Key Account Manager

The Growth Company’s Business Growth Hub has an opportunity for a Key Account Manager.

Key Account Managers develop and maintain a strong relationship with the most strategically important businesses of all sizes in Greater Manchester that are key to delivering Greater Manchester’s ambitions and strategic priorities around people, planet, and place. Key Account Managers build value driven relationships with a targeted client base that has the potential to generate maximum economic impact.

GC Business Growth Hub is a community of specialists with a passion to help businesses across Greater Manchester to realise their ambitions. Since 2011, the Hub has supported more than 15,000 businesses including start-ups, scale-ups, and established businesses, providing finance guidance, creating international links, and paving the way for innovation and people development across the region. We work with the best of public and private partners, offering expert one-to-one and peer-to-peer business support, events, specialist programmes, funding and much more.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build trust and establish a strong, on-going relationship with decision makers at multiple levels in targeted companies to have influence, and to enable identification of issues/opportunities to achieve greater economic impact. Be confident to influence a senior decision maker in areas such as productivity, EDI, and the transition to Carbon Neutrality
• Gain in depth knowledge and understanding of the company’s market position, strategy, goals, and challenges to identify potential and agree a plan of action unique to each client and continue to engage quarterly
• Target a specific list of businesses and develop business engagement strategies specific to sector and or location
• Achieve KPIs in relation to business support and contribute to team target
• Establish strong relationships with the service providers within the Business Growth Hub, across the Growth Company and with external stakeholders such as private sector partners, sector organisations and Local Authorities. Working across these bodies the Key Account Manager will ensure that the company receives the most appropriate and holistic support available
• Undertake a business diagnosis, challenge the business where appropriate and produce an action plan. This process will help develop the most effective sequence of support and service delivery to maximize economic impact and will be documented and agreed in partnership with the business
• Develop and maintain wider GC relationships who will deliver the support identified and will pro-actively engage with the client to review, re-orientate and where necessary re-prioritise the plan.
• Participate and contribute to cross organisational activity to ensure the continual improvement of the business. The Account Manager will be required to participate in working groups and project teams
• Be responsible for ensuring that detailed information about a company is gathered and accurately recorded and ensure that a clear picture of the interventions delivered, the economic impact they create, and the performance of the business can be monitored
• Demonstrate a deep knowledge of all the Growth Company and delivery partners offers as well as being able to demonstrate added value and economic impact that Growth Company support can deliver

About You:

• Strong account management and interpersonal skills with the ability to demonstrate credibility with others including understanding of issues customers face in growing their business.
• Leadership skills and ability to credibly influence at a senior level
• Understand and analyse data
• Be focused and achieve results through the development of strategic consultative relationships at a senior level
• Ability to conduct sensitive and complex negotiations to have influence and ensure the best service is delivered
• Ability to deliver quality outcomes in a fast paced, target driven operational environment

Requirements:

• Experienced in strategic relationship management and proven business development ability
• Undertaking 360 business diagnostic reviews and knowledge of appropriate business analytical tools
• Experience in managing multiple stakeholders from both private and public sector
• Good knowledge of one or more of Greater Manchester’s frontier sectors
• A sound understanding of current social, economic, and political priorities
• Credible, personable, and approachable style to build enduring relationships and rapport with clients.