Business Development Associate

Buro Happold; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Income protection

Car allowance

25 days holiday

Pension scheme

Flexible benefits

Cycle scheme

Dental insurance

Optical cover

Travel insurance

Season ticket loans

Corporate discounts

Parenthood leave

Two memberships to professional bodies

Wellbeing programme

Job summary

Buro Happold in Manchester is seeking a strategic Business Development specialist to translate data into executive-ready insights supporting leadership decisions across markets. You will connect market trends, competitor intelligence, and internal performance drivers to identify risks and opportunities for growth.

The role blends finance, strategy, and market intelligence, requiring strong analytical capability and clear storytelling.

Qualifications

• Strong analytical and organisational skills with the ability to interpret data into actionable insights.
• Proactive, inquisitive and forward-thinking approach with curiosity for markets and client needs.
• Confident communicator capable of influencing stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience or interest in business development, strategy, marketing, or consultancy within a professional services environment.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and bring structure to evolving projects.
• Strong written communication and content creation skills.
• Collaborative mindset to support shared goals.

Responsibilities

• Act as a key contact for market, sector and discipline leads to support development and delivery of business development strategies.
• Develop and implement tactical plans to grow the pipeline and work-winning activity.
• Analyse market data, dashboards and trends to provide meaningful insights for decisions.
• Identify and support key client relationship management activities, including gathering feedback and engagement plans.
• Support development of value propositions, capability statements, and sector messaging with marketing teams.
• Track opportunities and manage pipeline reporting to support pre-positioning and pursuit strategies.
• Contribute to external engagement activities including events, networking and campaigns aligned to sector strategies.
• Provide coaching to work-winning teams on research, planning and client engagement.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Business development

Prioritisation

Written communication

Job description

Want to shape how a global consultancy wins work? Join Buro Happold and drive our work-winning growth strategy.

This person can be based in our Manchester office on a hybrid working model.

Are you the sort of person who can instinctively join the dots and see the bigger conversation in amongst the highly technical. Are you passionate about creating sustainable infrastructure and buildings in our towns and cities. With experience in Architecture, Construction and Engineering can you help colleagues strengthen and develop long term client and collaborator relationships. Are you a strategic thinker who also wants to understand the detail behind a project solution?

If this sounds like you, then come and join our growing Business Development team at Buro Happold where a growth mindset and knowledge of the built environment can take a you long way.

About The Role

This is a high-impact, future-focused position at the intersection of finance, strategy and market intelligence. You will translate complex internal and external data into clear, executive-ready insights that support faster, better leadership decisions.

Rather than focusing on historic reporting, you will connect market trends, competitor intelligence and internal performance drivers to identify risks, opportunities and strategic options across global markets. The role requires strong analytical capability alongside clear communication and storytelling skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a key point of contact for market, sector, and discipline leads, supporting the development and delivery of business development strategies.
• Develop and implement tactical plans to improve pipeline growth and work-winning activity.
• Analyse market data, dashboards, and trends to provide meaningful insights and inform decision-making.
• Identify and support key client relationship management (KRM) activities, including gathering feedback and driving engagement plans.
• Support the development of value propositions, capability statements, and sector messaging in collaboration with marketing teams.
• Track opportunities and manage pipeline reporting, supporting pre-positioning and pursuit strategies alongside bidding teams.
• Contribute to external engagement activities, including events, networking, and campaigns aligned to sector strategies.
• Provide coaching and guidance to work-winning teams on research, planning, and client engagement activities.

About You

You will ideally bring:

• Strong analytical and organisational skills, with the ability to interpret data and translate it into actionable insights.
• A proactive, inquisitive, and forward-thinking approach, with a natural curiosity for markets and client needs.
• Confident communicator with the ability to build relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience or interest in business development, strategy, marketing, or consultancy within a professional services environment.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and bring structure to complex or evolving projects.
• Strong written communication skills, with experience in preparing clear and persuasive content.
• Collaborative mindset with a willingness to support and enable others to achieve shared goals.

Why Join Buro Happold?

At Buro Happold, we believe in creating a better, more sustainable world. You'll be part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and excellence. We offer a supportive environment where your contributions make a real difference.

What we Offer You

Bring your knowledge and expertise to one of the world's most respected consultancies.

• Hybrid working arrangements.
• Attractive salary and benefits package including, private medical insurance, life assurance and income protection.
• 10% Car allowance.
• Holiday entitlement of 25 days per annum (exclusive of bank holidays) and flexible holiday arrangements.
• Generous company pension scheme.
• Flexible benefits including cycle scheme, dental insurance, optical cover, travel insurance, season ticket loans, and corporate discounts.
• Enhanced parenthood leave policies.
• 3pm finish on the last Friday of the month.
• A strong commitment to your continuous development. Whatever stage in your career, we have a learning and development programme that will enable and empower you.
• Entitlement to two memberships to professional bodies or subscriptions.
• A commitment to your wellbeing through a comprehensive employee assistance programme and wellbeing activities. A supportive and inclusive environment that will welcome you through social and outreach activities from the Young Employees Forum to mentoring.
• An international culture that wherever your career takes you at Buro Happold, you won't be far from the exceptional.

Buro Happold values individual's flexible approaches to working patterns as an important part of the way you work and achieve balance. We welcome applications from those who are seeking flexibility in their careers.

Our exceptional portfolio of projects is the result of the diversity of thought, identities, backgrounds and experiences that shape us. Appreciating each other’s differences is key, we want employees to feel they don't have to mask elements of their identity to thrive.

We are working to change the lack of representation of marginalised groups in the built environment and are particularly keen to hear from anyone who feels they are underrepresented in the industry. We have much to learn from one another. Embracing difference allows us to develop the most innovative and elegant solutions.