The Senior Partnerships & Growth Manager champions creative, sustainable and commercial growth of the business and delivers on the company vision. Working underneath the Global Partnerships & Growth Director, they work closely with the Founders and wider leadership team to build client relationships and convert leads that drive the business forward. They work as part of a team to facilitate business leads and are responsible for integration with the Client Services team where relevant and appropriate. The main 3 pillars of the role cover:

— Inbound management – Vetting inbounds against Creative Ambition, Client Chemistry and Commercial Viability and providing clear comms on opportunities to the Made Thought Founders and Leadership. Reflecting opportunities accurately in the company pipeline and using this to inform decisions and priorities.  

— Commercial response & management – Collaborate with heads of department (design, strategy, comms, account & delivery) to create financially viable proposals that the studio can execute successfully with a focus on creative solutions.  

— Integration – Provide new clients with smooth transfer to the Client Services and Creative teams. Briefing teams thoroughly and remaining a support for future scope discussions.

RESPONSIBILITIES

GROWTH ACTIVITIES 

— Build and manage and/or oversee the development of new relationships with new clients. Act in a captivating and confident manner, which excites clients from the onset, giving them a sense of the progressive yet human approach the Studio prides itself upon. You will understand a clients’ rational and emotional reasons for engaging with us and ensure these are embedded within the team.

— Understand and learn about new clients’ business needs and ambitions and be able to articulate and design how Made Thought can add the most impact and value while delivering breakthrough creative solutions.  

— Be responsible for developing, managing and nurturing the new business pipeline, in-line with overall growth strategy as set by the Operating Board and Partners which involves developing, overseeing and signing off compelling proposals.  

— Work with the wider Studio to develop the best strategies to deliver client briefs, which may include challenging the status quo of existing resource plans, where required, to ensure a new project can be dovetailed into projects already in the Studio.

— Work in partnership with the heads of each department to accurately cost projects with a focus on realistic delivery.  

— Lead integration efforts with the wider team to ensure that there is a collective focus on Client Happiness and Creative Excellence and that the CS team is empowered to deliver on the proposals the Growth team generates.

— Build strong, personal client relationships, always in parallel and complimentary to colleague relationships, and nurture the project team to be accountable and build their own client relationships.

— Understand and keep up to speed with global market trends and fluctuations and forecast / plan accordingly.

— Oversee new client activity to see success rates and recommend any changes required to improve new business conversion. 

MANAGEMENT & OVERSIGHT  

— Manage inbound analysis and assignment of leads across the appropriate members of the team, identifying when to engage the CS team and when to keep within the Growth team.  

— Work with the Growth Team and wider team to ensure an overall strategic approach is taken in respect of growth areas, focusing outbound new business lead generation accordingly.

— Responsible for the pastoral care and development of your team, including growth reviews and regular feedback, ensuring a clear development path and assisting them achieving their full potential. 

PLANNING & REPORTING  

— Deliver weekly commercial reports in collaboration with the finance team, whilst constantly monitoring progress towards financial targets.

— Input on revenue mix targets and reporting metrics at the beginning of each year, whilst delivering quarterly dashboards to report on progress and set focus for coming months.

— Manage pipeline health and updating to provide business with clear, up to date and considered foresight of business health.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

— Brand / Design Agency background in both Project Delivery and New Business required. 

— Exposure to a diverse set of industries is highly desirable

— Confidence and commercial understanding of the delivery of projects

— A track record of managing and working closely with Senior Leadership  

— Utilise excellent writing and proofreading skills.

— A self-driven approach with exceptional time management skills, taking full ownership and accountability for delivery of both your own work and that of your team. 

— Bring a solid commercial acumen to the role to be able to identify relevant opportunities.

— Be proactive and independent when adapting to working across a range of sectors, briefs and ideas, bringing a curiosity for learning to each challenge.

— Be a confident and effective editor of both your own and other’s work, defining clear and articulative direction.

— Utilise own experience and passion to cause intelligent, thought-provoking and innovative creative solutions across a portfolio of projects.

— Have strong experience and knowledge of working closely with designers and creatives from different disciplines – ideally with experience in multiple agency settings and structures.    

— Showcase strong communication skills within creative discussions and client interactions.

— Have essential experience of protecting business interests when it comes to professionalism in delivery, relating to intellectual property, copyright etc., ensuring all issues are dealt with in a professional and compliant manner.

— An exceptional understanding of the design landscape and design process.

— The ability to effectively multi-task, managing a broad portfolio of clients.

— A positive attitude, leading by example.

EXPERTISE

— Adobe Creative Suite  

— Keynote 

— FIGMA  

— Creative writing 

— Building presentation documents 

— Excellent presentation skills 

— Budgeting and commercial management