Business Development Manager – Europe

Department - Business Development

Reporting To - Business Development Director – EMEA

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to take ownership of new business opportunities across Europe, with a primary focus on Italy and Spain.

This role is responsible for the end-to-end management of tender opportunities, from early-stage market intelligence through to submission and post-award support. Acting as the opportunity owner, you will bridge strategy and execution, ensuring bid readiness, commercial accuracy, and full compliance with authority requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Opportunity Ownership

• Proactively identify, scope, and generate new business opportunities across Italy and Spain.
• Manage the full lifecycle of tenders, from initial intelligence gathering through to final submission.
• Conduct detailed market research, competitor benchmarking, airport ecosystem mapping, and passenger flow analysis.
• Assess commercial viability, including CAPEX, OPEX, vendor quotations, and revenue potential.
• Provide regular updates to EMEA leadership on risks, dependencies, and progress.

Tender Preparation

• Prepare and coordinate high-quality technical submissions, including operational concepts, service models, staffing plans, and implementation strategies.
• Ensure all tender documentation complies fully with authority requirements, including formatting, declarations, annexes, and compliance checklists.
• Align operational layouts, general arrangements, and design concepts with internal design and operations teams.

Commercial & Financial Inputs

• Provide accurate local inputs into financial models, including:
  • Labour costs
  • Local tax structures
  • Supplier quotations
  • Utilities and maintenance estimates
• Validate assumptions and challenge inaccuracies to ensure robust and realistic financial projections.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain strong relationships with airport authorities, regulators, joint-venture partners, and third-party service providers across the region.
• Support negotiation phases by providing market insight, local intelligence, and scenario analysis.

Post-Award Support

• Support mobilisation planning, regulatory approvals, and early-stage operational coordination.
• Track early performance against the approved business plan and support handover to operations teams.

Requirements

Experience & Knowledge

• 5–8 years experience in business development, tendering, consulting, aviation operations, or airport commercial roles.
• Strong understanding of airport-related services such as hospitality, lounges, F&B, meet & greet, hotel concessions, or infrastructure projects.
• Proven ability to interpret tender documentation, technical drawings, and concession agreements.

Education

• Bachelors degree in Business, Finance, Architecture, Engineering, Hospitality, or a related discipline.

Technical Skills

• Strong Excel modelling and financial analysis capability.
• Advanced PowerPoint and written presentation skills.
• Experience conducting site surveys and technical validations.

Languages

• Fluent English required; Italian or Spanish language skills are highly advantageous.

Other Requirements

• Willingness to travel regularly across Italy and Spain.
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects under tight deadlines.

Benefits

• Worldwide lounge access for you and your family (including parents)
• Hotel discounts of 20%
• All business-related expenses fully covered by the company