Assistant/Associate Director, Asset Management Sales, London (U.K.)

Acuity Knowledge Partners is looking for an experienced candidate, who has successfully sold outsourcing or high value consulting services to Asset Managers, Private Wealth Management, Private Markets and Hedge funds. You must possess a strong hunting and sales background with a good track record of originating, qualifying and closing deals. To be successful in this role you should have good knowledge of the financial services landscape, be a strong sales hunter and develop strong client relationships. Excellent verbal and written presentation skills and strong negotiation skills are essential, as is the ability to build and establish long‑term relationships with clients and internal stakeholders.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Run high quality Enterprise sales cycles within the Asset Management industry, including:
• Identifying and initiating new sales opportunities by prospecting new clients
• Leveraging existing client relationships and networks to generate commercial interest
• Qualification and generating demand at clients and prospects
• Creating compelling value propositions mapped to client business needs
• Negotiating and Closing complex agreements.
• Assigned quota to be attained through selling to new client accounts and by leveraging one’s earlier relationships for selling high value‑added services to Asset Managers including Investment Research support aligned to Buy Side Financial marketing Support Services (RFPs, DDQs, Digital Marketing)
• Compliance (Investment guideline coding and monitoring, marketing material review, email monitoring)
• Data & Technology Services Implementation and services around Asset Management platforms such as Charles River, Sentinel etc.
• Pitch to the front office Head of Research / Chief Investment Officer / Chief Operations Chief Technology Officer / other CXO levels to build a broad vision of the Acuity capabilities and associated benefits.
• Ensure complete client coverage by leveraging the global delivery model and calling upon the support of subject matter specialists and pre‑sales teams based in offshore locations such as India, Sri Lanka.
• Use CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) to track sales activity, monitor performance metrics, and provide accurate sales forecasts and reports to management.
• Meet established revenue targets, while creating new and enhanced customer relationships and ensuring client satisfaction.
• Position requires travel.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Bachelors/master's degree (or equivalent) in Finance, Economics or related area is preferred.
• Experience selling services to decision makers within Asset Managers is highly desirable.
• Hunter DNA: ambition, sense of urgency, confidence, perseverance, optimism, resilience, and the ability and desire to influence others.
• Regional focus on UK and Continental Europe for the mentioned segments (asset managers and insurance).
• Relevant regional experience is good to have.
• Understanding the different stages of sales activity like creation of sales leads, qualifying prospects, transactions etc. and ability to move from one stage to another.
• Ability to influence key decision makers during the full life cycle of the sales process.
• Fluency in European languages like French and German highly desirable.
• Strong presentation and negotiation skills as well as outstanding client relationship management experience.
• Creative problem‑solving skills and ability to diagnose issues and develop solutions.
• Experience in leading sales efforts, proposal development and closing deals.
• Ability to work both independently and within a team environment, with focus and high attention to detail.