Director of Business

Join to apply for the Director of Business Growth role at Satellite Applications Catapult.

Employment type:

Full time.

Location:

Hybrid (Didcot, UK / Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire, onsite 2 days per week). Salary: £95,000 - £110,000 (GBP). Team:
Business Development.

• Flexible working hours
• Work from home option
• Healthcare
• Life Insurance
• Wellness programs
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Extra holiday
• Sabbatical Opportunities
• Professional development
• Paid volunteer days
• Salary sacrifice
• Team social events
• Extracurricular clubs
• Cycle to work scheme

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 and 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.

• Leadership & Strategy
  • 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.
• Portfolio & Business Support
  • 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.
• Customer & Market Development
  • 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.

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…