Global Sales Manager (Aerospace/ Defence/ Automotive)
Salary:
Negotiable
Location:
UK
Location: UK
Salary: £Negotiable OTE £100k + car allowance
Company/ Sector: Chemicals Distributor
The Role:
- Strengthening and expanding key strategic accounts.
- Identifying and capturing new technical opportunities and projects.
- Building trusted partnerships with key suppliers to bring innovation into customer applications.
- Maintaining deep market understanding to ensure the company stays ahead of industry change.
- This is primarily an individual contributor role with significant influence across regions, including coordination with colleagues in Europe and potential future international resources.
- Develop and grow relationships with global automotive OEMs.
- Manage complex, multi-site customer environments spanning engineering, procurement and operations.
- Retain and expand existing business while identifying new opportunities for growth.
- Coordinate activities across international customer locations to ensure consistent engagement.
- Act as a credible technical partner supporting customers through design and material selection, testing and validation, and transition into production environments.
- Promote high-reliability solutions aligned with automotive quality expectations and a “never fail” approach.
- Focus initially on silicone technologies while expanding cross-selling across adhesives, tapes and engineered solutions.
- Build strong, trust-based relationships with key strategic suppliers.
- Work collaboratively on project development, new product introductions and technical opportunities.
- Coordinate samples, trials, marketing initiatives and joint customer engagement activities.
- Align supplier innovation pipelines with their automotive strategy to support mutual growth.
- Maintain deep understanding of automotive market trends, technology shifts and emerging applications.
- Identify opportunities arising from industry transformation, including electrification, thermal management and high-vibration environments.
- Provide insight to shape the company’s long-term automotive strategy.
Requirements:
- Proven success in technical B2B sales within automotive/aerospace/defence or closely related manufacturing sectors.
- Knowledge of silicones, adhesives, tapes or related engineered materials preferred.
- Experience supporting engineering-led design-in processes.
- Comfortable operating within global customer structures.
- Strong commercial judgement and negotiation skills.
- Driven by growth and opportunity, with strong ownership mentality.
- Credible communicator with engineers and procurement teams alike.
- Structured, resilient and able to operate independently.
- Practical and solutions-focused.
- Comfortable with international travel and flexible working hours.
Contact Emma Ingham:

Specialist Recruitment Consultant
0161 443 0016
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