Simpson Associates
Business Development Manager – Central Government

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About the Role
As Business Development Manager for Central Government, you will lead new business development into a specific central government department or body, building Simpson Associates' presence from the ground up. This is a hunter role: your focus is identifying and building relationships with the right people, opening new doors, and generating meaningful new business opportunities of significant scale.
Rather than a generalist central government background, we are looking for genuine expertise and an established network within a single major department or body, gained through direct, hands-on experience selling into that organisation. You will collaborate with our technical and pre-sales specialists to shape and close opportunities, with the ambition of building out a broader central government team over time as this initial role proves successful.
Responsibilities
- A proven track record of new business sales into central government, ideally with deep expertise in one specific department or body rather than government generally
- An existing personal network of contacts within your target department, built through direct hands-on experience
- A demonstrable track record of closing significant deals in data, analytics or related technology/consultancy solutions
- A genuine hunter mentality – comfortable proactively opening new relationships and conversations from scratch
- Strong commercial acumen and the ability to build and manage a complex sales pipeline
- A strong understanding of central government procurement frameworks and buying processes (for example G-Cloud and other Crown Commercial Service frameworks), with the ability to negotiate commercial agreements and contribute to winning bids and proposals
- Comfortable using CRM and pipeline management tools (for example Salesforce, HubSpot or equivalent) to keep account and opportunity records accurate and current
- Resilience, tenacity and the confidence to represent Simpson Associates credibly at a senior level
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
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Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
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Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Advantageous Qualifications and Skills
- Experience selling data, analytics or AI solutions specifically, rather than a different technology category
- Existing relationships within relevant Microsoft or systems integrator/partner ecosystems
- Experience operating in adjacent or comparable central government bodies, with transferable relationships
- A track record of building a new sector or account from scratch within a growing sales team
Requirements
- Identify, build and own relationships with key decision-makers and influencers within your target central government department or body
- Proactively generate new business opportunities from a standing start, with no existing account base to inherit
- Build and manage a pipeline of substantial, enterprise-scale opportunities, rather than a high volume of smaller deals
- Work closely with technical and pre-sales colleagues to shape credible, expert-led proposals and solutions
- Lead structured co-sell activity with Microsoft and other alliance partners to strengthen credibility and open new routes to market


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- Represent Simpson Associates at relevant industry, partner and government events to build profile and relationships
- Provide market intelligence and insight back into the business on your department/sector, informing future investment and hiring decisions
- Deliver against an annual new business revenue target, paid monthly on delivered revenue
Benefits
- Annual leave, starting at 25 days, increasing to 28 at 3 years and 30 at 5 years
- Matched 4% salary pension contribution
- Healthcare cash plan
- Private medical cover (following successful completion of probation)
- Wellbeing platform
- Life assurance, paying 4x basic salary
- Income protection insurance (after your first year)
- Car salary sacrifice purchase scheme
- Personal development through a structured and empowering approach
- Flexible working schedules
- Gifts on your birthday and Christmas
- Cycle to Work salary sacrifice scheme
- Tech salary sacrifice scheme
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