Quest Global
Account Director - UK Defence
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About Quest Global - Where Innovation Meets Impact
We are Quest Global. We are in the business of engineering, but what we are really building is a brighter future. It is not just what we do, but why we do it that makes us different. We believe engineering has the unique opportunity to solve the problems of today that stand in the way of tomorrow. For 27 years, we have strived to be the most trusted partner for the world’s hardest engineering problems. As a global organization headquartered in Singapore, we live and work in 18 countries, with 78 global delivery centers, driven by 20,000+ extraordinary employees who make the impossible possible every day.
Quest Global brings deep industry knowledge and digital expertise to deliver end-to-end global product engineering services. We bring together technologies and industries alongside the contributions of diverse individuals and their areas of expertise to solve problems better, and faster. This multi-dimensional approach enables us to solve the most important and large-scale challenges across the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, MedTech & Healthcare, Rail, Semiconductor and Telecommunication industries.
Position Overview
Position Title: Key Account Director
Location: UK (South / South-West preferred)
Scope:
This role is a part of the leadership team of the UK Defence business at Quest Global and will be responsible for the overall leadership of a key client account (operating in multiple sectors) in the UK Defence sector. The position will establish Quest Global as a Trusted Thinker Partner for the client by developing a deep understanding of the client business, developing / seeding ideas, formulating strategies and working with the team to implement solutions.
Candidate Profile:
The individual must be familiar with the UK Defence Industry, how it conducts business, its culture, and engagement style. We are looking for someone who can identify client pain points, demonstrate ability in creating long-term client solutions and build long-term trusted relationships, maturity, scalability, and sustainability. Further, it will be advantageous if this individual has a strong background in the Nuclear / Naval Nuclear Sector and experience of engineering or programme delivery.
A self-driven leader with strong solutions sales, client relationship development, engineering background, general management experience and focused mindset is likely to be successful in this role.
Key Responsibilities:
Business Management
- Lead overall Strategy, revenue / profitability growth for the account and emerge as the leading key strategic partner for the client
- Demonstrate YoY growth in revenue and profitability through strategic and long-term business growth
- Drive existing business growth and generate new business across sectors in the client through carefully chosen areas of engagement
- Lead large strategic deal campaigns including strategy, solution development, commercials, negotiations, closure, and start-up engagement plans, whilst working closely with delivery counterpart (Delivery Leader)
- Develop and implement in-depth analysis and strategic account planning (Strap) to identify key focus areas for growth, including account headcount, competitive analysis, client needs per engineering service area, SWOT, Quest Global relationship summary and Quest Global capability gaps.
- Make key business decisions on what services/solutions to pursue and invest in.
- Cross Sell and Up Sell - Leverage Quest Global best practices from other industries and accounts to develop and operationalise plans to introduce new services to the account
- Unsolicited Campaigns - Identify and lead unsolicited strategic campaigns to grow the account. Leverage Quest Global relationships, influence client decision makers, monitor milestones, track action item progress and lead the campaign effort
- Solicited Proposals - Lead and manage all solicited proposal responses for all existing / new business areas or services
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Developing value proposition
- Develop deep understanding of the client business, culture, mindset and challenges
- Articulate Quest Global value proposition for strategic partnering with clients
- Identify and seed “Big Ideas” with key client contacts that addresses their “Big Challenges”
- Work with client and Quest Global broader team to develop ideas and create joint toad maps to deliver those ideas
- Run focused campaigns on big ideas that will generate significant value for client, position Quest Global as “Trusted Thinking Partner” and lead to sustainable and profitable business for Quest Global
- Work with Delivery Leader and wider team to develop and implement solutions in support of key campaigns and big ideas
Client Relationship Management
- Leverage existing client relationships and develop new relationships with client’s engineering/programme influencers and decision makers at both executive and mid-level manager levels
- Identify key client stakeholders and build appropriate relationships
- Own “Client Contact Map” and work closely with the Quest Global team to optimise client touch point
- Shape client thinking through insightful discussions and innovative approach
- Manage “Governance process” with client at all levels, including ownership of Monthly Operational Reviews and Quarterly Business Reviews
- Work closely with the Marketing team to lead Account Branding initiatives, News Letter and other communications. Support wider industry events, marketing, building and ESG initiatives for UK Defence
Commercial Management
- Own and drive relationship with client procurement and supply chain team
- Lead all contractual discussions, including interface with the legal team
- Lead efforts for all commercial activities including bill rate negotiations driven through value creation. Includes data gathering, analysis, proactive engagement of client champions, pricing strategies, competitive positioning, competitor assessment etc.
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Operational Management
- Develop and govern the business and operational strategy for the client account
- Work with Account Delivery Leader to identify key areas of focus for the account and ensure ongoing governance for successful implementation
- Closely monitor key capabilities required including hiring of Critical Resources
- Support key project and operational review meetings with client
- Lead efforts to create annual revenue and expense forecasts as well as quarterly rolling revenue forecasts
- Identify, raise and monitor internal investments for operations support to achieve target growth opportunities
- Work closely with Marketing team to lead Account Branding initiatives, News Letter and other communications
Skills And Qualifications:
What you Must Have
- Deep domain knowledge of the UK Defence industry and its operating model
- Experience of leading and scaling a client account from overall growth and strategy perspective
- Strong background in Engineering or Engineering led programme delivery in the UK Defence environment
- Experience in a Client Facing role with financial / delivery accountability either in an OEM or in an Engineering / Technology services industry
- Strong analytical ability to hold an in-depth in a conversation, comprehend information, understand the “Bigger Picture” and articulate thoughts and ideas
- Ability to work with people and get things done
- Ability to communicate effectively at all levels
Would be a big advantage to have:
- Background in Naval / Nuclear industry
- Experience is consultative led selling / value selling in technology services
- Previous experience of operating in a matrix organisation working with diverse stakeholders
- Exposure to sales / account management in Engineering Services industry
- Experience of working with Primes / OEMs in UK Defence industry
- Innovative and advanced presentation skills
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor or equivalent degree. MBA or Executive Management will be an added advantage
- UK Defence Industry in Engineering Management / Programme Delivery / Sales or Account Management.
Other key points:
- Due to the nature of the industry and the role, all applicants must be sole UK nationals with either existing SC or eligibility to gain SC. The candidate should also not be a former national of a non-NATO country
- This a dynamic and leadership role. Hence it’s important for the applicant to be able to adapt to changing scenarios, lead the wider account team, understand the bigger picture (in terms of client business and challenges) and build deep rooted client relationships
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