Chief Revenue Officer (Interim or Permanent)
Company specialisation: Defence & Public Sector digital transformation
Location: London (hybrid, ~2 days in office)
Duration: ~6 months fixed term (interim to permanent considered), or Full-time permanent
Compensation: Competitive day rate / fixed-term equivalent c. £160k-£180k base salary
The Opportunity
This is a high-impact leadership role for a hands-on commercial operator who thrives in fast-moving, entrepreneurially run businesses. The company has a board-approved growth plan, a clear proposition, established client relationships in the defense and public sector market, and a small but growing sales team. What it needs now is a driven leader to take ownership of revenue delivery and build the team out — someone who can hit the ground running from day one.
There is an immediate need to fill this role, hence it is offered as full time permanent or as an interim contract (minimum 6m) whilst the organisation recruit the permanent candidate.
Responsibilities
- Take full ownership of the commercial function, acting as a genuine hands-on line leader (not just an advisor)
- Drive net new revenue against an agreed organisational target, working collaboratively with the wider executive team
- Lead, develop and motivate the existing sales team (3 direct reports currently) and support recruitment of 7–8 additional commercial hires
- Convert established senior relationships — particularly with major defence primes — into closed business
- Embed a relationship-led sales culture rather than a traditional RFP/procurement-driven approach
- Work closely with the CEO and CFO, representing the commercial function at executive level
Ideal Background
- Proven track record of revenue generation in professional or consulting services — not product or outsourcing sales
- Experience working in scale-up or growth-stage environments - comfortable building process as you go rather than managing an established machine
- Public sector or defence exposure beneficial - security clearable (existing clearance not required to start)
- A builder and doer — comfortable with ambiguity, happy to roll your sleeves up, move quickly, and lead by example with the team
- High energy, low ego, genuinely collaborative — culturally a strong fit for an engineering-led, low-politics firm
- Hungry to prove themselves - a motivated step-up candidate considered over a "done it three times" operator going through the motions
