Business Development Consultant, Life Sciences

CF is a leading consultancy dedicated to making a lasting impact on health and healthcare. We work across the entire healthcare system — with NHS providers and commissioners, global life sciences companies, health technology businesses, and health investors — to improve population health, accelerate and embed the adoption of innovation, and drive growth. Our consultancy serves the entire healthcare sector, from healthcare systems and life sciences to health tech and sector suppliers. CF’s multi-disciplinary team provides end-to-end services, spanning strategy, finance, performance, organisational improvement, data and digital. We also create optimal policy conditions for healthcare advancements through evidence-based thought leadership, taking a proactive stance on key issues. Our Life Sciences practice operates at the intersection of health systems and industry. We are trusted by leading global pharmaceutical companies for our ability to combine deep NHS relationships, whole-population linked data assets, and strategic expertise. Our ambition is to reach £10m in Life Sciences revenues by 2030, with significant reach across UK, EU, and Canadian markets.

The Business Development Consultant is a pivotal role within our Life Sciences team and exists because CF’s growth depends on commercial relationships, which depend on the right people. It is a commercial development role that requires analytical fluency rather than purely technical work and will suit someone who finds the commercial dimension of consulting more natural, and exciting.

You will work closely with the Managing Partner, Life Sciences Director, and BD Manager to build CF’s pipeline, deepen key account relationships, develop compelling proposals, and bring CF’s thought leadership to the right audiences at the right moments. You will be responsible for supporting the development of our business plan, business development strategy including raising awareness, key account management, managing our opportunity pipeline, and ensuring the high quality of proposals and bid processes.

Responsibilities

• Client engagement and relationship development: Engage directly and substantively with senior client stakeholders — Director to C-suite level — in life sciences and health system settings, advancing relationships through the quality of conversation as much as the quality of materials.
• Take ownership of named accounts within the BD pipeline, with accountability for the quality and progression of those relationships over time, not just the proposal outputs they generate.
• Represent CF at key industry events in the UK (ABPI, NICE, NHS ConfED) and internationally (ISPOR, ESMO, ASCO, ECO), building CF’s visibility and identifying commercial opportunities.
• Develop own network and thought leadership profile, including engagement with pharma market access and procurement communities and attendance at forums like Young MCA.

Business development and pipeline management

• Support the full BD lifecycle from opportunity identification and qualification through to proposal development, contracting, and ongoing relationship management.
• Lead BD workstreams under the direction of the BD Manager and Partners, coordinating inputs, managing timelines, and owning outputs end to end.
• Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator, HubSpot CRM, and AI tools (including Claude and Copilot) to identify, track, and pursue target clients across the top-20 global pharma landscape.
• Register CF on procurement MSA platforms and manage ongoing compliance with client BD processes.
• Provide timely pipeline reporting to the senior leadership team and contribute to practice governance and strategy cycles.

Proposal development and bid management

• Develop compelling, tailored proposals and pitch materials that articulate CF’s capabilities in the context of specific client challenges — not generic capability statements.
• Ensure proposals reflect CF’s distinctive assets: whole-population NHS linked data, HealthStrata® population health intelligence, and the ability to bridge health systems, life sciences, and investing.
• Manage bid compliance — clarification questions, portal submissions, pricing coordination, CV and case study collation — to the highest quality standard and with minimal supervision.
• Maintain a structured repository of proposal content, case studies, and BD materials in CMap and HubSpot; integrate lessons from bid outcomes to sharpen CF’s commercial proposition continuously.

Thought leadership and market intelligence

• Co-develop analytically led thought leadership for peer-reviewed journals (BMJ, Health Affairs, ISPOR), trade press (HSJ, Pharmaceutical Market Europe), and LinkedIn — demonstrating CF’s expertise and generating inbound interest.
• Monitor and synthesise sector developments: MHRA regulatory change, NICE decisions, NHS commissioning policy, pharma launch dynamics, and competitor activity — identifying time-sensitive opportunities for CF to add value.
• Support the marketing function in developing conference content, award submissions, and digital presence optimised for UK and EUCan audiences.

EUCan market development

• Support CF’s expansion into EU and Canadian markets by developing awareness of EU HTA frameworks (including Joint Clinical Assessment), reimbursement dynamics, and pharma procurement processes across Germany, France, Spain, and Canada.
• Assist in the development of data partnerships and client relationships in EU4 markets and Canada, in line with CF’s 2030 growth strategy.
• Engage with EU-based pharma teams at global HQ level, with awareness that EUCan consulting budgets are typically five times larger than equivalent UK-only engagements.

Requirements

• Experience: 2+ years in business development, strategy, management consulting, or a BD-adjacent role in a life sciences or health context.
• Technical literacy: Proficiency with MS Office; working knowledge of or clear appetite for CRM systems (HubSpot preferred), LinkedIn Sales Navigator, AI productivity tools.
• Commercial orientation: A demonstrable track record of developing client relationships or commercial opportunities — not just supporting them.
• Client presence and intellectual credibility: Ability to establish credibility quickly with senior stakeholders (Director to C-suite level) and hold substantive conversations on health system, market access, or evidence generation topics.
• Judgment: Able to make sound judgements with incomplete information and maintain momentum without a fully defined brief or settled timeline.
• Pace and resilience: Proven ability to operate in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
• Communication: Excellent written ability — able to draft proposals, briefings, and thought leadership in clear, professional prose.
• Analytical fluency: Able to interpret evidence, synthesise multiple sources, and generate a point of view rather than a summary.

Benefits

• Competitive and flexible reward package.
• Generous holiday allowance (minimum 25 days) that grows with your career.
• Strong employer pension contribution.
• Enhanced family leave, income and life protection.
• Comprehensive wellbeing and employee assistance programme.
• Flexible working: Office hours are flexible within core hours of 10am–4pm; work from home one day per week as standard, plus an additional 44 remote working days per year.

CF is an inclusive and values-driven organisation. We are committed to building an inclusive and supportive culture where diversity thrives. We are Disability Confident Accredited.