Director of Business

Location Hybrid
· Didcot, UK Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire (onsite 2 days per week)

Team Business Development

Seniority Senior

• Closing:5:00pm, 9th Jan 2026 GMT

Work from home option

Life Insurance

Wellness programs

Employee Assistance Programme

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

Sabbatical Opportunities

Salary sacrifice

Team social events

Extracurricular clubs

Cycle to work scheme

Director of Business Growth

The Role

We are seeking a dynamic and strategic Director of Business Growth to build and lead a new multidisciplinary business growth function. You will shape and deliver support for UK space companies at every stage of their growth journey – from start-up and spin-out through to scale‑up and international expansion.

You will work closely with our three mission teams, including our business development teams, to identify companies with high growth potential, building a diverse portfolio of businesses and ensuring they receive structured support to accelerate their growth. This will include supporting them to develop their business and commercial strategies, find new funding and investment, validate their technologies with users and customers, and enter new domestic and international markets.

Reporting to the Chief of External Affairs, you will lead a team spanning strategy and insights, business support, innovation services, investments, and international growth
, and work closely with other Catapult teams (e.g. Missions, business development, and our technical experts) to maximise impact.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the Business Growth function, setting clear vision, objectives, and delivery plans.

Build, develop, and manage a high‑performing multidisciplinary team offering support across insights, business support, innovation, investment, and international expansion.

Oversee and nurture a portfolio of high‑potential businesses, providing structured support and setting ambitious growth plans with clear milestones.

Design, refine and deliver products, services, and programmes that:

Help start‑ups and spin‑outs with early‑stage advice, customer validation, and business model development.

Help scaling companies with product development, customer engagement, and entry into new markets.

Facilitate access to Catapult expertise and infrastructure to accelerate company growth.

Find and work with other expert delivery partners and suppliers in other organisations, e.g. Innovate UK, DBT and the private sector, to fill any gaps in our offer and ensure we can provide a broad spectrum of support to businesses.

Investment & Funding

Support companies to access public and private funding and grants by helping them develop compelling business cases and value propositions.

Oversee investor‑readiness programmes, supporting companies in securing private investment through funding rounds.

International & Exports

Lead support for companies expanding into global markets, including access to international supply chains, export opportunities, and overseas presence.

Work with companies to identify customer needs, design user‑led products and services, and integrate offerings into wider customer ecosystems.

Support companies in building customer strategies and scaling revenue streams.

About You

We are looking for a candidate with a strong mix of leadership, commercial, and innovation expertise
, ideally with experience in the space sector or other high‑technology industries.

Proven experience leading business growth or commercialisation functions.

Track record of supporting companies to grow, whether from start‑up through to SME stage or beyond.

Strong understanding of start‑up and scale‑up ecosystems, including investment, public funding, customer development, and internationalisation.

Strong leadership and team management skills, able to inspire and manage multidisciplinary teams.

Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and partnership‑building skills.

Knowledge of the space sector, advanced technologies, or adjacent industries (e.g., aerospace, defence, data, telecommunications).

Experience working in business growth capacity in an accelerator, Catapult, innovation agency, or consultancy environment.

Internati…