Business Development Manager

Our client, a leading ocean services provider is currently seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to join their Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region on a permanent, staff basis, located in Aberdeen.

ROLE

• Reporting to the Commercial Director – EMEA and as key member of the newly formed EMEA Commercial Department, the Business Development & Marketing Manager will be responsible for driving top-line growth and market positioning across the EMEA region.
• This individual requires strong market knowledge in the subsea sector of the Offshore Energy industry and shall have the overall responsibility of leading and co-ordinating the regional Business Development team with a primary focus upon identifying new business opportunities that support the achievement of the company’s revenue targets and wider growth aspirations.
• This role will bridge the gap between high-level commercial strategy through the development of strategic capture and retention plans through to sub-regional execution, whilst developing and implementing external marketing and communications strategies to continue to position the brand as a leader in subsea services within the region.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Business Development & Regional Leadership

• Sub-Regional Oversight: Manage and mentor BD personnel across diverse territories, ensuring a consistent approach with localised differentiators, as required.
• Sales Pipeline Management: Take ownership of the regional sales funnel, implementing a proactive pursuit mindset whilst ensuring healthy, weighted prospect pipeline in qualified opportunities is maintained across short, medium and long-term horizons and ensuring the CRM system is rigorously maintained.
• Capture & Retention Strategies: Lead the development and implementation of suitable capture and retention plans for major pursuits that identify key competitive differentiators that align with the company’s strategic aims and growth objectives whilst mentoring and developing BD personnel in their implementation of similar strategies within their areas of regional focus.
• Client Relationship Management: Working in conjunction with internal stakeholders and in line with Group’s Global Key Account Management processes, personally manage, maintain and develop key relationships with strategic decision makers within the company’s client base during the entire project life-cycle.
• Market Analysis: Through the use of market knowledge, relationships and market intelligence tools, identify and assist the company in identifying routes to market for new and emergent technologies and initiatives on a regional and sub-regional level together with opportunistic opportunities that may provide growth opportunities.
• Pre-Tender Support: Working in conjunction with the sub-regional Business Development teams and Tender Co-ordinators to ensure that the company is properly registered and continuously maintained in all applicable supplier qualification platforms and in the preparation and development of Requests for Information / Pre-Qualification Questionnaires, etc.
• Process Ownership: Oversee the relevant processes related to Business Development, ensuring full compliance with all policies, procedures, strategies and budgetary requirements. Including a requirement for the provision of first-class budgeting, forecasting & cost control for BD activities within the region together with accountability for how the company deploys and / or invests capital to win.
• Reporting: Providing up-to-date regional sales and forecasting reports through the CRM system; competitor analysis; market analysis with regional Commercial teams to determine Client needs & pricing strategies.
• Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Actively promote and drive collaboration across all relevant internal departments (e.g., Technical, Legal, Operations, Finance, QHSE) and with the wider supply chain to gather necessary inputs and ensure alignment with agreed commercial strategy.

Marketing & Communications

• Brand Commercialisation: Working in conjunction with the Group Marketing and Communications department and external resources to appropriately position the brand to support regional growth strategies – ensuring that external messaging reflects the company’s differentiated offering appropriately.
• Event Strategy: Identify relevant exhibitions, conferences and networking events (both industry and client-focused) and ensure that the company have a high-impact presence at such events.
• Digitalisation: Working alongside internal stakeholders to develop and implement regionalised digitalisation tools to optimise Business Development workflows, to enhance data gathering and prospect generation.
• Thought Leadership: Encourage the use of Thought Leadership as a marketing and communication tool that showcases the company’s capabilities within existing and new business lines and across sub-regions.

Market Intelligence & Analysis

• Making use of existing market intelligence tools, market knowledge and key contacts to ensure that senior management are fully appraised in a timely manner on macro & micro-economic shifts, market developments and competitor analysis.
• Coaching / Mentoring: Where requested, act as a coach and / or mentor team members from across the Commercial department (and other functions) to assist with their development.

REQUIREMENTS

Technical Skills / Core Competencies

• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present clearly and professionally to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Leadership: Ability to lead and motivate a cross-regional team and to interact effectively with remote & local teams towards common goals.
• Strategic Thinking: Proven ability to aggregate and synthesise market intelligence, competitive factors and internal capabilities to develop appropriate and successful retention and capture plans.
• Planning & Organising: Highly structured, deadline driven and capable of managing competing priorities.
• Attention to Detail: Meticulous approach to documentation, compliance and procedural adherence.
• Tenacious, Resilient & Professional: Outgoing personality with the ability to influence and persuade stakeholders and able to maintain composure under pressure and responds positively to change.
• Ownership & Accountability: Takes full responsibility for outcomes, deadlines and quality of work that is within their delivery portfolio.

Who we are looking for:

• Substantive experience and a proven track record in commercial and / or business development roles, ideally within the subsea services sector with a particular focus on Offshore Energy, decommissioning, IRM & construction services.
• Demonstrable experience in the development and execution of successful retention & capture plans for large scale projects.
• Proven experience of leading a team of Business Development personnel and driving a high-performance culture.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills with cultural intelligence.
• Open-mindedness to new marketing trends and communication tools with an eye for brand positioning.
• Proactive mind set and collaborative approach.
• Analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
• Willingness to travel on an international and domestic basis as and when required.