Commercial Partnerships Director 

Reports to:  Chief of Missions

Please note, we may look to interview before the advert close date due to the critical nature of the role. The advert will close if a suitable candidate is found before the deadline.

The Challenge: The Satellite Applications Catapult (the Catapult) is organised into three Mission areas: Beyond Earth, Autonomous and Connected Earth, and Resilient Earth. Each Mission is tasked with developing a strategic portfolio of interventions which represent the highest opportunity for growth in the space sector. These interventions have been designed to lower the barriers to growth for UK businesses. The Catapult uses its products and services to deliver these interventions and to achieve market impact.  

 We are seeking a dynamic, strategic Commercial Partnerships Director to secure, develop and deliver commercial and collaborative opportunities which strengthen our position to support the growth of businesses within the UK Space Sector.  

As our Commercial Partnerships Director, you’ll play a pivotal role in: 

• Driving commercial growth across our mission portfolio through the implementation of sales plans  

• Building and deepening strategic partnerships with customer, stakeholder and supplier organisations from both the space and non-space sectors 

• Delivering high value opportunities that unlock growth for the UK businesses that we support 

Role Purpose 

As Commercial Partnerships Director you will report into the Chief of Missions and be accountable for: shaping and delivering the Catapult’s commercial strategy (20%), managing the sales pipeline and analysing performance (20%); building maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders across the UK (25%) ensuring that we remain equipped to meet the evolving needs of customers and partners. You will lead and manage a large team (20%) which includes the following functions: sales operations; business development; and work winning services. This team works collaboratively across matrixed functions to deliver high impact outcomes.  You will be accountable for our revenue targets and KPIs and report on these regularly to the Executive team and across the business (15%). 

Key Responsibilities 

• Refine and implement the Catapult’s revenue strategy plan ensuring total alignment with organisational Missions and more broadly national space ambitions.  

• Accountable for commercial success of the Catapult securing high value contracts and high impact partnerships that fuel the UK space economy.   

• Provide commercial leadership and governance on all major bids and proposals, ensuring commercial solutions are robust, professional, and strategically and financially sound. 

• Build strong relationships with C-Level equivalents within the target markets to close strategic deals and optimise convergence of key opportunities. Build and sustain deep, trusted external relationships at the highest levels of Government, industry, other Catapults and academia.  

• Lead and manage your commercial leadership team to grow revenue generating opportunities within the target markets, through identification of emerging opportunities and shaping these into unique value propositions that expand the reach of the space sector.  

• Coach and mentor your team, providing development opportunities and support to expand the capabilities of the team, maximise resources in your team.  

• Coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver commercial outcomes, ensuring Mission Leads and commercial teams operate in total synergy. Work in partnership with the Director of Defence to ensure civil and defence opportunities are integrated and aligned. Work in partnership with the Director for Business Growth to ensure the work we are securing supports meets the needs of space sector businesses.  

• Maintain oversight of the sales pipeline, budgets, and financial forecasts to ensure growth for the UK businesses we are supporting. Overseeing pricing and revenue, negotiate contracts and agreements with partners and manage risk associated with the contracts. 

• Forecast, monitor and report KPIs and strategic milestones, ensuring the commercial engine remains accountable to the Catapult’s broader mission impact and achieves corporate revenue and margin targets. 

• Act as escalation point to resolve issues and deliver creative commercial solutions to solve complex problems and meet business objectives. 

• Act decisively in group environments, determine recommendations from analysis / evaluations and be an effective decision-maker. 

• Serve as a spokesperson for the Catapult at conferences, strategic forums, and industry events. Identify opportunities for the Space industry to raise the visibility of their products and services for both domestic and international markets. 

Essential Experience & Knowledge 

• A proven track record of sales, from initial demand creation and prospecting to securing high value and high impact contracts. 

• Deeply entrenched within the UK Space ecosystem, with a sophisticated "black book" of relationships and an expert understanding of the funding landscape, market dynamics, and emerging commercial opportunities. 

• Expert knowledge of space and satellite technology and a proven ability to articulate their value in solving complex, real-world challenges across diverse industrial and governmental sectors.

• A leader with the ability to mobilise and inspire senior cross-functional teams within a complex matrix environment, ensuring commercial goals align with technical delivery. 

• Significant experience in shaping and executing commercial strategies within technology led environments, driving sustainable revenue growth and expanding market reach. 

• Extensive experience in building and nurturing trusted relationships, with the ability to deeply interrogate customer strategies and priorities to translate them into actionable technical requirements. 

• Exceptional leadership and communication skills, with a proven ability to act as a trusted advisor to senior government officials and industry CEOs while maintaining internal cross-functional alignment. 

• A high-impact public speaker and storyteller, capable of translating complex technical concepts into compelling, strategic narratives that resonate with diverse audiences. 

• Expert in overseeing the development of high-stakes proposals and value propositions that go beyond "selling" to provide strategic solutions for the customer’s long-term success. 

• A creative and analytical thinker, adept at navigating ambiguity and designing customer centric solutions for multi-faceted industrial and national challenges. 

Desirable Experience & Knowledge 

• Working knowledge of dual-use technologies and a strategic understanding of their role in national security, sovereign capability, and global economic competitiveness. 

About us & how we work: 

We strive to create a high trust, high performance and inclusive environment that enables team members to bring their whole selves to work.  This helps to create the foundations of an innovation culture. Our shared values are critical to this: 

• We care - for our people, our partners, and our planet

• We connect - and engage with people and ideas

• We learn - and grow, as people and as an industry

Underpinning this is our belief in great teams.  Our combined efforts will always deliver outcomes beyond that of any individual, providing we are honest through debate, experiment and reflect, and create shared resolutions in support of our purpose. Live these values, work to our principles, take ownership to deliver, and we are certain you will thrive with us. 

This job description set outs the skills and experience we think are needed to be able to perform in this job.  If you believe you can deliver in this role then we want to hear from you.

We offer a hybrid policy which is designed around collaboration, one 'anchor' day per week working with your direct team and another flexible day per week to be spent collaborating or working with other colleagues.

Important notice for applicants: We use tools to detect plagiarism and the use of AI or chatbots for applicant answers. If plagiarism, AI use (such as ChatGPT) or similar software are found to have been used in your application you will not be considered for this or future roles within the Satellite Applications Catapult.

At Satellite Applications Catapult, we're committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce. We welcome candidates from all corners of the globe, but due to legal and logistical considerations, we want to be transparent about the potential visa-related challenges that could arise. Our ability to offer sponsorship will depend on the level of interest for our roles and salary level.

If you need any additional support during the application process, please do reach out and connect. We also invite you to share feedback via Applied.