Sales & Bid Manager

The Exploration Company; Roma; In loco; EUR 50.000 - 70.000; Tempo pieno

Descrizione del lavoro

A leading space vehicle company in Italy is seeking a Sales & Bid Manager responsible for leading capture and proposal activities primarily for LEO and Moon destinations. This role involves managing complex bids and customer negotiations, driving proposal quality, and maintaining strategic customer relationships. Ideal candidates have proven success in delivering proposals to space or defense institutions in Europe, with robust skills in stakeholder management, proposal writing, and negotiation. Company values agility and collaboration, providing an opportunity to impact the space industry significantly.

Servizi

Ownership of flagship campaigns

Relocation assistance including visa sponsorship

Collaborative work environment

Competenze

• Demonstrated success delivering winning proposals to space or defense institutions in Europe.
• Sound understanding of space segment sectors (launchers, spacecraft, propulsion, payloads, operations).
• Skilled at coordinating diverse partners and managing complex compliance.
• Eligible to work in the EU or EFTA.

Mansioni

• Lead capture and proposal activities for LEO and Moon destinations.
• Manage end-to-end writing of bids and drive customer interactions.
• Build and maintain a high-quality customer map and opportunity pipeline.

Conoscenze

Proposal writing

Stakeholder management

Bidding strategy

Negotiation

Business intelligence

Language proficiency in English

Language proficiency in either French, German, Italian, or Spanish

Descrizione del lavoro

Sales & Bid Manager

The Exploration Company

Here at The Exploration Company, we are developing, producing, and operating Nyx, a modular and reusable space orbital vehicle that can eventually be refuelled in orbit and that can carry cargo – and potentially humans in the longer run. We are seeking a Sales & Bid Manager to lead capture and proposal activities mainly for LEO and Moon destinations.

You will coordinate multi-partner proposals with the European Space Agency, national space agencies, and defense institutions. Your mission is to qualify opportunities early, shape requirements, submit compliant and persuasive proposals, and support negotiations through contract signature.

Key Responsibilities

Capture leadership

• Build a practical capture plan with a clear win strategy and review gates.
• Align our solution with the priorities of space and defense institutions, including commercial cargo, lunar logistics, and strategic autonomy.

Bid management & writing

• Lead the end‑to‑end writing of bids: define proposal architecture, draft and iterate core sections, integrate partner inputs, and ensure consistency of tone, messaging, and evidence‑based claims.
• Drive customer interactions through negotiations (technical/commercial), prepare negotiation packages, and support closure activities through contract signature.

Commercial and Customers

• Build and maintain a high‑quality customer map and opportunity pipeline through business intelligence, continuous stakeholder engagement, and regular 1:1 meetings.
• Represent the company in customer‑facing forums (industry days, conferences, institutional events), develop strategic networks, and drive structured engagement plans.
• Define consortium, pricing structures, and project payment milestones with Finance & Engineering.
• Support negotiations and ensure clean handover to Project Management.

Governance and improvement

• Contribute to the Sales to Government Process Handbook; capture lessons learned and improve templates.

Profile

• Demonstrated success delivering winning proposals to space or defense institutions in Europe.
• Sound understanding of space segment sectors (launchers, spacecraft, propulsion, payloads, operations).
• Skilled at coordinating diverse partners and managing complex compliance.
• Languages: English is required. Additionally, one of French, German, Italian, or Spanish is required.
• Flexible, eager to learn, competitive, and comfortable multitasking across several campaigns.
• Eligible to work in the European Union or the European Free Trade Association and able to meet relevant clearances.
• Experienced in teamworking + customer interface – create confidence with customer.

What we offer

• Ownership of flagship campaigns with visible impact.

Why you should join us!

• We’re agile – we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind.
• We’re open and collaborative – we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them.
• We have a lot of fun – we refuel our energy knowing we are democratizing space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity. Are you up for the challenge?

We’d love to hear from you. Please submit your CV now for immediate consideration and we will be in touch shortly.

The Exploration Company is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Relocation assistance is provided for those willing to relocate including visa sponsorship where applicable.