Business Development Senior Manager - Higher Education

Job description

KPMG goes to market on a multi-disciplinary basis, leveraging insights to provide a broad range of solutions and services to assist our clients in meeting their business objectives and addressing areas of greatest challenge.

Our BDM roles are aligned to a group of clients to build and retain client relationships, originate opportunities, and win profitable work. BDMs have access to and role model good sales practices through the wider BD community and a range of Sales and Marketing CRM and guidance.

This role is aligned to our IGH (Infrastructure, Government and Health) and specifically our Education, Skills and Productivity sector and within that Higher Education

Our Education, skills and productivity (ESP) team sits within KPMG’s Public Sector (IGH) practice.

It is a sub-sector within our public sector team and covers all aspects of the education landscape from schools; Further Education; Higher Education; Government and the wider skills landscape.  Building on our strong footprint in Audit and tax have grown our advisory revenue. Our strategy is to continue this growth trajectory in advisory and specifically in Higher Education.

To support this growth, we are looking to recruit a business development senior manager focused on Higher Education.

KPMG has been working in the sector for many years; has excellent relationships; understanding and a strong pipeline. We are now looking to accelerate our ability to further develop and convert the pipeline with focused market-facing Business Development capacity.  

Role and responsibilities

You will join a cross-functional ESP leadership team led by the Head of Education, Skills and Productivity and supported by a sales executive and a BDM focused on central government, and working alongside a talented team of partners and directors who face into the wider education market.

The role is to lead the translation of the national ESP market strategy into national and regional growth plans and in doing so ensure the plans reflect local client issues and the local impact of national public sector policy.

The role will include (but not be limited to):

• Leading on our Go To Market strategy in Higher Education and being at the forefront of our pipeline development and conversion across the whole addressable market
• Focusing on specific target Universities, working alongside the Client Partner (CLP), to expand our contacts and understanding and develop an opportunity pipeline
• Taking a lead in taking new advisory products to market and developing a strong sales pipeline in our chosen areas, for example Powered Student
• Being at the forefront of our profile-raising including conferences; relationship lead with multipliers and speaking opportunities and working alongside our team to develop market opportunity with multipliers and the
• Ensuring best practice in terms of CRM and pipeline management
• Support regional Client Service Team meetings
• Support wider strategy and account planning
• Support the qualification and pursuit of opportunities and taking an active hand in priority proposals
• Acting as coach and support best practise sales approaches to support profitable growth across the sector

The individual will proactively manage and grow the target areas and needs to have strong leading, managing and influencing skills as well as being very strong on attention to detail and follow through of actions.

Performance will be assessed for the individuals in these roles through a combination of measures including revenue growth, brand enhancement, client relationships and internal feedback.  

Business development is a high-profile opportunity within KPMG. You will be playing a crucial role in helping to drive the business forward and will be part of a dynamic team culture offering strong internal networks and support.

Your main internal points of contact will be with the Sector head; and leadership team within ESP; Office Senior Partners, Client Lead Partners, Sales Partners, Heads of adjacent Sectors and the Head of Clients and Growth.

Client relationships

• Work on a diverse portfolio of targets focused on creating relationships and new opportunities.
• Spend 80% of time engaged in sales activities
• Identify and gather information on new client issues through primary (face-to-face) meetings
• Facilitate expansion of points of contact between KPMG and clients.
• Personally lead development of those relationships where KPMG has no existing relationship and convene the market
• Develop peer relationships with client staff and procurement teams
• Co-ordinate client relationship events and ensure return on investment is measured through deepened relationships and increased opportunity for KPMG to work with the client
• Identify and build relationships with regional influencers by attending events, hosting internal sales meetings and supporting Client Service Teams (CSTs), sharing best practice and seeking opportunities to raise profile externally

Sales

• Understand KPMG’s approach to managing the sales pipeline and converting opportunities
• Act as a role model for Business Development across agreed portfolio and Region
• Focus on current issues to ensure that time sensitive solutions and ideas are communicated to clients using internal network to identify KPMG’s angle and develop a proposition to take to the client

