Commercial Director – Defence and Security

Andries Ferla; Oslo fylke; On-site; NOK 1,800,000 - 2,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel insurance

Health insurance

Pension plan (AFP)

Flexible travel

Job summary

DeepOcean is establishing a new defence and security team in Norway and is seeking a Commercial Director to lead sales and bid work. You will decide which customers to target, build relationships, and drive bids through to signed contracts.

You will report to the Director of the DeepOcean defence team and work with a small, hands-on team to scale the function. Regular travel to Norway, the UK and international sites is required.

Qualifications

• 7–10 years in business development or commercial roles with defence experience.
• Active, current network in Norwegian defence (Forsvaret, Forsvarsmateriell, FFI) and/or NATO, UK MOD or allied organisations.
• Experience of public and defence procurement – tender requirements, frameworks, evaluation criteria – and negotiating commercial terms and risk.
• Degree in engineering, business or economics, or military academy background; strong, directly relevant experience can replace formal qualifications.
• Eligible for Norwegian and NATO security clearance; capability to obtain clearance when needed.

Responsibilities

• Map the defence market and build the pipeline in Norway and allied markets.
• Build and maintain access through relationships with programme owners, capability planners, partners and primes.
• Lead capture and bids end to end: bid/no-bid, win strategy, solution shaping, pricing, writing, submission and defence.
• Secure licence to bid: supplier registrations, prequalifications, frameworks and compliance groundwork.
• Negotiate terms and commercial risk through to contract; hand work to delivery.
• Build the commercial function: pipeline reporting, bid processes, win/loss discipline; grow the team as the business scales.

Skills

Defence sector network

Commercial judgement

Written & verbal communication

Relationship building

Bid management

Resilience & organisation

Education

Engineering / Business / Economics degree

Military academy background

Job description

Much of the energy and data Europe depends on travels through cables and pipelines on the seabed. Securing this infrastructure, along with offshore installations, has become a clear priority for defence. DeepOcean has more than 25 years of experience in subsea survey, installation, trenching, inspection, maintenance and repair. We are now setting up a separate defence and security team to offer these services to defence organisations in Norway, the UK, NATO and allied countries.

We are looking for a Commercial Director to lead our sales and bid work in this market. As the team is newly established, you will be starting from scratch. You will decide which customers to focus on, build the relationships and lead the bids through to signed contracts. You will report to the Director of the DeepOcean defence team and join a small team with real freedom to shape how the business develops. You will need to be hands‑on yourself and gradually build the team required to handle the growth in the unit.

The role is based in Norway and involves regular travel to customers, partners and our sites in Norway, the UK and internationally. Applications will be handled confidentially.

Your key responsibilities:

• Map the defence market and build our pipeline – Norwegian Armed Forces and Forsvarsmateriell, NATO and NATO agencies, UK MOD and the Royal Navy, allied nations and the major defence primes – and decide where we can realistically win.
• Build and maintain the relationships that give us access, from programme owners and capability planners to partners and primes, and put the teaming agreements and partnerships in place that let us compete.
• Lead capture and bids end to end: the bid/no‑bid call, the win strategy, shaping the solution with our engineers and operators, pricing it, writing it, submitting it and defending it.
• Secure our licence to bid – supplier registrations, prequalifications, frameworks and the compliance groundwork a new defence entity needs before anyone will take its offer seriously.
• Negotiate terms and commercial risk through to contract, then hand the work over cleanly to the delivery organisation.
• Build the commercial function itself – pipeline reporting, bid process, win/loss discipline – and grow a small commercial and bid team as the business scales.

Experience and qualifications:

• 7–10 years in business development, capture or commercial roles, with significant time spent selling into or working within defence.
• An active, current network in Norwegian defence (Forsvaret, Forsvarsmateriell, FFI) and/or NATO, UK MOD or allied defence organisations.
• Practical experience of public and defence procurement – tender requirements, framework competitions, evaluation criteria – and of negotiating commercial terms and risk.
• A degree in engineering, business or economics, or a military academy background. Strong, directly relevant experience can replace formal qualifications.
• Eligible for Norwegian and NATO security clearance. You do not need to hold a clearance today – but should be able to receive a clearance when needed.
• A background in subsea, maritime, offshore or naval work is an advantage.

Personal qualifications:

• You are a self‑starter who is comfortable without a playbook, and you would rather build the function than inherit it.
• You have commercial judgement and the nerve to use it – you know which opportunities to walk away from, and you can make that case internally.
• You write well and present well, and you hold your own in front of senior military and industry people.
• You play the long game when it comes to relationships, in a market where decisions can take years.
• You are resilient and organised, and you can run several bids to fixed deadlines without dropping any of them.
• You are curious about the technology, enough to explain to a customer what our capability actually does for them.

Our values are important to us, and we are therefore looking for people who identify with them: We ACT with a can‑do Attitude. We ACT with the Courage to embrace new challenges, stop unsafe practices, always be compliant and shift boundaries through innovative solutions. And we ACT as one Team.

Why will you enjoy working with us?

• A fast‑paced and team‑oriented work environment – we have fun at work!
• Varied challenges, great development opportunities, and the chance to make an impact in a global organization.
• Favorable travel insurance (including family members), health insurance, and pension plans (including AFP), as well as subsidies for physical activity.
• Flexible working hours and a strong focus on work‑life balance, so you can thrive both at work and at home.
• And for this role in particular: a rare opportunity to build a new business from the ground up, with the resources, track record and engineering depth of an established international subsea company behind you.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and workplace. We value inclusion, equality and diversity and encourage all qualified candidates to apply.