Business Development Director

Activate Group Limited; United States; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 173,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days holiday including bank

Health cash plan

Enhanced parental pay

Life assurance

Free breakfasts and fruit

Team celebrations

Job summary

Activate Group is seeking a Business Development Director to lead profitable growth for Activate Collision Solutions. You will own new business and deepen key insurer/broker relationships, while guiding a small team to ensure delivery, value and customer satisfaction across the network.

You will manage contract renewals, pursue cross-sell opportunities, and drive performance against revenue targets in a fast-paced, multi-site setting in the UK, with travel as required.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in new business development with motor insurers and brokers.
• Strong understanding of motor claims, repair networks, and lifecycle.
• Track record of winning and growing major accounts and renewals.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication at senior levels.
• Experience leading teams and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Client Relationship Leadership: own new business pipeline from prospecting to close.
• Client retention and development: maintain and grow strategic insurer/broker relationships.
• Commercial performance: drive revenue, margin and account growth; lead negotiations.
• Service delivery and operational excellence: oversee service reviews and delivery quality.
• Leadership and collaboration: manage the Client Relationship Manager and mentor colleagues.

Skills

New business development

Account management

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Insurance industry knowledge

Job description

We're looking for a Business Development Director to join our Activate Collision Solutions team! The Business Development Director is responsible for driving profitable growth, both by personally securing new business and by ensuring existing client relationships are retained, deepened and well served. The role combines front-line sales ownership with leadership of a small team covering client relationship management and marketing, giving the postholder end-to-end accountability for winning, keeping and growing revenue.

Client Relationship Leadership: New business growth:

• Building a strong network across the sector owning the new business pipeline from prospecting, through proposal to close and contract.
• Working with marketing team to provide generic and bespoke presentations and marketing materials to secure new business wins and expand the reach and awareness of the company's service proposition.
• Attending industry events to promote Activate Collision Solutions and its proposition, making and strengthening relationships, leading to profitable long-term accounts
• Represent Activate Collision Solutions with credibility and authority in client-facing forums, senior reviews, external events, strategic planning sessions and as required.

Client retention and development:

• Supporting the Managing Director with a selection of relationships in a portfolio of major insurer and broker clients within Activate Collision Solutions, acting as a point of contact and advisor.
• Understand each client's business model, claims processes, cost drivers, and strategic priorities, tailoring our service offerings to align with their operational and commercial goals.
• Build strong, trusting relationships across internal and external stakeholder groups, involving the right people early and communicating openly and respectfully to strengthen long-term partnerships.
• Act as a senior escalation point for complex client issues, ensuring swift, high-quality resolution and sustained client satisfaction.
• Represent Activate Collision Solutions with credibility and authority in client-facing reviews, creating and delivering presentations on performance and future opportunities as required.

Commercial Performance:

• Take full accountability for the retention, profitability, and growth of the client portfolio, delivering against revenue, margin, and volume targets.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for account growth, service enhancement, wider group cross-sell, and innovation, building compelling business cases where investment is required.
• Lead contract renewals, commercial negotiations, and tender responses, protecting and improving commercial terms.
• Monitor market trends, regulatory changes, and competitor activity to inform account strategy and keep Activate Collision Solutions ahead of the industry.
• Use insight and data to inform decisions and direction, tracking performance against KPIs and translating analysis into clear commercial action.

Service Delivery and Operational Excellence:

• Lead regular service reviews and performance reporting, ensuring SLAs and client expectations are consistently met or exceeded across the repair network.
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure seamless, high-quality delivery.
• Assist in driving continuous improvement in service quality, efficiency, and customer outcomes, challenging outdated ways of working and championing better ones.
• Support the development of bespoke solutions, aligned to our core activities for insurer and broker clients.
• Anticipate delivery risks early and remove barriers before they escalates, keeping progress on track and clients informed.

