Head of Business Development (Airways International Ltd)

• Lead a high performing team, shaping the future of our commercial business.
• Join an innovative organisation at the heart of NZ aviation.
• Christchurch, Wellington or Auckland office location.

About Us: 

Airways International Ltd (AIL) is the commercial arm of Airways New Zealand – providing air traffic services training, simulation & selection solutions, aeronautical information management, flight procedures and aviation consultancy services to the global aviation industry. As pioneers and market leaders, we partner with some of the best in the industry to develop and deliver world-leading products and services. For more information check out https://airwaysinternational.com/ 

About the Role: 

This is a rare opportunity, a newly created Head of Business Development position to change and shape our commercial business. 

Reporting of the GM Commercial, the Head of Business Development will lead and support the commercial team to grow the Airways International Ltd (AIL) business through international and domestic market development, strategic partnerships, sales support, bid management, sales, contract management and establishing and maintaining customer relationships.  The aim of the commercial function is to leverage AIL’s presence and ensure international market expansion of AIL services and products via global and local partnerships. 

Other accountabilities include overseeing the commercial and sales bid framework, and contract execution while working collaboratively with the AIL product and services specialists and teams within AIL to ensure customer and strategic partner objectives are met. 

Key Areas of Focus:

• Lead and manage the Commercial team to foster a positive performance-based environment, ensuring AIL meets its strategic and business goals.
• The Head of Business Development will work with the GM Commercial to determine the appropriate structure for the Commercial team. This structure will ensure successful achievement of strategic and business goals for the Commercial team.
• Leverage Airways resources to create commercial opportunity and success
• Lead and manage AIL's business development function, supporting the identification of new markets, establishing and maintaining strategic partnerships, and securing opportunities within target markets.
• Interpret, articulate, and establish commercial management processes, including:
• Creating professional, technical proposals to achieve high conversion ratios,
• Establishing and maintaining competitive pricing templates to support sales,
• Preparing business cases and supporting documentation for investment and revenue opportunities requiring Executive or Board approval.
• Review and update the sales commission scheme.
• Close sales in line with annual sales targets. 

About You: 

To be successful in the role, you will have: 

• A relevant tertiary qualification ideally in business or equivalent level of experience in New Zealand or international market in business development and people leadership role.
• Project management qualification and/or relevant business experience.
• 8+ years’ experience in sales and marketing, business development, international business, exporting education with an excellent track record of success in business growth and profitability.
• Experience in planning and solid financial / investment decision-making, preferably gained in an entrepreneurial environment or commercial aviation services provider.
• Demonstrated success in entrepreneurship, negotiations and bringing products to market in venture based, innovation orientated industries globally.
• Proven experience as an effective and strong leader, ideally from business development environments with both international and domestic perspectives.
• Strong commercial business acumen and sales and revenue focused. Proven experience in delivering strong sales results.
• Ability to work in a dynamic team and business environment, collaborate with people, show resilience and agility, take ownership and focus on delivering successful outcomes.

To Apply: 

If you are interested in this newly created leadership position, then please submit your application (CV and Cover Letter) via the job advertisement. 

This role will require the successful candidate to undergo pre-employment background checks including drug and alcohol screening, criminal conviction check etc. 

Preference will be given to candidates with New Zealand work rights and Christchurch based location.

Please note that our recruitment process is managed via our parent company Airways New Zealand. 

Application closing date is Tuesday 1^st April 2025. 

At Airways, our people are at the heart of what we do to keep NZ skies safe. We are committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where people feel they belong and can bring their whole self to work. We currently hold the Rainbow Tick and NQTick (neurodiversity) and are working towards Gender Tick. We make our recruitment decisions based on the best candidate for the job and therefore encourage applications from diverse candidates.