Senior Business Development - Aerospace & Aviation

Albert Cliff Limited; Utrecht; On-site; EUR 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Global exposure

Executive board interface

Job summary

Albert Cliff Limited in the Netherlands seeks a Senior Sales/BD Director to architect and secure 9- and 10-figure megaprojects in global commercial architecture and advanced programs. This executive mandate requires navigating defense, aerospace, and high-performance manufacturing ecosystems with strategic rigor.

You will originate pipelines, lead multi-disciplinary bid teams, and partner with governments and OEMs to shape long-term programs.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in senior commercial leadership, with 9-figure contracts.
• Deep knowledge of aerospace/defense procurement and international regulation.
• Proven ability to close complex deals across borders.
• Fluency in English; Dutch/French/German advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Originate and close multi-year mega contracts with OEMs and governments.
• Lead cross-functional teams through RFP cycles.
• Strategically expand into adjacent deep-tech verticals.
• Negotiate favorable terms with high-level stakeholders.

Skills

Megaproject origination

Strategic capture

Geopolitical navigation

Executive communication

Bid leadership

Education

Advanced degree (MBA/PhD)

Job description

Position: Senior Sales/BD Director – Global Commercial Architecture & Advanced Programs

Overview Our client is an apex-tier, multi-billion-euro engineering powerhouse operating at the absolute frontier of advanced structural design, composite architecture, and critical systems integration. Serving as the definitive strategic partner to the world’s most elite defense programs, aerospace OEMs, and high-performance mobility innovators, the firm engineers and manufactures highly complex physical systems designed to withstand extreme, zero-margin-for-error operational tolerances.

To drive the next decade of strategic enterprise expansion, the Executive Board is seeking to appoint a formidable Senior Director of Global Commercial Architecture. This is a profound executive mandate. You will not merely be managing accounts; you will be architecting and securing 9- and 10-figure, multi-decade megaprojects that fundamentally shape the global supply chain of frontier hardware. You will operate at the highest echelon of the industry, navigating the intense intersection of advanced structural engineering, global geopolitical considerations, and highly structured commercial finance.

Key Responsibilities

• Megaproject Origination & Strategic Capture: Take absolute command of the firm’s most critical global commercial pipeline. Architect, lead, and secure massive, multi-year enterprise contracts, Joint Ventures (JVs), and strategic alliances with top-tier international OEMs and government defense ministries.


• Geopolitical & Executive Matrix Management: Interface directly and credibly with C-Suite executives, Ministers of Defense, and Global Supply Chain Directors. You must seamlessly navigate highly complex, multi-jurisdictional procurement environments, pre-empting geopolitical and regulatory bottlenecks while securing uncompromising institutional alignment.


• Complex Tender Architecture & Commercial Underwriting: Lead elite, cross-functional bid teams (encompassing Legal, Advanced Engineering, Finance, and R&D) through exhaustive, high-stakes Request for Proposal (RFP) cycles. Flawlessly translate extreme technical specifications into undeniable, highly profitable commercial frameworks and risk-adjusted return models.


• Advanced Portfolio & Margin Optimization: Move beyond top-line revenue generation to ruthlessly optimize the profitability of existing, massive-scale structural programs. Renegotiate highly complex legacy contracts, index raw material fluctuations, and drive aggressive margin expansion across a multi-billion-euro book of business.


• Strategic Market Pioneering: Act as the vanguard for the firm’s entry into adjacent, high-growth deep-tech verticals (e.g., next-generation urban air mobility, space infrastructure, or advanced defense structures). Synthesize global market intelligence to directly influence the firm’s R&D capital allocation and technology roadmap.

Candidate Profile

• Experience: A strict minimum of 10+ years of elite, verifiable commercial leadership and enterprise business development experience. You must possess a highly documented track record of originating, structuring, and closing highly complex, 9-figure contracts within the aerospace, defense, or advanced industrial manufacturing sectors.


• Domain Expertise: A profound, practitioner-level mastery of advanced hardware procurement cycles. You must intimately understand the economics of complex physical systems, lightweight composite architectures, and the stringent regulatory realities of international defense and aerospace ecosystems.


• Intellectual & Technical Elite: Exceptional raw analytical horsepower. You must possess the intellectual dominance to command peer-level respect from Chief Engineers while demonstrating the financial sophistication of a top-tier investment banker when structuring complex deals.


• Temperament & Executive Gravitas: Uncompromisingly autonomous, highly resilient, and politically agile. You must possess the sheer executive gravitas to control a boardroom, lead cross-functional global teams without formal reporting lines, and negotiate credibly under intense, high-stakes pressure.


• Education & Languages: Outstanding academic credentials with an advanced degree (Master’s, MBA, or Ph.D.) in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Economics, or a related discipline. Complete, negotiation-level professional fluency in English is strictly mandatory; additional European languages (particularly Dutch, French, or German) are highly advantageous.