Sales & Proposals Director

We are delighted to be supporting our client with their search for a commercially driven Sales and Proposals Director.

The Sales & Proposals Director will provide leadership and be responsible for the sales pipeline and business development activities, along with proposal management, to ensure the generation and progression of opportunities are significant enough to achieve targets.

The role is responsible for developing and implementing tools and processes that aid the progress of business development into new business sectors, manage sales pipeline producing accurate forecasting tools and reports for business planning, highlight and manage risk at the front end of projects, generate accurate costing material in conjunction with other departments ensuring high throughput of enquiries and effective and efficient handover.

The Sales and Proposals Director must effectively communicate the vision of the business, driving accountability, ownership, and measured performance. Translating the overarching business deliverables into clearly defined KPIs.

Key Responsibilities

• Present and chair meetings with client senior representatives
• Accountable for sales negotiations and discussions with customers, ensuring that risk, commercial and contractual obligations are accounted for and safeguard the business
• Accountable for reporting weekly & monthly sales pipeline, forecasting and hot opportunities including agreed metrics, Go/Get probability, close dates, project timings, resource allocation, Cost, Cashflow, Scope, Risk
• Provide sales direction for the business through detailed business development and analysis of markets to ensure sustainability
• Drive best practice techniques within the business sales and proposals teams.
• Accountable for all sales activities to ensure that the business has a healthy pipeline of opportunities supporting the financial targets set
• Accountable for successfully achieving the sales and booking targets set by group
• Accountable for the management, governance and reporting of monthly sales and proposals performance, including agreed metrics, OTD of bids, forecast reports, pipeline status
• Ensure 100% compliance and governance with business policy and procedures
• Contributing to the implementation and then ongoing compliance with quality systems to ISO standards 9001, 14001 and 45001, or equivalent, including planning, preparation, and participation of external audits
• Drive continuous improvement strategies with the Senior sales and proposals personnel, along with other key stakeholders: process improvement, costing sheet progression, cost reductions and sales material
• Provide effective support for the Sales and proposals team, ensuring technical and commercial support is available as required to ensure all proposals are sufficiently reviewed, approved and achievable, in line with the proposals process
• Work with fellow Directors driving collaborative strategies for the group relating to standardisation of policy, process and systems and shared resources
• Drive strategy for best practice across all areas of the business, providing leadership, mentoring and guidance to the management team
• Develop the Sales and Proposals teams to be more commercially aware of opportunities for competitive advantages, strategic positioning, high risk potentials so that mitigation or reduction measures can be implemented.

Key Requirements:

• Degree qualified in a technical or business management discipline
• Experience in a technical sales management role
• Experience in either a technical sales or proposal management position
• Experience of owning sales targets, forecasting and pipeline management
• Critical and analytical thinker, sound decision maker, assertive
• Able to mentor/lead management teams effectively
• Experience and understanding of heavy engineering and/or construction
• Strong people management skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and with attention to detail
• Highly organised and able to prioritise workload in a multidisciplinary environment
• Ability to project strategy clearly, setting goals and objectives for Managers/Senior Managers
• Experience of presenting up to board level / senior level clients
• Exceptional leadership, visible, approachable, and with consistency across all business areas
• Adhere to the business’s core values through working relationships, attitude, and behaviour
• Ability to travel to clients’ sites when necessary to add senior leadership support