Head of Commercial Aviation

Head of Commercial Aviation

Country/Region: FR

Who you are

You’re an agile aviation commercial leader who loves rolling up your sleeves and leading from the front. You are customer‑obsessed, commercially sharp, and comfortable navigating complex stakeholder environments (airlines, IFC partners, OEMs, and internal product/network teams). You bring structure to ambiguity, build high‑performing teams, and know how to run capture campaigns that win. You want to make a real difference by scaling a new generation of LEO connectivity into commercial aviation.

Role purpose

Own the Commercial Airline go‑to‑market capture strategy and senior engagement with airlines , while managing performance and alignment with IFC/IFEC distribution partners . Lead and develop the current Aviation BD and Account Management team, and build the future organization by hiring and scaling coverage in line with pipeline growth and regional priorities. You will also craft and negotiate complex commercial offers both direct to airlines (including unsolicited proposals) and jointly with IFC partners, including bespoke structures, multi‑party agreements, and new business models (e.g., revenue share, minimum guarantees, risk‑share, bundling, and outcome‑based SLAs).

What you’ll do

1. Airline engagement & capture leadership
   • Build and execute airline account plans across priority carriers, targeting C‑suite, procurement, digital, IT, cabin, connectivity and passenger experience stakeholders.
   • Lead capture campaigns end‑to‑end: opportunity qualification, win strategy, partner alignment, value proposition, pricing/terms positioning (with internal teams), and competitive battlecards.
   • Influence airline RFI/RFP requirements early (technical + commercial), shaping “must‑have” criteria toward OneWeb strengths (coverage, latency, resilience, roadmap, service models).
   • Orchestrate internal resources (product, engineering, network, legal, finance, operations) to deliver compelling airline proposals and negotiated outcomes.
   • Own executive narratives and governance: roadmap alignment, service commitments, program steering, and escalation management through selection and activation.
2. IFC partner management & ecosystem growth
   • Manage and grow strategic relationships with IFC/IFEC distribution partners and integrators; agree joint plans, campaign priorities, and account coverage models.
   • Drive partner accountability: pipeline hygiene, stage definitions, forecast discipline, win/loss reviews, and partner‑led execution quality.
   • Ensure partners are enabled with the right commercial collateral, technical positioning, training, and joint marketing/demo activity.
   • Establish/operate governance rhythms: QBRs, pipeline councils, bid/no‑bid, deal reviews, and executive steering when needed.
   • Identify and close gaps across the partner ecosystem (coverage, UT availability, certification plans, integration complexity, service definition).
3. Commercial strategy, offers & market intelligence
   • Translate airline and partner feedback into requirements for UT roadmap, service/SLA, pricing models, packaging and contracting approaches (with product/strategy and commercial team).
   • Maintain competitive intelligence on other LEO system and other GEO/LEO/HTS competitors; apply this to win strategies and positioning.
   • Own forecast quality: pipeline creation targets, weighted forecast, and scenario planning; contribute to annual operating plans and revenue outlook.
   • Represent Eutelsat OneWeb at key aviation events and forums (e.g., APEX, Aircraft Interiors Expo, Aviation Week) and in selected media engagements.
4. Complex offer design & deal structuring
   • Design and deliver bespoke airline proposals (including unsolicited “value‑led” offers) to create demand, open doors, and accelerate procurement cycles.
   • Build multi‑party commercial structures with IFC partners and ecosystem players (airline + IFC integrator + Eutelsat + OEM/terminal/service providers as required).
   • Develop creative business models to unlock wins: revenue share, minimum guarantees, risk/reward share, bundles (capacity + services + UT), phased deployments, and performance‑based SLAs/credits.
   • Lead commercial deal‑shaping with internal stakeholders (finance, legal, product, operations): pricing architecture, contract terms, liabilities, termination clauses, implementation milestones, and margin/risk guardrails.
   • Own the commercial narrative and approvals: create the business case, secure internal governance sign‑off, and negotiate to close.
5. Team leadership, hiring & org build‑out
   • Directly manage the current Aviation commercial team (Airlines account executive – AAE and Account Managers – AM): set priorities, coach performance, and ensure disciplined execution across accounts, partners, and bids.
   • Define and implement the operating model (coverage, roles & responsibilities, partner/airline ownership, governance cadences, KPI dashboards).
   • Build a high‑performing team culture: capture excellence, customer‑first execution, strong cross‑functional collaboration, and consistent pipeline rigor.
   • Own headcount planning and hiring: assess capability gaps, create role profiles, recruit, onboard and ramp new hires (e.g., capture leads, regional airline account leads, partner managers, bid support) as the business scales.
   • Establish talent development plans and succession: training in capture methodology, negotiation, IFC market/technical acumen, and executive engagement.

What it takes

• Proven ability to build credibility with airline decision‑makers and lead multi‑stakeholder commercial negotiations.
• Strong capture discipline: qualification, win strategy, competitive positioning, and structured deal governance.
• Ability to operate through indirect GTM: influencing outcomes via partners while driving urgency and accountability.
• Comfort with complex technical propositions (IFC architectures, SATCOM basics, certification constraints) without needing to be the engineer.
• People leadership experience: managing BD/AM teams with measurable outcomes (pipeline creation, win‑rate, partner performance, retention/upsell).
• Experience building teams: hiring, onboarding, defining territories/coverage, and implementing repeatable commercial processes.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication, strong synthesis skills, and executive presence.

What we’d love

• 7–12+ years in commercial aviation, SATCOM, IFC/IFEC, aerospace connectivity, or adjacent complex B2B infrastructure.
• Demonstrated success in airline capture/RFP wins and/or partner‑led GTM models.
• Experience with airline procurement processes, OEM/MRO interfaces, and cabin connectivity stakeholder maps.
• Track record of operating globally across regions and cultures with regular travel.
• Agile approach to thinking and solution finding.

What success looks like (6–12 months)

• A qualified, stage‑managed pipeline of airline opportunities with clear capture plans and executive sponsorship.
• Higher win‑rate and earlier influence in airline procurement cycles (requirements shaped before RFP).
• Strong partner cadence and measurable partner performance improvements (pipeline accuracy, conversion, joint campaigns).
• Clear voice‑of‑customer inputs reflected in product/service roadmap and commercial offers.
• A clear aviation commercial org design implemented (roles/coverage/governance), with key hires onboarded and ramping.

Where you'll be

UK, US or Europe