Head of Strategy & Marketing – Cyber, Digital & Technology

Location: Reading, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

Job Title: Head of Strategy & Marketing – Cyber, Digital & Technology

Location: The ideal location would be Reading / Crawley, although other Thales sites might be taken into consideration for the right applicant. We can offer a hybrid approach to office and remote working.

Purpose:

Defines and supports the development of a several hundred million pounds cyber and digital identity business in the UK, along with the further development of the UK Technology Strategy, through execution of an integrated technology, market & customer-driven strategy for the UK and local Domains, that drive actionable and impactful Marketing Plans. As a partner to the UK Key Account & Sales teams, contributing directly to the growth and profitability ambition of Thales in the UK and the wider Thales ambition to act at the speed of relevance in the market.

Key Activities and Responsibilities:

• Define the local Domain strategy and its contribution to the SBP process while supporting BLs in the definition and the coordinated execution of their in-country strategies.
• Identify transversal multi-BL strategic initiatives to meet customer or market segment requirements to underpin the need for new segment-based offers, for example in Critical National Infrastructure.
• Support the country SAMs/KAMs in the definition and activation of their account-focused engagement plans. Develop account specific integrated value propositions and value selling content. Leverage relevant product & segment marketing content & campaign assets.
• Define the Technology Strategy for the UK and its contribution to the SBP process.
• Develop and execute Integrated Marketing Campaigns – activated through the Communications team channel strategy – in support of the local reputation of the company and country demand generation efforts. Leverage Digital Marketing capabilities to optimize local customer engagement and support Sales growth and capture of Customer-funded R&D. Track campaign KPIs.
• Map the Thales portfolio of technologies and products to the account or customers’ needs, to present relevant, easy-to-understand and valuable research, products and services by capitalizing on the work done by the Head of Customer Products & Services Portfolio at segment level.
• As part of the Account Plan and in support of Thales’ business objectives and strategic initiatives, build and execute the Account’s “Engagement Plan”, coordinating Thales interactions with the account.
• Defining marketing objectives & actions according to the different identified account targets and initiatives.
• Selecting the most appropriate customer engagement approaches for each marketing objective in collaboration with KAMs, Sales, Communications & Solution Innovation teams.
• Developing dedicated customer events, demonstrations, co-creation opportunities to enhance the customer experience.
• Supporting Exhibitions & Conferences with themes, strategic messaging from IMCs, sales enablement content, panels, keynotes, subject matter expert interviews

Key Deliverables:

• A formal, documented Strategic Plan for the Domains: This outlines the organisation's long-term vision, mission, goals, and the specific strategies and actionable steps required to achieve them. Specifically focusing on our combined offer into the Critical National Infrastructure market.
• A formal, documented Technology Strategy: This outlines a fully market-validated technology strategy that aligns our Customer Funded Research & Development pipeline to defined next-generation technologies to secure competitive advantage in all Thales markets in the UK.
• Integrated Marketing Campaigns for the Accounts & Technology Strategy: Detailing the planning, execution, and monitoring of multi-channel marketing campaigns.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: Contributing to an improved end-to-end customer journey through dedicated customer events, demonstrations and co-creation opportunities.

Performance Measurement:

• Strategic Plan Goal Achievement: A direct comparison of actual results against the original, targeted outcomes to determine if the plan achieved what it set out to do.
• Integrated Marketing Campaign KPIs: Regular tracking, analysis and reporting on the effectiveness and ROI (pipeline growth, order intake, GMOI) of all marketing initiatives.
• Customer Reviews and Feedback: Tracking direct comments and suggestions from customers, identification of pain points and generation of new strategic initiatives to satisfy customer needs.

Learning & Growth pathways:

• Career Progression: Aligned with the Leadership Pathway, offering progression to broader Strategy & Marketing, PLM, or BL/GBU-level roles.
• Professional Development: Exposure to Group-level strategy, M&A execution, marketing and innovation leadership.
• Learning Opportunities: Access to tailored internal and external training in advanced negotiation, corporate strategy, marketing academy and innovation management; opportunity to participate in high-profile Group and UK cross-functional projects.

Job Specific Skills:

• Marketing Strategy: Ability to develop and manage methods, programs, and tools for setting marketing and sales performance expectations.
• Strategic Planning: Ability to forecast, anticipate future trends and build scenarios to adapt strategies in response to changing internal and external conditions. Ability to define, plan and follow up main strategic initiatives. Ability to have an holistic view (technical, financial, operational, human resources…) of the business and its environment (customers, competition) to support business decision -making, considering different time horizons.
• Enhance Customer Experience: Ability to understand, capture, and manage the customer journey and interactions with Thales to enhance customer experience and foster higher degrees of customer loyalty. Ability to access and use Thales capabilities in enhancing customer experience (Customer Days, digital tools,...). Ability to establish crucial trust-based relationships and lead customer interactions to position Thales as a trusted partner, including leveraging (likely multiple), Thales executives and ensuring they are accountable for customer satisfaction. Ability to respond promptly and transparently to customer questions, leveraging expertise from around Thales. Ability to encourage customers to communicate proactively about issues, negative feedback, pain-points and assist in resolving them. Ability to address unexpressed needs promptly. Ability to develop strategies and tactics to keep the customer ‘for life’. Ability to ensure the customer experiences ‘one Thales’.
• Marketing Planning: Ability to develop a successful marketing plan to grow the target business. Ability to identify and plan marketing activities, from identifying target customers to defining ways to reach and retain them.

Security Clearance Requirement:

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires Security Clearance (SC). It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment.

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels.

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At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

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