Defence Contractor jobs

Company Overview

StaplesVR is a technology and immersive media company building virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) solutions for aviation, defence, and national security.

We deliver world-class immersive content and simulation technology globally, with a people-first, collaborative culture. We're already in-market with paying customers across both aviation and defence. This role is about scaling that traction — moving from a founder-led, individually-driven sales motion to a real commercial function with the team, process, and cadence needed to grow significantly faster. This is a builder’s role, not a caretaker’s.

Position Purpose

The Chief Revenue Officer will lead StaplesVR's expansion across both defence and aviation, building the commercial function needed to scale well beyond what founder-led motion can sustain. Working closely with the CEO and CFOO, the CRO will replace individually-driven selling with a repeatable, scalable revenue engine with faster cadence, greater deal volume, and a real team behind it. This is a hands-on, builder's role: closing strategic deals personally while standing up the function around you.

Key Responsibilities

Revenue Strategy and Execution:

• Work directly with the CEO to scale StaplesVR's existing traction across both aviation and defence, moving beyond founder-led sales to a faster, higher-volume commercial cadence.
• Develop and own a 3+ year commercial growth strategy that translates StaplesVR's revenue ambitions into clear market priorities, target accounts, customer segments, routes to market, partnerships, resource requirements and measurable commercial milestones.
• Build a strategic account management model
• Lead and close StaplesVR's highest-value strategic opportunities, working directly with prospects, primes, and government stakeholders.
• Build out StaplesVR's go-to-market strategy: pricing, sector priorities, market expansion sequencing, and a sales process built to scale.
• Set revenue targets and forecast model in partnership with the CEO and CFOO.

Commercial Performance, Forecasting and Pipeline Management:

• Own revenue forecasting, pipeline health, sales performance reporting, conversion metrics, and commercial dashboards to provide clear visibility to the CEO, CFOO and Board.
• Work closely with the CFOO to translate commercial strategy into revenue targets, budget assumptions, margin expectations, and investment priorities.
• Establish and report against clear commercial performance KPIs, including annual revenue growth, quarterly sales performance, pipeline coverage, conversion rates, forecast accuracy, sales cycle length, proposal win rates, new customer acquisition, account expansion, retention, renewal performance, and gross margin contribution.
• Make recurring revenue a primary measure of success by growing revenue from software licensing, platform subscriptions, maintenance and support agreements, renewals, account expansion, and multi-year commercial contracts.
• Increase the proportion of repeatable, contracted and renewable revenue streams, reducing reliance on one-off project revenue and improving revenue predictability, customer lifetime value, margin visibility and enterprise valuation.
• Develop KPI reporting for recurring revenue performance, including renewal rates, churn risk, expansion revenue, customer lifetime value, contracted backlog, annual recurring revenue growth, and the percentage of revenue secured through multi-year or renewable agreements.
• Provide regular reporting to the CEO, CFOO and Board on revenue performance, pipeline health, forecast confidence, recurring revenue growth, renewal exposure, major deal risks, partnership contribution and key opportunities for scalable growth.

Business Development, Partnerships and Market Expansion:

• Identify, qualify, and convert high-value opportunities across target sectors including defence, aviation, defence and national security training.
• Build and manage strategic relationships with multinational corporations, government agencies, defence organisations, airlines, technology partners, prime contractors, and industry bodies.

Revenue Team Leadership and Capability Development:

• Build and lead a high-performing commercial organisation, including developing leaders and talent, setting clear accountability, creating a strong performance culture, and coaching the team to succeed through the company's next phase of scale.
• Build, lead, coach, and hold accountable a high-performing revenue team across sales, business development, partnerships, proposal support, account management, and customer growth.
• Establish clear sales disciplines, qualification standards, CRM hygiene, account plans, proposal governance, performance cadences, and handover processes from commercial teams to delivery teams.

Customer Success, Retention and Account Expansion:

• Ensure customers experience a connected journey from first engagement through contracting, delivery, adoption, renewal, expansion, and advocacy.
• Develop retention, account growth, cross-sell, upsell, and partner-led revenue strategies that increase customer lifetime value and strengthen long-term client relationships.

Commercial Governance and Risk Management:

• Ensure commercial activity is conducted ethically, professionally, and in line with legal, contractual, confidentiality, procurement, and regulatory requirements in all operating markets.
• Support contract negotiation, pricing discipline, bid qualification, commercial risk review, and executive-level reporting on revenue performance and strategic opportunities.

Key Competencies & Skills

• Proven people leader with experience building, developing and leading high-performing commercial teams through periods of rapid growth, with the ability to create accountability while coaching and developing individuals and emerging leaders.8–12+ years of senior commercial experience, including experience scaling revenue functions at a startup — ideally technology, SaaS, or deep-tech B2B/B2G.
• Strong sales craft: a proven ability to build relationships, qualify, and personally close complex, long-cycle deals from a standing start.
• Proven ability to transition a company from founder-led sales to a structured, scalable revenue function.
• Strong commercial acumen, including pricing, forecasting, pipeline governance, contract negotiation, margin awareness, and revenue performance reporting.
• Data-driven leadership style with the ability to use CRM systems, commercial dashboards, customer insights, and market intelligence to improve decision-making and growth performance.
• Excellent executive communication, stakeholder management, proposal leadership, negotiation, and presentation skills, including the ability to influence senior decision-makers.
• Understanding of technology start ups with the ability to translate technical capability into customer value and commercial outcomes.

Professional Development & Career Growth

At StaplesVR, we are committed to supporting senior leaders to grow with the business while contributing directly to global commercial success. The Chief Revenue Officer will have the opportunity to shape StaplesVR’s market position, build a scalable revenue function, and play a central role in expanding the company’s reach across priority sectors and international markets.

As part of this role, the CRO will be supported through:

• Executive Growth & Market Leadership – Opportunities to represent StaplesVR in strategic customer, partner, industry, and government forums.
• Commercial Leadership Development – Ongoing engagement with the CEO, Board, CFOO, and leadership team to refine commercial strategy, governance, and global growth priorities.
• Sector and Partnership Expansion – Scope to develop new strategic relationships, partnerships, and revenue pathways across StaplesVR’s priority markets.
• Team Building & Revenue Capability – Support to build systems, processes, and team capability that enable repeatable, scalable revenue growth.

Pay: From £183,000.00 per year

Work Location: On the road