Leadership and Collaboration:

• Manage the day-to-day activities of the Client Relationship Manager, ensuring that their duties are fulfilled.
• Influencing colleagues and setting clear objectives to foster a collaborative, high-performance culture.
• Support the development of colleagues across the business by sharing expertise, offering guidance, feedback, and recognition, and building capability without formal reporting lines.
• Communicate updates, risks, and long-term plans consistently to senior management, building clarity and alignment across the business.
• Work within agreed budgets and commercial governance, ensuring resources are used carefully to maximise impact.
• Adhere to all relevant regulatory rules and guidance applicable to the role.

Leadership Behaviours: This role is expected to lead in line with the Activate Group Leadership Competency Framework:

• Win Together - build strong, trusting relationships with clients and internal teams; involve the right people early, communicate clearly and respectfully, remove barriers between teams, and create an inclusive culture of collaboration and shared success
• Strive for Better - champion innovation and challenge outdated thinking; use insight and data to inform direction, welcome constructive challenge, establish ambitious standards, and continuously improve service and ways of working.
• Make It Happen - take full accountability for decisions and outcomes; make timely, well-judged decisions even with limited information, set clear direction, remove barriers before they escalates, and deliver high-quality results at pace.

Proven experience in new business development with motor insurers and brokers.

• Strong understanding of motor claims, repair networks, and the accident management lifecycle.
• Demonstrable track record of winning and growing major accounts, delivering revenue and margin targets, and leading contract renewals and negotiations.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence and build trust at senior and board level.
• Demonstrable experience of people management.
• Commercial awareness and analytical ability to identify growth opportunities and turn data into action.
• Experience presenting to external stakeholders and managing complex, high-value strategic partnerships.
• Confident leading service reviews and performance reporting, with strong data literacy (e.g. Excel, Power BI, CRM reporting tools).
• Proficiency in CRM systems, reporting tools and Microsoft office packages (PowerPoint, Word etc).
• Awareness of relevant regulatory and compliance requirements within the insurance and claims environment.
• Solution-orientated, resilient, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, multi-site environment.
• A self-starter, focused on successfully achieving goals, with a can-do attitude.
• Flexible to travel to locations across the UK as required.

Activate Group is a growing UK business with 1,000+ team members nationwide. This is an exciting opportunity to build a long-term career with a company that values its people and offers genuine development and progression opportunities.

At Activate Group, we want everyone to have the tools and support they need to do their best work. We're an innovative business that continuously reviews and improves our systems, processes and ways of working, making sure they support our teams to do their jobs effectively.

Every role at Activate Group is aligned to our wider business vision and purpose - making someone's bad day better. You'll understand how your role contributes to the bigger picture and how your work helps deliver excellent outcomes for customer and partners. We believe work should be enjoyable. We make time to celebrate success, recognise achievements and bring people together at team events and company-wide celebrations. We'll also support your ongoing development through regular feedback and career planning. Whether you're based in one of our contact centres in Halifax, Peterborough or Huddersfield, working at an Activate Accident Repair (AAR) site, or working from home, you'll be part of a supportive culture where people are encouraged to succeed.

Activate Group is a fast-moving business approaching 1,000 team members nationwide. We work with some of the UK's largest fleets and insurance companies, supporting drivers that have been involved in road incidents through our contact centres in Halifax, Peterborough and Huddersfield. We manage every step of the repair journey – repairing vehicles at our own Activate Accident Repair (AAR) body shops, as well as through a UK-wide network of trusted independent repair partners. We also work with the UK's largest vehicle manufacturers, supporting their approved repair programmes, and deliver innovative technology solutions to fleets, vehicle repair centres and dealerships.

We believe in rewarding our people for the great work they do. When you join Activate Group, you can expect:

• 33 days holiday, including bank holidays
• Personal health cash plan - claim back the cost of everyday healthcare such as dental and optical check-ups
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay
• Life assurance at three times your basic salary
• Free breakfasts and fresh fruit
• A birthday surprise for everyone