Business Development Manager

Description:

The University’s blend of excellent education, enterprise, and research gives the Business Development team a fantastic platform to develop solutions and strategies for businesses in the Hertfordshire region and beyond, regardless of their size or industry. This, coupled with our status as a University Enterprise Zone, reinforces an entrepreneurial vision that runs through everything the team does.

The Innovation team help businesses solve their problems and grow, by connecting them with our academic community and their expertise, maximising the commercial impact of our research. We are seeking a passionate Business Development Manager to proactively create and develop business opportunities with both new and existing clients.

Main duties and responsibilities

To proactively create and develop business opportunities with both new and existing clients in order to generate income through the sale of the University’s knowledge exchange activities. The knowledge exchange offering is anticipated to include; contract research, collaborative research, knowledge transfer partnerships, consultancy, and bespoke solutions, and will importantly evolve with market demands.

The Business Development Manager (Innovation) will stimulate growth and sales of knowledge exchange activity by developing relationships with businesses, University’s stakeholders, enhancing the reputation of the University, and significantly contribute to income targets through securing contracts.

The Business Development Manager (Innovation) will have ambitious income targets aligned to the Business Development Objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the Innovation Team.

Skill and experience required

You will have proven experience in a business development environment, within the Higher Education sector, alongside identifying, negotiating, and converting sales opportunities and income generation activity. You will have sound knowledge of different sales techniques, be an excellent communicator with outstanding networking skills and the ability to build strong client relationships. You will be able to prioritise your time and workload, enjoy problem-solving and have very good IT skills.

You will be highly self-motivated, professional and collegiate in your approach and fully committed to delivering a high-quality service. Importantly, you will be demonstrably passionate about this area and proactive about meeting customers to understand and fulfil their business requirements.