Vice President, Business Development

Telesat Government Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of leading satellite operator Telesat, provides the reliable and secure global communications network that the U.S. government and allies require – and the information superiority and mission assurance they demand. Leveraging our state-of-the-art satellite fleet, our secure and responsive global network offers resilient infrastructure; real-time operation management; and morale, welfare and recreation connectivity for remote personnel on long-term assignments.

Telesat Lightspeed™, our advanced, global Low Earth Orbit network, will soon offer unparalleled survivable and assured network connectivity. The system will leverage commercial LEO satellites and Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs) for integrated, hybrid MilSatCom networking which, combined with Telesat’s longstanding engineering excellence, will deliver secure, reliable and cost-effective global connectivity for government and defense applications.

The Vice President, Business Development will focus on building an active (revenue/profit-generating) customer base that will transition to Lightspeed. The Vice President, Business Development will be responsible for defining and implementing robust and repeatable business development processes, identifying new business opportunities, devising capture strategies and developing winning proposals.

This is a strategic position, which includes leadership of a growth team and within the TGS office. The next 3-4 years of TGS will rest on the ability of this position to build the BD team/processes/tools identify and capture business that will build a user community that trusts Telesat and is prepared and eager to adopt Lightspeed as its future architectural platform.

This person will have specialist knowledge and a small book of very close contacts that will enable identification and capture of strategic opportunities that will set TGS up for future success on Lightspeed.

Main Responsibilities

• Identify a set of key customers whose missions are good fits for Lightspeed operations. With a primary focus on US Space Force and Intelligence Community (IC), and other government applications, this position will evangelize on the virtues of Lightspeed and identify early adopters.
• Plan and execute customer and user engagements, align resources and identify funding and contracting avenues and develop capture plans to maximize P(win) – win business that will build an active customer base as a bridge to Lightspeed FOC.
• Develop, communicate, and execute winning sales strategies for GEO and LEO services targeting Government verticals. Analyze competitive landscape, channel conflicts and environmental factors to ensure that we continue to offer high-value winning proposals.
• Align with the team’s objectives and Telesat’s business strategy through active participation in strategic planning, sales strategy development, forecasting, sales resource planning, and budgeting.
• Work closely with executive team colleagues to ensure a culture of teamwork and success. Foster a culture of consistency in teamwork, accountability, high-performance, and ethical behavior.
• Be able to work collaboratively with our parent company colleagues while remaining within the limitations of the FOCI agreement, to achieve corporate and Group goals, cost controls and business alignment. We value a seamless interaction with our technical and business experts within Telesat across the globe and strive to maintain a productive and collaborative environment.
• Establish and maintain productive peer-to-peer relationships with customers, and prospects, be part of the overall business solution, not just a cog in the wheels.
• Report on progress and provide market intelligence to the team. Develop and manage an evolving pipeline of business, devise capture strategies and partnering opportunities.
• Be an evangelist for LEO capabilities – be able to articulate the LEO value proposition and enthusiastically promote the Telesat brand and Lightspeed capabilities.
• Set and maintain a standard of behavior and engagement that will serve as an example to others and demonstrate Telesat Government’s commitment to integrity and professionalism.

Education and Experience required

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Entrepreneurial mind-set with strong leadership and business development skills and proven track record of delivering success in a senior position in a highly competitive start-up-like sales environment. Preferred minimum of 12-15 years of business development or sales roles offering complex and technical solutions in a business-to-government sales environment, ideally in the telecom or satellite communications industry.
• Master’s degree in business or engineering preferred and advanced degree aligned with the needs of this position. Demonstrated experience and success may be substituted.
• Significant experience working in a culturally diverse and geographically dispersed organization, and experience with dotted line reporting responsibilities to a foreign parent company under FOCI limitations. The ability to operate successfully within a team environment in the dynamic environment of what is essentially a start-up organization within Telesat, but with the ability to operate independently when needed.
• Experience in identifying, devising winning capture strategies, writing proposals and engaging parent company expertise to respond to complex government requirements in formal and informal settings.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships with executive-level partners within the group and with the parent company, in addition to working in support of business opportunities to garner support from vendors, technology and business partners and specialist consultants. 

Additional Skills required

• The demonstrated ability to find new customers, prepare well-thought-out proposal and pricing, to deliver, managing external and internal resources, the appropriate solution and to make sure the customer remains well-served through the lifecycle of the contracted services, with the goal of transitioning them to Lightspeed when it is on-orbit.
• Military Space experience a big plus.
• Active US Government security clearance, or the ability to get one.

Decision Making & Supervision

• Candidate for this position is expected to be a self-starter, able to act independently with full awareness of the company’s strategic objectives, and to be able to make business decisions that will ensure strong positioning to win business opportunities.
• This is a strategic leadership position, and this person will act as the TGS #2 when the President is not available.

Working Conditions

• Occasional office work in Arlington, VA and will consider locations in proximity to Telesat’s intended customer base.




The position will be contingent on obtaining at least a TOP SECRET level clearance, with SCI preferred.

At Telesat Government Solutions, we take pride in being an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in the workplace. Qualified applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. We are committed to providing the best candidate experience possible including any required accommodations at every stage of our interview process.

All qualified applicants that have been selected for an interview that require accommodations, are advised to inform the Telesat Talent team accordingly. We will work with you to meet your needs. All accommodation information provided will be treated as confidential.