Head of Global Business Development (AIL)

About Airways International Ltd:
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:
We have a permanent full-time opportunity for a Head of Global Business Development to join our Christchurch based campus.

Reporting of the General Manager Commercial, you will lead the commercial function including a team of business development and commercial experts, to deliver sustainable revenue growth, margin performance and long-term customer value.

You will own strategic customer relationships across the portfolio, working closely with the GM Commercial, Executive Leadership Team and Business Unit owners to align commercial strategy with delivery capability and enterprise priorities.

You will shift the approach from reactive bidding to proactive opportunity shaping, leading market expansion and conversion of new opportunities.

The commercial function leverages AIL’s presence and ensures international market expansion of AIL services and products through global and local partnerships.

Key tasks, responsibilities and areas of focus:

• Lead, develop and enable the commercial team to perform at a high level, ensuring capability, structure and ways of working are aligned to current and future business needs.
• Take ownership for the full commercial lifecycle including strategy, business development, contracts, pricing, delivery performance and value realisation.
• Ensure commercial opportunities are converted into contracts, and that those contracts are successfully delivered to achieve financial and strategic outcomes.
• Lead development and execution of the commercial strategy aligned to enterprise goals, including Identify and prioritise global growth opportunities across services, products and partnerships.
• Own revenue, margin, cash outcomes and budget management for your function.
• Lead negotiation, approval and execution of major contracts.
• Establish consistent processes, tools and frameworks.
• Leverage Airways resources to create continued commercial opportunities and success.
  

For a full list of tasks and responsibilities, please refer to the position description attached to the advert on the Airways careers site.  

About You:
We’re seeking an experienced commercial leader with strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills, ideally gained in a complex, regulated environment.

You’ll be able to establish processes, build capability and drive performance improvement whilst ensure compliance with legal, regulatory and internal requirements.

Additionally, you will have:

• A relevant tertiary qualification ideally in business or an equivalent level of experience leading a commercial function.
• 8+ years’ experience in sales and marketing, business development, international business or 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 at a 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.
• Experience in planning and solid financial / investment decision-making, preferably gained in an entrepreneurial environment or commercial aviation services provider.
• Strong commercial business acumen with a focus on sales and revenue.
• 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’re eager to expand career at a SOE known for innovation and success, submit your application (CV and cover letter) via the Airways careers site.

Please note that you must be legally eligible to work in New Zealand to be considered.

This role will require the successful candidate to undergo pre-employment background checks including but not limited to references, drug and alcohol screening and criminal conviction.

Application closing date is Friday, 26 June 2026.

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.

Position description Apply now

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