Strategic Account Director - Connectivity

Global Switch; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Strategic Accounts Director to lead business development in the AI and HPC sectors. This role focuses on cultivating relationships with key clients and partners, developing engagement strategies, and driving revenue growth through innovative solutions. The ideal candidate is a visionary leader with exceptional communication skills and a proven track record in account management. Join a dynamic team that values excellence, teamwork, and customer satisfaction, and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of data center solutions.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in account management within AI and HPC sectors.
• Strong understanding of sales processes and B2B environments.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain relationships with strategic accounts and partners.
• Support sales team in achieving revenue targets and managing forecasts.

Skills

Account Management

Strategic Thinking

Communication Skills

Negotiation

Market Analysis

B2B Sales Expertise

Analytical Skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree (Preferred)

Job description

Job Description

About the Role

The Strategic Accounts team, led by the Executive Group Director of Sales and Strategic Accounts, focuses on growing relationships with key large-scale customers and partners. The team develops engagement strategies to enhance global relationships, understand growth plans and capture additional business in existing and new markets. This role involves building relationships with strategic accounts worldwide, gaining expert knowledge and sharing it with internal stakeholders to improve their understanding of the customer and industry, aiding in informed decision-making.

The role includes maintaining account development plans and engagement strategies for each assigned account, informing key stakeholders, and assisting in building a pipeline of sales opportunities. The Strategic Accounts Director will be assigned prospects by the business and through their own initiative, with frequent reviews. Sales execution for strategic accounts will be managed by the sales team. This is fundamentally a business development position, engaging with partners like Nvidia, Intel, AMD and technology partners focused on new cooling strategies and products.

Key Responsibilities

• To provide support and share intelligence with multiple internal stakeholders who either have touch points with allocated Strategic Accounts or whose roles relate to the delivery of service or product to those customers.
• To increase Strategic Accounts Customers’ understanding of Global Switch and to promote Global Switch through attendance at trade events and/or by regular trips to facilitate in person meetings.
• Work with the marketing team to develop a go-to-market strategy including campaigns and other lead generation activities to drive revenue growth.
• To support the sales team in achieving the revenue targets set in the annual budget.
• To work with the Commercial team to ensure that accurate business forecasts are delivered in the annual budget process.
• The role is responsible for increasing the knowledge of and understanding by, multiple stakeholders within the business in respect of Strategic Accounts.
• To maintain account development plans for allocated Strategic Accounts Customers and Partners which will include intelligence such as business goals, capacity roadmap, organisation people chart, current deployments, product requirements, pricing, and decision-making criteria.
• In relation to allocated Strategic Accounts Customers, the role will provide intelligence input to the sales team to assist with RFIs, RFPs, bespoke customer presentations, site tours and commercial contract negotiations.

About You

You are a visionary leader with a strong track record in account management, particularly within the AI and HPC sectors. Your ability to cultivate relationships and drive business growth is matched by your strategic thinking and excellent communication skills. You thrive in a dynamic environment and are adept at leading negotiations and influencing decision-makers.

Key Requirements

• Experience in a similar or related role in a data centre or telecommunications environment.
• Strong understanding of the sales process and cycle.
• Demonstrated ability to identify cost-savings and improvements and creativity around commercial solutions.
• Customer facing with expertise in B2B corporate environments.
• Ability to produce KPI’s and develop a process and implement it successfully.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong analytical capabilities and experience with market analysis and strategic planning.
• Demonstrable success in negotiating complex contracts and managing high-value client relationships.
• Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams and manage multiple priorities effectively.

About Global Switch

You might not know it, but you use a data centre like Global Switch every day. Whether you're browsing the web, streaming, playing a game, or simply making a purchase, you are relying on data centres around the world. Global Switch is a trusted name in the industry, with over 20 years of experience and a commitment to long-term partnerships and sustainability.

We value excellence and teamwork, and we always strive to deliver the best customer service and satisfaction. We are a team of skilled and passionate professionals, proud of who we are and what we do. Joining us means becoming part of a team that values learning and growth.

As an equal opportunity employer, Global Switch is committed to providing a working culture that values diversity and inclusion and is committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a barrier-free recruitment process and working environment.