Key Account Manager – A&D

Role Overview

• Develop and implement strategic account plans to meet market business targets, exercising strategic judgment and autonomy in planning and execution
• Take responsibility for sales plans and forecasts for assigned accounts, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives
• Identify account growth opportunities and diversification into new areas, business fields, products, and services, applying independent decision-making authority, including opportunities at the intersection of the ITS and PTE offerings
• Collaborate internally with the global network to deliver tailored solutions, leveraging flexibility to accommodate international time zones
• Align account strategies with overall business objectives in collaboration with Sales Directors (SD) and Business Field Leaders (BFL)
• Ensure consistent offers, commercial and contractual conditions for assigned accounts, maintaining compliance with company policies
• Support all commercial activities until final payment, accompany project work during order fulfilment, and assess customer satisfaction
• Provide inputs for efficient offer preparation and lean offers
• Approve and negotiate quotations and contracts according to company policies, exercising authority within defined guidelines
• Monitor and analyse account performance, adjusting strategies as needed to achieve targets
• Manage account sales support budgets and ensure data completeness and quality in CRM systems (Salesforce)
• Ensure compliance with AVL sales processes
• Lead and manage the account team (if applicable), providing guidance, training, and support with a high degree of autonomy
• Operate within a matrix organization without direct reports, acting as a key coordination point by collaborating cross-functionally with internal stakeholders (Sales Organization, Engineering, Operations) and across ITS and PTE BUs, while working closely with Global Account Managers to ensure strategic alignment.
• Build, maintain, and grow relationships with key decision-makers at customer organizations, ensuring long-term strategic partnerships
• Orchestrate relationship development and communication across multiple stakeholders
• Manage complex customer situations, applying strong negotiation, mediation, and effective communication skills to address challenges and drive successful outcomes.
• Manage customer interactions to ensure responsiveness and satisfaction, applying discretion in prioritization
• Travel to meet customers (approx. 50%), their buying centers, and internal stakeholders as needed, leveraging flexibility in scheduling
• Prepare, host, and lead customer meetings, ensuring follow-ups and satisfaction assessments.

Requirements

• Completed university or university of applied sciences (FH) degree, or equivalent, with a focus on technical and economic aspects
• Driver’s License
• Experience in sales or sales management in a business-to-business environment (5+ years), ideally in the aerospace, defence or high-technology industrial sector
• Experience developing business with aerospace & defence accounts (primes/OEMs, system integrators and their supply chain)
• Familiarity with A&D commercial/contractual frameworks and industrial security requirements (e.g. NOSI) is an advantage
• Negotiation skills
• People management skills
• Willingness to travel
• English language skills (business fluent)
• French language (plus)

Benefits

• Flexible working arrangements
• Professional development