Business Development - MENA Regional Sales Support

To support the growth of Control Risks’ business in the Middle East by providing critical information, analysis and assistance in support of business development and account management.

Support the business in achieving country and companywide objectives by proactively providing information and analysis on key markets, clients and major projects. The role will primarily serve as internal support but some direct interaction with clients will be required in conjunction with more senior colleagues. Focus of time and effort will KSA (60%), UAE (30%) and Middle East other (10%).

Key Responsibilities:

1. Focus on gathering market and client intelligence to guide business development in line with country and regional business plans and objectives.
2. Be a regional CRM ‘superuser’ and support colleagues with extracting accurate data and analysis on clients.
3. Support account management teams in the creation and maintenance of client account plans and prioritization of local client engagement and activity.
4. Provide relevant and necessary materials prior to and during client meetings and engagements (e.g. client briefs, background research, news analysis).
5. Support and track project lifecycle from lead generation to proposal development to sale/contract. Liaise with colleagues throughout the business to support project development to the point of sale.
6. Provide market research, including strategic trends and longer-term opportunities as well as immediate-term tactical information for direct client engagement.
7. Support sales administration including appropriate, timely and accurate use of internal systems, regular tracking and reporting (analysis) of sales origination in specific markets.
8. Facilitate seamless and efficient transactions for client requests by ensuring the necessary information is passed to the relevant team inside Control Risks and establishing direct contact between that team and the client.
9. Manage client opportunities and RFPs through relevant portals and vendor registrations, including Etimad.
10. Maintain and update the KSA business development target list.
11. Support the regional Managed Account Programme, with a focus on accurate data and measurement of client traction / performance.
12. Support initiatives for both regional and local marketing campaigns.
13. Support EMEA colleagues to ensure sharing of best practice approaches / success to client engagement across service lines and account management teams.
14. Support marketing to ensure we have consistent & professional collateral for client facing and sales teams in the region.

Knowledge and Experience:

Essential:

1. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent related industry experience.
2. At least 2 years of business experience, may include internships.
3. Experience with client-facing coordination and communications.
4. Experience in providing business support to senior colleagues.

Preferred:

1. Knowledge of business processes and systems used by professional services firms.
2. Working knowledge of account management principles.
3. Understanding or experience in the risk consultancy sector.
4. Use of a CRM tool in marketing automation.
5. Experience undertaking and producing client research.
6. Expert use of business data analytic tools.

Qualifications and Specialist Skills:

1. Expert user of Microsoft business tools (Dynamics 365, Teams, Excel, Word, Power Point, Power BI, etc.), Adobe, SharePoint, etc.

Competencies:

1. Takes initiative to proactively resolve issues within own remit and recognizes when escalation is required.
2. Uses critical thinking and creativity to think outside the box and encourages others to do the same. Delivers on personal objectives to engage in strategic and department plans, focuses on delivery, and strives to exceed expectations. Shows drive and determination to achieve high standards.
3. Demonstrates global awareness; considers the regional and global implications of what we do in our own areas of responsibility; identifies and builds relationships across teams, regions, and globally.
4. Embraces a changing environment, adapts well to changing demands and ambiguous situations and adapts own behavior accordingly, understands global as well as regional initiatives as they pertain to the Control Risks brand and client engagement.
5. Expresses self clearly and displays sensitivity to develop constructive relationships with others. Shows understanding of others to influence as appropriate.
6. Takes direction from multiple sources well. Easily manages multiple projects and deliverables at once, as well as easily moves between supporting various teams and service lines throughout the organization.