Head of Business Development & Customer Engagement

Location: Douglas Bader House, Fairford GL7 4RB

Details

The Royal International Air Tattoo has been running for over 50 years and is staged in support of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust’s vision is to ignite the passion for aviation and space, and inspire young minds upwards. Empowering them with the knowledge, skills, inclusive opportunities and experiences to aspire and pursue a rewarding and innovative career in the field of aerospace.

We are looking for a people-person, someone who inspires confidence, ambition, and purpose. You will be leading a small team with a lot to do, and must be able to demonstrate:

 

The main duties of the role would be:

  • Contribute to the pursuit, development, implementation and delivery of initiatives and partnerships that will contribute to achieving the RIAT32 vision on sustainable event delivery and showground content.
  • Oversee and develop the management of the visitor experience including those associated with the showground, public enclosures and facilities and the provision and operation of visitor services and retail – incorporating visitor information, the refuelling stations, customer entry points and facilities. 
  • Income generation for all secondary B2C sales, incorporating enclosure upgrades, camping, public catering and merchandise sales.
  • Work with the Head of Marketing to develop marketing strategies,
    tactical plans, and measurement processes to maximise all secondary spend areas.
  • Deliver an exceptional visitor experience recognised as sector-leading locally, nationally and internationally.
  • Accountable for effective delivery of customer experience including the management of 125 Volunteer CREW members on hand to offer a world class customer experience.
  • Identify and develop sustainable new income streams across the RIAT model.
  • Introduce and embed new business relationships who hitherto have not been part of RIAT’s world-class visitor experience.
  • Work alongside the Senior Leadership Team as part of an ambitious and dedicated team.
  • Deliver an exceptional visitor experience recognised as sector-leading locally, nationally and internationally.
  • Support revenue growth to enable our parent charity, the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust, to achieve its mission of promoting the Royal Air Force and inspiring young people to fulfil their potential in air, space, and technology.
  • In conjunction with the Company’s Sustainability Vision, design and deliver
    a 10-year plan for RIAT’s public showground and associated areas that is exciting, unique, inspiring and incorporates the needs and expectations of our many valued stakeholders.

experience:

  • Leadership and motivation (essential)
  • Excellent sales and negotiation skills (essential)
  • Excellent attention to detail (essential)
  • Relationship management and networking (essential)

knowledge:

  • Customer-centric approach with success in orienting an organisation around its customers.
  • Significant and proven track record in a senior leadership position (essential)
  • Commercial experience in the delivery of a large-scale national event or venue (essential)

 
What we will offer:

A competitive salary is accompanied by pension, private healthcare and 4x life assurance, we also hold staff wellbeing and social events throughout the year.  You will also be given two complimentary tickets to The Royal International Air Tattoo and a staff discount of 50% for an additional six.

application process

In order to apply, please submit a comprehensive CV along with a covering letter which sets out your interests in the role and encapsulates the aspects of your experience.

The whole job description is on our job portal, click here to see more.

Applications close 08.06.25