Director/Head of Business Development

As our business development lead, you will guide us through the next chapter of our exciting growth story. Reporting into the Managing Director and leading a team of three, you will be responsible for driving our Business Development and Marketing strategy, delivering sustainable growth across our three core service offerings, and attracting the clients where we can make a real impact. You will have overall responsibility for all aspects of the sales and marketing cycle, from lead generation to conversion of RFPs and pitches. You will be a valued member of the Senior Leadership Team.

We see new business as the lifeblood of the agency which means we have fostered a culture where ‘new business is everyone's business’ and there is close collaboration with all parts of the business, with full support from the leadership team. We have made significant investments such as Hubspot Sales and Marketing Professional Suite and sponsorship/membership of key industry bodies.

What are the responsibilities?

Growth strategy

• Overall responsibility for the development and delivery of new client acquisition strategy
• You will stay abreast of our competitor landscape and sector trends, positioning us to win
• Strategic planning of highly targeted campaigns, balanced across our core offers

Conversion of RFP and pitch opportunities

• You will lead our conversion efforts, collaborating closely with cross-agency teams to deliver proposals that align Luminous expertise and experience with the client’s unique challenge.
• Ownership of the pitch process from qualifying opportunities and briefing, through to proposal writing and pitch presentations.
• Liaising and negotiating contracts with procurement

Lead generation

• You will devise campaign plans for targeted business development outreach, directly reaching out to a selection of companies and overseeing campaign execution from the team.
• Generate leads across all three disciplines to deliver a diversified new business pipeline.
• Being the face of Luminous, attending introductory meetings to spread the word about the great work we do.

Marketing oversight

• In partnership with the Marketing Manager and Strategy Directors, provide ideas on thought leadership content to help us engage existing and potential new clients, with final sign-off of key content pieces.
• Support with new business outreach to promote our thought leadership content and events.
• Attendance and networking at conferences and awards ceremonies where required.
• In partnership with the Marketing Manager, devise our plan for effective use of case studies.

Reporting

• Reporting on key new business metrics and weighted pipeline forecasting
• Using data and insights to inform our future approach (e.g. pitch feedback, campaign performance)
• Building custom reports in Hubspot and providing monthly updates to the Senior Leadership Team on performance.

What are we looking for?

• A strong track record in agency business development and marketing (we’re open to all types of agency background; creative, media, digital, marketing, comms/PR etc.)
• Experience in managing a team and attending senior leadership meetings
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills with the ability to influence
• Well-versed in using sales and marketing software (CRM, email marketing, automation etc.)
• Good alignment to our culture, values and purpose