing, and climatic / mechanical stress testing.
• Comfortable discussing product qualification, certification processes, and compliance requirements with engineers and programme managers.

Customer Engagement Skills

• Proven ability to build relationships with major contractors, system integrators, and government agencies.
• Skilled in consultative selling—identifying customer pain points and aligning services to meet future capability needs.

Strategic Insight

• Capable of gathering and interpreting customer feedback to identify future testing needs and emerging market trends.
• Able to feed insights back into the business to shape service offerings and innovation priorities.

Sales & Commercial Expertise

• Experience managing long sales cycles and complex bids, including responding to RFPs and tenders.
• Strong negotiation skills and understanding of pricing models for technical services.

Compliance & Security Awareness

• Knowledge of export control regulations (e.g., ITAR, EAR, EU dual‑use) preferable.
• Eligibility for or possession of security clearance is often a requirement.

Tools & Process Familiarity

• Proficiency with CRM systems (e.g., Microsoft Dynamics) ensuring that communication with clients is up to date, familiarity with tender portals and pipeline management tools.
• Experience working with internal teams (engineering, quality, legal) to deliver tailored solutions.

Further Information

TÜV SÜD in the UK offers a competitive salary and benefits package that includes a minimum of 33 days holiday entitlement (for full‑time employees, including public holidays), a contributory Group Personal Pension Plan and a non‑contributory Group Life Assurance Scheme. We also offer various Salary Exchange / Sacrifice schemes (buying / selling holiday, cycle to work scheme, pensions), incentive schemes and comprehensive wellbeing support (Employee Assistance Programme, Dental Scheme and Occupational Health services). Dependent on their role, employees may also be eligible for hybrid / permanent home‑working, a Company Car / Car Allowance and Private Medical Insurance.

At TÜV SÜD, we have employees from more than 100 different countries collaborating together. People of different backgrounds, skills, and pursuing different life goals. Our strength comes from these countless and varied perspectives.

We are committed to be an inclusive and diverse workplace by welcoming people of all backgrounds. We want Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) to be a foundation of our company and create an environment where all our employees can trust they will be treated with respect, regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic background, faith, beliefs, disabilities, age, sexual orientation, or identity. As such, our employees are expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with TÜV SÜD Code of Ethics and Company values.

We firmly believe embedding D&I in the heart of what we do will inherently contribute to the success of TÜV SÜD. Click here to find out more about Diversity at TÜV SÜD