Head of Emerging Markets in Ely

You will be a senior leader within CDP accountable for identifying, shaping, and driving commercial success in high-potential emerging markets. Using your strategic insight and cross-functional influence, you will define and execute market-entry and market-growth strategies aligned to CDP’s long-term strategy. It’s also a ‘hands on’ role where you will be actively engaged in the sales journey including lead generation and nurture.

As a leader, you will collaborate across sectors, service offers, and business development teams to build and convert a pipeline of new opportunities, establishing CDP’s presence, credibility, and commercial traction in markets poised for growth. This is a highly commercial role requiring a balance of strategic foresight, opportunity creation, and operational rigour. You will champion emerging markets across CDP and act as a senior representative externally — building partnerships, identifying anchor clients, and securing meaningful new business.

• Define and execute CDP’s strategy for emerging markets, aligned with corporate strategy and long-term growth priorities.
• Maintain up-to-date market intelligence to identify high-potential regions, sub-sectors, and client ecosystems.
• Build commercially robust business cases for expansion or investment.
• Own emerging-market sales forecasts, budgets, and KPIs, reporting to the CISO.
• Be accountable for profitable revenue growth across selected emerging markets.
• Develop and deliver strategic market-entry plans and longer-term commercial strategies.
• Build the pipeline through your own lead generation and nurture activities.
• Manage a pipeline of new opportunities, using CRM to provide accurate forecasting and performance reporting.
• Strategically select and win new business, collaborating closely with BDLs, client managers, and Sector Leaders.

• Represent CDP externally as a senior leader, attending and speaking at conferences, industry events, and partner forums in key territories.
• Develop relationships with potential anchor clients, funding bodies, and influential stakeholders.
• Identify and establish strategic partnerships that unlock market access or accelerate capability building.

• Work closely with Sector Leaders to align emerging-market opportunities with sector propositions and delivery strengths.
• Collaborate with Service Offer Leaders to ensure CDP’s technical capabilities, processes, and resources align with market needs.
• Support talent development to build relevant market expertise.

• Monitor the performance of projects originating from emerging-market opportunities, ensuring quality, customer satisfaction, and profitability.
• Provide escalation, remediation, and guidance for systematic issues arising in new-to-firm client engagements or geographically new deliveries.
• Identify areas for improvement in CDP’s approach to emerging markets and collaborate with business support teams to implement change.
• Promote teamwork, collaboration, and transparency within the emerging markets remit and across the business.
• Mentor and support CDP colleagues to build organisational Service offers in new markets.

• Degree educated or equivalent.
• Significant experience developing strategy or commercial propositions in new markets.
• Strong relationships with senior stakeholders in relevant sectors or geographies.
• Demonstrable track record of successfully developing growth opportunities > £1M pa.
• Experience working in matrix teams within a consulting or innovation environment.

• Extensive experience in market development, international expansion, or commercial strategy.
• Strong track record in identifying, developing, and winning new business in complex or emerging markets.
• Excellent sales, communication, and stakeholder‑management skills.
• Strong analytical ability aligned with strategic narrative‑building.
• Expertise in CRM tools and forecasting methodologies.
• Collaborative, adaptable, and confident in rapidly changing environments.
• Demonstrable experience leading or influencing cross‑functional teams.
• Experience working in consultancy or innovation‑led organisations.
• Multilingual or multinational experience relevant to target markets.
• Established network within innovation, design, or technology ecosystems.

Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) is an end‑to‑end innovation partner, propelling global brands and ambitious start‑ups to success. We build breakthrough products and services – from insight to ideas, prototypes to production – bringing innovation to life. Our teams are multi‑disciplinary, uniting scientific rigor, design ingenuity, and engineering excellence for consumer and health‑care clients. People‑centred, deeply collaborative, and – above all – expert, we’re uniquely positioned to shape the future for consumers, patients, and industry. Even our ownership model is innovative: We’re 100% owned by our employees, ensuring an open culture and a total commitment to our projects’ success.

As part of our benefits package, we offer: discretionary bonus, excellent learning and development opportunities, 12% non‑contributory pension, electric vehicle lease salary sacrifice schemes, share incentive plan, and 33 days holiday inclusive of.