Strategic Account Director - Product Development & Innovation Consulting

Cambridge Design Partnership; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee-owned

Growing US team

Job summary

Cambridge Design Partnership seeks a Strategic Account Director to manage high-value consumer accounts across a designated territory. You will engage client companies needing an external engineering partner to accelerate new product development from concept through commercialization.

This senior role leads account strategy, growth, and long-term value, with ownership of pricing negotiations, pipeline management and forecast accuracy.

Qualifications

• Experience owning and growing complex high-value B2B accounts.
• Experience in engineering consulting or outsourced product development.
• Ability to translate client strategy into growth opportunities.
• Proactive, growth mindset with long-term partnership focus.

Responsibilities

• Identify and progress opportunities for new project activity to ensure revenue growth.
• Expand relationships across client organisations to reduce single-thread risk.
• Develop stakeholder maps and engagement plans across technical, operational, procurement and executive stakeholders.
• Contribute to the evolution of CDP’s markets and service strategy with insightful recommendations.
• Share learnings and best practices across accounts to raise performance.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical field

Job description

Cambridge Design Partnership is an employee-owned product and innovation consultancy operating internationally with offices in North Carolina and Cambridge (UK). Our scientists, engineers, designers and commercial teams work together to solve complex problems for leading businesses across the Consumer and Med-tech markets.

We are now seeking a Strategic Account Director to manage our high value client accounts in the Consumer market across a designated territory. You will engage client companies that require an external engineering partner to accelerate new product development from concept through commercialization.

The work we do for clients includes the development of new products, technical innovation, and engineering consulting. Our clients are market leaders across food and beverages, home care, personal care, personal hygiene, health and beauty. We help them innovate across fast moving product formats as well as durable appliances and devices.

This is a senior role, responsible for the commercial growth, strategic development and long-term value of key accounts. You will direct the account strategy, and act as trusted partner to your clients. The role demands a proactive, growth mindset with a focus on long-term client partnership over transactional sales.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Identify and progress qualified opportunities for new project activity to ensure predictable revenue growth
• Expand relationships up and across the client organisations to reduce single-thread risk
• Develop and maintain structured stakeholder maps and engagement plans across technical, operational, procurement and executive stakeholders
• Actively contribute to the evolution of CDP’s markets and service strategy by translating account management insight into actionable recommendations
• Share learning and best practice across accounts to raise overall performance

Requirements

To succeed in this role, you will be able to demonstrate:

Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, or a related technical field
• Experience working in a company providing engineering consulting or outsourced product development
• Previous ownership and growth of complex high-value B2B accounts
• Evidence of using deep understanding of client strategy and competitive positioning to identify innovation opportunities

Desirable:

• Ability to shape pricing strategy and manage commercial negotiations
• Disciplined pipeline management and forecast accuracy

Benefits

We’re an employee‑owned innovation partner with a growing US team. We bring ideas to life-from insight to engineering to pilot manufacture—across consumer and healthcare.