Kantar is the world’s leading data, insights and consulting company. We understand more about how people think, feel, shop, share, vote and view than anyone else. Combining our expertise in human understanding with advanced technologies, Kantar’s 30,000 people help the world’s leading organisations succeed and grow.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Strategy & Business Development Director
Reference No.: R036599 Location: Ikorodu, Lagos
Employment Type: Full time
Role Description
Draft and monitor strategic direction of the team, with specific focus on:
Increasing our win rate
Renewing existing business
Filling the pipeline with ‘new’ business, including targeting business with competitors
General Responsibilities
Set up and maintain centralised hub for business development documentation & information
Set up and maintain central site for the wider business to access historical proposals & pitches
Provide CS teams with templated proposals for quick-turn and core solutions, like Link, including keeping abreast of global proposal template updates to ensure relevancy
Create standardised proposal inserts for common requirements
Liaise with existing, lapsed and potential clients
Upskill CS teams on proposal writing, including making use of WPP assets to set us apart
Align with and keep Exco updated on BD activities
Win rate Focus:
Pipeline process set up, develop associated documentation and oversee on-going
Monthly reporting on win rate at team level, including analysis of reasons for losses
Set up & oversee of weekly regional sales meetings to introduce and drive winning behaviour
Select/ present proposals at weekly review committee to drive winning proposal writing
Monitor and follow up with CS teams/ clients on proposals sent (i.e. make sure we close)
Assist domain leads in driving their sales and platform adoption targets
New Business - on going / current:
Maintain a broad knowledge of Kantar offers across domains in order to identify key stakeholders to feed in to proposals
As the first line of site for client briefs and opportunities, identify and involve key stakeholders from the start
Participate in brainstorms and allocate tasks to the right stakeholders to ensure best possible output
Manage the ‘big pitch’ process and ensure that a proper timeline is in place from the outset and that it is adhered to by all
Write / support the writing of proposals, including review of central question, business context and objective and commercial imperative
Ensure proposals meet business priorities for automation, analytics/ non-survey data integration and strategic / integration workshops
Together with costing and operations partners, cost research and advise on packaging of value-based price options
Meet with and present proposals to clients (based on value)
New Business Opportunities:
Remain close to new technologies and offers being developed globally in order to offer our clients latest thinking and cutting edge design
Brainstorm/ review client plans across teams for up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, including driving and monitoring on-going actions
Attend relevant industry forums and events for new business/ networking opportunities
Monitor wins from previous years for renewal opportunities
Align with client centricity pillar as an additional means to facilitate on-going client engagement and relationship maintenance pre and post commission of research
Identify opportunities that sit with our competitors and actively chase them, using a planned strategy and pulling in the right experts & stakeholders to support
Role Requirements
Ideally, 5 + years’ experience in client service, research or business development
Sound ability to listen to clients, understand their business needs and persuasive selling skills in meetings and pitches
Strong proposal writing skills
Understanding of Kantar solutions and approaches
Ability to write clear internal briefs that articulate the client’s key needs
Engaging oral/written communication skills
A self-starter able to go after client opportunities tenaciously
Solid working knowledge of Microsoft Office (in particular, PowerPoint and Excel)
Highly responsive, assertive, reliable, proactive and trustworthy
At Kantar we have an integrated way of rewarding our people based around a simple, clear and consistent set of principles. Our approach helps to ensure we are market competitive and also to support a pay for performance culture, where your reward and career progression opportunities are linked to what you deliver.
We go beyond the obvious, using intelligence, passion and creativity to inspire new thinking and shape the world we live in. Apply for a career that’s out of the ordinary and join us.
We want to create an equality of opportunity in a fair and supportive working environment where people feel included, accepted and are allowed to flourish in a space where their mental health and well being is taken into consideration.
We want to create a more diverse community to expand our talent pool, be locally representative, drive diversity of thinking and better commercial outcomes.