Role:               Business Development Executive, Heriot-Watt Online, 

Location:        Dubai Campus

Grade:             8, Full-Time 

Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and leading-edge, relevant research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for innovation, business and industry. The university is renowned for its practical application of knowledge and, through its education in business and technology, of creating business leaders around the world. The university is pioneering in its approach with a long tradition of extending access to education around the world throughout digital distance learning.

Nearly 30,000 students’ study with Heriot-Watt - our student body is roughly split evenly between the UK, our two campuses in Dubai and Malaysia, and online, with the latter being distributed across almost all the countries of the world. We also have many partnerships with other institutions world-wide who award Heriot-Watt degrees.

About our Team

Heriot-Watt Online (HWO) was created to build on this heritage and scale our reach and impact. Through HWO, we deliver access to postgraduate degree programmes enabling individuals to advance their academic qualifications and professional development to progress their careers - we already have over 11 thousand students in over 160 countries around the world studying with us online. Our motivated, ambitious and growing HWO team are dedicated to the production and delivery of an innovative portfolio of online programmes, student recruitment, support and success. 

Within the HWO team we have a B2B team focused on building national and international partnerships within a wider corporate landscape to support employers to retain and retrain their staff through the provision of upskilling and reskilling at scale. Our ambition is to expand and build B2B relationships that engage and support organisations to grow and succeed. This is a truly global role aiming to inspire career-defining education for the existing and future staff of pioneering companies around the world.

Detailed Description

We are seeking to appoint a Business Development Executive to create new business partnerships and nurture those partnerships for the benefit of Heriot-Watt Online and the corporate partner. Reporting to the Head of Partnerships within HWO, you will be responsible for implementing the corporate strategy for this part of the business. You will generate new partnerships through existing university contacts and new business development, then manage the ongoing relationships to maximise the value to university and corporate partners. 

The ideal candidate will have experience of building corporate partnerships and working with partners to build value to both parties. Ideally with experience in a commercial business environment or Higher Education, you will be confident in dealing with a variety of stakeholders and influencers up to senior exec level engaging in activities from prospecting and customer acquisition to account management, working to achieve ambitious targets and results for HWO.

Key Duties and Responsibilities 

The role holder will work within the HWO B2B team to deliver our corporate strategy. The Business Development Executive will prospect for new opportunities, identify potential clients and expand scope of existing partnerships, managing client relationships and providing client solutions via digital or F2F meetings. There will be freedom to look at bespoke solutions and to develop innovative market leading opportunities.

• Sales: Experience in solution/consultative selling of a service, and ability to manage a sales process from beginning to end. Track record in delivery of sales targets
• External Stakeholder Engagement: Confidence in engaging with new clients, building relationships with multiple stakeholders across various levels
• Senior Stakeholder Engagement: Build strong and trusted relationships within the HW Online team and beyond to drive internal as well as external engagement and reputation
• Brand Stewardship & Management: Key role in development of the university brand – ensuring that HW Online sits well within the family of products and services but also has a clear and distinctive voice in a crowded marketplace for online corporate learning
• Campaign Development and Delivery: Experience in leading campaigns, by events, roundtables, mail, and other means to engage key target prospects. Deliver outstanding campaigns that maximise reach into target markets, delivery strong value for money and impact across integrated channels
• Sales and Partner Support: Work in partnership with the Head of Partnerships to identify B2B marketing needs to achieve sales and driving recurring revenue from ongoing relationships 
• Pricing: Work with Head of Partnership and other internal stakeholders to develop effective pricing and incentive strategies for B2B markets
• Budget management and reporting: Provide regular and meaningful reporting campaigns’ impact

Education, Qualifications and Experience

The successful candidate is likely to have previous experience as a Sales Manager, Account Manager/Director, Client Manager, Customer Success Manager, New Business Manager, Client Principal or similar. 

Essential

1. Significant experience and/or strong knowledge of online education
2. Experience in working with corporate clients to identify training needs and deliver solutions to meet those needs
3. Experience working in a commercially-driven environment where you have directly contributed to strong results and continually met ambitious targets
4. Minimum 5 years’ experience in a business development role – with proven experience in initiating exploratory meetings to developing proposals for corporate partners 
5. Exceptional communication skills with ability to bridge the gap between strategy and operations within a small team to ensure results
6. Experience working in or with large, complex, global organisations with multiple stakeholders

Desirable

1. Knowledge and experience working across multiple sectors and international markets
2. Experience using CRM tools (such as Salesforce) for customer/account management
3. Experience in account management
4. Strong presentation and negotiation skills

Please note that this job description is not exhaustive, and the role holder may be required to undertake other relevant duties commensurate with the grading of the post.  Activities may be subject to amendment over time as the role develops and/or priorities and requirements evolve. 

Heriot-Watt University Values

With a history dating back to 1821, Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and professionally relevant, leading-edge research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for business and industry.

We are a vibrant, forward-looking university, well known for the quality of our degrees with employers actively seeking out our graduates.  Heriot-Watt is also Scotland’s international university with an unsurpassed international in-country presence. We deliver degree programmes to circa 30,000 students in 143 countries around the world, have a further overseas campus in Dubai and boast the largest international student cohort in Scotland.

At Heriot-Watt we’ve created an environment that nurtures innovation and leadership - where our researchers, staff and students can realise their potential and develop their ambitions.

We are proud of our collegiate atmosphere and integrated teaching and research approach which has helped to build a community of committed academics and highly motivated students.  Our focus on careers delivers results and we’ve an excellent reputation for graduate employability.

In addition to the Edinburgh campus, we currently have campuses in  the Scottish Borders, Orkney, Dubai and Malaysia.  For all of our campuses we aim to provide stimulating, supportive environments conducive to effective learning and research, where staff and students can excel. At Heriot-Watt, we have an established set of values that help us to nurture innovation and leadership, and show our commitment to continuous improvement and development in all our activities.

Our values describe our deeply held beliefs and our community spirit. They characterise not only how we are as a higher education institution but also frame how we want to be.

Our values are:

• Belong
• Collaborate
• Inspire
• Celebrate

As learning, living and working institution, we use our values as the building blocks of how we go about doing our work and how we each conduct ourselves as members of Heriot-Watt University. They represent what binds us together as a University community and help us to become the best at what we do.

For full details on our University, please view our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/about.htm

How to Apply

Please submit an application via the Heriot-Watt online recruitment system including CV and cover letter describing your interest and suitability for the post.

At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team. 

Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities.  Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

The appointment is conditional upon successful completion of all Labour and Immigration formalities.

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