Business Development Senior Director (CX Partnerships)

Requirements

• Proven track record of winning large, complex CX or consulting‑led deals, including competitive STEAL wins
• Deep understanding of the CX ecosystem, including platforms, measurement, insight, design and transformation
• Direct experience working for, with, or against CX platforms such as Qualtrics and/or Medallia, with a strong understanding of how to commercialise joint client opportunities
• Experience co‑creating go‑to‑market propositions and joint offers with technology or ecosystem partners
• A black book of senior CX, Digital and Marketing contacts and the confidence to open doors at pace
• Client‑obsessed: you prioritise time with clients above all else
• Bold, proactive and not shy about approaching senior stakeholders
• Highly credible communicator who can challenge, influence and inspire
• Commercially sharp, strategically curious, and resilient under pressure
• A natural relationship builder with long‑term perspective

What the job involves

• Reporting to: Head of Business Development / CX Leadership
• Customer Experience is a strategic growth priority — and winning large, high‑impact CX programmes is critical to Kantar’s competitive position
• This Skale 80 Customer Experience Hunter role exists to create, shape, and win big CX opportunities — stealing work from competitors, opening entirely new buying points, leveraging partnerships with Qualtrics and Medallia and expanding Kantar’s footprint with senior CX decision‑makers
• This is a front‑line, market‑facing growth leadership role for someone who lives in client conversations, thrives on competition, and knows how to turn ambition into commercially meaningful wins
• Clear commercial impact from going to market with Qualtrics and Medallia — including joint opportunities, shared wins and increased influence within key CX buying groups
• Create net‑new CX pipeline at scale through new logos, competitive displacement, and CX‑led cross‑sell
• Own the CX STEAL agenda — identifying competitor‑held accounts, nurturing new and existing relationships (using MEDDPICC, your existing black book of contacts), crafting winning strategies, and leading Kantar to victory
• Be a trusted CX advisor to senior client stakeholders, shaping their experience agenda and positioning Kantar as the partner of choice
• Act as the senior CX hunter for the UK, accountable for opening doors and winning large, complex CX programmes
• Proactively target competitor‑held accounts, building tailored STEAL strategies to displace incumbents
• Use deep market and competitive intelligence to identify whitespace and emerging CX buying points
• Drive new logo wins while also unlocking significant CX cross‑sell into existing client relationships
• Spend a significant proportion of time in client offices, building trust, intimacy and influence
• Lead senior‑level CX conversations with C‑suite and CX, Digital, Marketing and Operations leaders
• Be highly visible in the market, building your own brand FAME at conferences and events — present, confident, trusted, credible, and unmistakably commercial
• Own the end‑to‑end commercial strategy for priority CX opportunities
• Lead complex discovery, framing CX challenges in terms of business impact (growth, retention, efficiency, loyalty)
• Partner with CX domain experts, analytics, consulting and programme design teams to build compelling, outcome‑led propositions
• Whilst you won’t be writing proposals, you will stay close to clients through the critical proposal, pitch and negotiation stages — this role does not “hand off and disappear.”
• Work in close partnership with Qualtrics and Medallia to develop and execute joint go‑to‑market strategies, campaigns and priority account plans
• Shape joint CX propositions and offers that combine Kantar’s insight, consulting and analytics strengths with leading CX platforms
• Lead senior client conversations where Kantar + platform partnerships create differentiated value versus competitors
• Act as a confident, credible commercial partner to alliance teams—able to navigate joint pursuits, commercial models, and complex stakeholder environments
• Take clear ownership of CX STEAL targets and execution
• Build competitor battle plans: positioning, proof points, pricing strategy, and risk mitigation
• Coach and influence internal teams to think competitively and act decisively in CX pitches
• Work closely with Marketing to convert CX thought leadership, campaigns and events into qualified opportunities
• Partner with Thought Leadership to bring distinctive CX points of view into live client conversations
• Collaborate with Business Development leadership and domain teams to unlock connected, multi‑solution opportunities
• Own pipeline creation, progression and forecasting for CX hunting activity
• Be relentlessly CRM compliant — clean data, accurate staging, confident forecasting
• Balance ambition with realism: strong judgement on where to invest time and energy

What success looks like:

• Material growth in CX pipeline and wins, especially large, strategic programmes
• Use MEDDPICC/other tools for stakeholder mapping and unlocking opportunities successfully
• Leveraging partnerships with key stakeholders from Medallia and Qualtrics
• Clear evidence of STEAL wins from competitors
• Strong new logo penetration driven by CX conversations
• Senior client stakeholders viewing you as a trusted CX advisor, not just a consultative salesperson
• A visible uplift in Kantar’s CX market presence and credibility
• It is Skale 80 by impact, not just title
• It combines strategic CX leadership with frontline hunting
• You will shape how Kantar wins CX work, not just deliver against a target
• Success here directly influences Kantar’s growth trajectory in CX