Business Development Manager

Company Overview:

Dar is a leading international multidisciplinary engineering consultancy with a team of over 10,000 professionals worldwide. It has been established and operating in the UK since 1975 and has its offices at 150 Holborn Street, London.

Dar is the founder of the Sidara Collaborative (www.sidaracollaborative.com), one of the world’s largest architect and engineering consultancy groups. Sidara brings together more than 22 renowned companies, with a work force of more than 20,000 employees, and 300 offices across more than 60 countries. Sidara have been consistently ranked among the world’s top 10 international engineering firms for the past 15 years, according to the ENR Top International Design Firms ranking.

Sidara Collaborative comprises five lead architectural and engineering consultancy companies; Dar (the Group founding company), Perkins TYLIN, Penspen and Currie&Brown, working seamlessly together under Sidara’s banner. Collaboration between the group companies and their senior and middle management teams is vital to the group.

Dar provide its services to wide type of industries and assets. These assets fall under five main categories: urban development (cities, special economic zones and industrial parks), energy (generation and transmission), transport (airports, ports, railways, highways and bridges), utilities (water, wastewater, stormwater, flood protection, irrigation and communication) and buildings (hospitals, hotels, educational, housing, retail, etc.). The services Dar provides include urban planning and design, feasibility studies, ESIA, design engineering (concept, preliminary and details), project management and construction supervision. Learn more at www.dar.com.

The Role

We are looking for a motivated, talented, and energetic Business Development Manager to join our team in London. You will play a key role in driving Dar’s growth across the UK and Ireland, with a particular focus on winning work from central and local government bodies, agencies, and public institutions, as well as from the private sector

Candidates with prior business development experience at Tier One engineering / design consultancy companies in the UK will stand out. Candidates with a proven track record of securing engineering studies, design and planning services and/or construction supervision work from government departments, regional development bodies, and local public sector organisations (e.g. NHS, Local or Regional Authorities, Homes England, TfL, DfT, etc.) will also be highly regarded.

The Business Development Manager will collaborate with other BD team members from Sidara companies operating in the UK and Ireland. Given the leadership position of Dar as the founder of the group, the Business Development Manager will be expected to lead activities across Sidara companies operating in the UK and Ireland in specific sectors, industries or for key clients.

As the team is newly established, this is a great opportunity for ambitious candidates to grow alongside the team within a global company like Dar. The role offers the chance to take on as much responsibility as desired, providing scope for meaningful career development. This is a full-time position based in Central London, with the opportunity of Hybrid working based on performance.

Main Purpose of Role:

• Responsible for managing the UK Business Development performance.

• Support Dar’s UK Operation in the important areas of Business Development and support systems implementation including:

o Target Account Management

o Business Development Strategy

o Opportunity and Proposal Management through the CRM platform

o Strategic Business Planning Process

• Responsible for delivering UK sales targets

• Owns and manage UK client relationships

Responsibilities:

Strategies, Processes & Business Goals

• Maintain and develop relationships with present clients in the UK and Ireland
• Identify potential market segments and clients for Dar in the UK and Ireland
• Seek, develop and maintain relationships with potential clients in the UK and Ireland.Consequently, occasional travel to UK and Irish cities will be required)
• Act as the primary point of contact for all opportunities in the UK and Ireland.
• Develop and implement the strategic plan for the UK and Irish business development
• Contribute to the development of the UK annual business planWork with the Dar’s Head of Technical Departments in the UK to identify long-term business goals (e.g. new customers or new service lines)
• Collaborate with the Sidara Business Development Managers in the UK to identify partnership strategies and joint opportunities
• Report directly to Dar’s Associate Director – Business Development.

Tenders, Proposals & Projects Execution

• Identify and agree target opportunities with Dar’s Associate Director – Business Development and Heads of Technical Departments

• Secure invitations to pre-qualification and tender submissions

• Advise Proposal Manager on each client’s purchasing criteria and tendering process

• Become familiar with and communicate each client’s procedures regulating tender process, tender evaluation and work execution.

• Provide support on all the UK / Ireland proposal and tender submissions

• Ensure commercial terms and conditions are favourable and in line with company goals

• Support expediting of client payments to minimise working capital exposure

Leadership

• Support the growth and development of the UK Business Development team

o Contribute to the annual business plan and ensure communication across the team

o Define clear objectives aligned with the UK operational strategy and department goals

• Monitor performance and provide feedback on Technical Departments

• Communicate Dar’s UK strategy to Sidara UK Business Development Team members and provide regular communications to keep them engaged and motivated

• Help shape the UK Business Development Team structure as it grows

• Identify and develop talent within the UK business development team.

Working with other Sidara Companies Business Development Team members:

• Manage the interaction with the wider Sidara business network in the context of business opportunities for Dar and other group companies

About You

To be considered for the role, you must have the right to live and work in the UK.

Qualifications / Knowledge / Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Engineering, Project Management or a related discipline
• Extensive professional experience in architecture, engineering consultancy and/or project management
• A Substantial Level of Business Development experience globally, including proven experience focusing on the UK market.
• Previous experience working for a UK Tier One engineering or design consultancy
• Familiar with various UK and Irish government, regional and local framework agreements, tender platforms and procurement processes.
• Willingness to travel within the UK and to Ireland on a regular basis.
• Acquainted with use of CRM systems (Sales Force and/or Microsoft Dynamics)
• Proven track record in leading a BD team and meeting annual sales targets
• Fluent in written and spoken English, with strong report writing abilities
• Competent in Microsoft Office Suite and PowerPoint

Skills:

• Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
• Team-oriented with a collaborative approach to success
• Able to work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines
• Proactive, self-motivated and solution-driven
• Strong networking and relationship-building abilities
• Commercially focused and results-oriented
• Sound judgement and analytical thinking
• Able to remain resilient in challenging situations
• Highly organised, with good time management
• Confident, professional and capable of influencing decisions
• Excellent attention to detail

Reporting to

The successful candidate will report directly to Dar’s Associate Director, Business Development.

Number of Direct Reports

None initially, though this is expected to change with the growth of UK Business Development team.

Key Relationships

The successful candidate will work and/or interface regularly with

• Dar’s Associate Director, Business Development
• Dar’s Business Development Officer
• Dar’s UK CRM and Admin Manager
• Dar’s Heads of Technical Departments
• Sidara’s UK Marketing Manager
• Sidara’s UK Business Development team members

How to Apply

Please attach your motivation letter and an up-to-date CV when submitting your application.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview, where you will be asked to discuss your career highlights, challenges faced, successes achieved and lessons learned.

Competitive Salary along with an impressive benefits package!

* While we carefully review all applications, only candidates meeting the specified requirements will be contacted for further consideration. We appreciate your understanding and thank all applicants for their interest.

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