Business Development Manager

Smith Institute; Oxford; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consulting firm in Oxford is seeking a Business Development Manager to expand and develop new business relationships. The ideal candidate will have a BA/BSc and 2+ years of relevant experience in business development or sales. This role includes achieving targets, developing strategies, and building client relationships. The company offers flexible working arrangements and a range of employee benefits.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Health and well-being support

Social events

Employee benefits program

Enhanced leave options

Mentoring from colleagues

Generous pension scheme

All IT equipment provided

Qualifications

• 2+ years of business development or sales experience generating new business.
• Strong writing, communication, and presentation skills.
• Experience managing a complex sales process.

Responsibilities

• Achieve business development targets on a quarterly and annual basis.
• Develop a BD strategy in your sector with a target prospect list.
• Work with technical Consultants to craft winning proposals.

Skills

Business Development

Sales

Communication

Negotiation

Networking

Education

BA/BSc

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Location

Location: Oxford/Remote depending on your location

Reporting to

Reporting to: Chief Commercial Officer

Description

The Smith Institute is a team of consultants who use advanced mathematics, analytics and AI to help customers do some pretty amazing things – like preparing the electricity grid to meet net zero targets, optimising satellites in the sky and making sure your favourite shop stocks enough cold drinks on a hot summer’s day.

We are looking for an experiencedBusiness Development Managerto join our team. Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, you will be responsible for casting a wide net to find and develop new business relationships. You will prospect, develop, and close business with a focus on client requirements. You will develop rapport, ask good questions, deliver strong pitches and proposals, and negotiate agreements to help us expand our client base. You will form long‑lasting relationships with our customers in your sector and help expand and grow our work with them. If you are an independent, energetic professional with experience managing a complex sales process, we’d love to hear from you.

Responsibilities

• Achieve business development targets on a quarterly and annual basis.
• Developing a BD strategy in your sector with target prospect list and activity plan.
• Become an expert in the market, staying on top of trends and the needs of target customers.
• Develop a deep understanding of our services, capabilities and value proposition.
• Make use of your network, LinkedIn, events, phone and email to build and maintain relationships with new customers.
• Take a client‑centric approach to selling, adapting your style to suit the buyer’s needs, goals and preferences.
• Form strong relationships with our current customers and leverage these to expand and grow our business collaboration.
• Work with technical Consultants and Project Managers to craft winning proposals that are tightly connected to customer goals and objectives.
• Handle all stages of the business development process– prospecting, pitch, proposal, negotiation, close, referral and expansion.
• Make good use of our CRM to track activity, log conversations, nurture relationships and manage pipeline.
• Collaborate closely with marketing to ensure we have the right content to support customers in their buying journey.
• Proactively help us develop and adapt our offer to meet evolving client needs.

Required Qualifications

• BA/BSc required
• 2+ years of business development or sales experience generating new business
• Strong writing, communication, and presentation skills

Preferred Skills/Qualifications

• MBA or Masters/PhD in STEM‑related discipline
• Experience in energy, transport, FMCG, pharma/health, telecommunications or security & defence
• Experience selling data science, analytics, machine learning, AI or other analytical solutions

Benefits

• Flexible working for all– work your contracted hours at times that best suit you and our customers, at home, in the office or as a mixture of both
• Health and well‑being support– Smith Institute provides up to three months’ contractual sick pay, have qualified Mental Health First Aiders, a Mindful Employer Plus membership and offer additional leave allowance to care for close family members
• Social events– most months our Social Committee organise events and we also have ongoing activities, including pub socials, a book club, a fantasy football league and a board games library
• Employee benefits– employee discount platform and Employee assistance programme
• Enhanced leave– bereavement, dependency, maternity, paternity & shared parental leave
• Mentoring– from colleagues and leading academics
• Generous pension scheme with Life Assurance and income protection
• All IT equipment provided and maintained
• Interesting and challenging work with purpose

EEO Statement

Smith Institute is an Equal Opportunities Employer, and Disability Confident Employer. We use best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

Accessibility & Recruitment

We are committed to being accessible. Please let us know if you have any reasonable adjustments regarding interviews in your application, so we can do our best to accommodate your needs fairly.

We currently have a rolling recruitment programme so applications will be reviewed as they are received, with a view to interviewing selected candidates when sufficient numbers are shortlisted.