• Identify opportunities at the client and individuals to target.
• Boost sales conversion through deploying rigorous sales processes, pricing, contracting and negotiation, to win work across multiple channels
• Work with and across functions and functional partners to enhance sales efforts.  Agree sales strategy to penetrate the account, assign ownership for relationships with key stakeholders and ensure appropriate visibility at board level. 
• Ensure all sales activities are consistent with KPMG account plan sales process, client service meetings, client service reviews etc.
• Act as a focal point for articulating and selling new propositions
• Actively seek opportunities to add more value to the client, through cross-functional solutions
• Provide visibility of sales pipeline by ensuring SAP pipeline management systems are kept up to date
• Ensure major opportunities/actions from account plans are reviewed and challenged regularly
• Coach teams in sales/proposal best practice
• Build a strong and extensive external network, raising your profile with key businesses and multipliers, including sector specialists lawyers, banks, etc.

Knowledge/communication/coaching

• Leverage KPMG network by encouraging and facilitating cross- functional involvement

• Act as a focal point for communications between the client and KPMG team
• Working the ESP leadership, leverage the internal talent pool by securing the best people for your clients
• Facilitate communication amongst team members; develop client knowledge to encourage communication and discussion amongst the CST.
• Share knowledge of sales and relationship management by informally seeking opportunities to coach and mentor partners and emerging leaders
• Bring new ideas and methods to accounts and liaise with other account team members to ensure that best practice is shared, client and regional intelligence is communicated, and the team has a good understanding of what services are selling well
• Understand the wider offerings of the firm and gain a good understanding of broader sector / client trends, issues, needs, and potential applicability / relevance across own portfolio
• Provide sales forecasts by involving all functions that can add value to the account, including regular meetings with all functions involved with the account.  This includes working on behalf of services that the client doesn’t buy in order to open the door
   

Proposals

• Manage / co-ordinate tenders and the pitch process, providing challenge and support.  Ensure that our client knowledge is best represented, and inject the client perspective into the process.  Ensure that our responses to RFPs score well. This includes developing clear client USPs that support the strategic direction of KPMG with that organisation/authority.

Key measures

Will vary annually aligned to commission / reward structure. Typically:

• Individual origination (attributable sales and / or contribution to sales)
• Account or Sector sales (outputs) and Pipeline (input) metrics
• Meeting Count (time in the market) and new client relationships. Both captured in CRM.
• Feedback comments from Sales Partners, Sector Heads Client Lead Partners and Clients.
• Contribution to IGH sales community.

Qualifications and skills

• A first hand knowledge of Higher Education in the UK is essential: either developed through working at a UK HEI; providing consultancy services or in a sales capacity in a similar sector to KPMG and an understanding of delivering Consultancy projects for the sector. An understanding of the sector technology landscape would also be helpful. 
• 6+ years experience of sales or a client-facing professional role and understanding of professional services markets an advantage.
• Building relationships at a senior level both within KPMG/ equivalent and externally with clients
• Strong networks and/or the ability to build networks quickly in the public sector
• Driving forward growth in a market/account
• Proactively shaping role and organising and scheduling own projects and workload, working under pressure and managing many conflicting priorities
   

Competencies

• Understanding of the higher education landscape in the UK
• Able to drive value-adding business conversations with clients
• Tangible income generation evidence
• Sets the standard for insight and opinions delivered to the client, as is knowledgeable on both client business issues and KPMG solutions and can match both effectively through assimilation. 
• Be confident interacting at the most senior levels internally and externally, while at the same time able to interact well with peers and other more junior members of the team
• Strong questioning and listening skills with ability to see the bigger picture
• Effective networker with ability to understand client needs
• Good thinker with ability to understand concepts and with relevant industry experience
• Mature in outlook, with strong influencing skills (internal and with client) and diplomacy
• Positive and enthusiastic manner in dealing with a cross section of people
• Enthusiastic self-starter
• Practical but can think strategically
• Be well organised, detail-conscious, pro-active, hard-working, and resilient
• Be flexible in their approach and able to work under pressure

Skills

• Good interpersonal, organisational and communication skills
• Good presentation skills
• Possess excellent communication skills and be confident speaking to large groups
• Strong understanding of services, and relevant content across the firm, in order to create a fully multi-disciplinary approach

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