Head of Deal Activation - UK&I Financial Services - Director

Location: London

Date: 7 Aug 2026

Requisition ID: 1729696

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The opportunity

Are you ready to redefine what's possible? We are looking to appoint an experienced bids and pursuits professional to lead EY’s Deal Activation (bids and pursuits) function for our UK & Ireland (UK&I) Financial Services (FS) business – a $1bn+ business with over 7,500 people. The key objective of this role and this function is to support EY’s ambitious growth strategy by winning and defending priority contracts and realising new business opportunities – from complex transformation and technology programmes to major tax mandates, to flagship audit contracts, and beyond. This is a pivotal appointment for the business, and an opportunity for the right candidate to drive transformative impact across the partnership and for our end clients.

Specifically, you would:

• Lead and manage a high-performing, specialist team of 30+ pursuit and bid professionals, comprising Pursuit Leaders (bid leaders), Pursuit Strategists (bid and proposal managers), Creative Designers (graphic designers) and Pursuit Coordinators – based both onshore and offshore.
• Shape, drive and embed the UK&I FS Deal Activation strategy and best practice – spanning people, process and technology.
• Transform the team operating and delivery model to systematically realise the benefits of AI and innovation – driving better outcomes and unlocking efficiency.
• Work closely with the UK&I FS Deal Activation partner sponsor as well as broader Clients & Industries and service line leadership.
• Support a myriad of senior stakeholders across the business.
• Champion the integration of technology and innovation into our client value propositions and sales and pursuit processes.

Your key responsibilities

• Originate, implement and continually refine a Deal Activation strategy and plan that sets the strategic direction for how pursuits are resourced, governed and executed. The core focus of this strategy is scaling impact to improve outcomes.
• Work with UK&I FS Clients & Industries leadership to align Deal Activation effort and resourcing to the sales pipeline – balancing competing demand.
• Team closely with the business (including Service lines, Sectors, Solutions and Account teams) to drive pursuits effectively – ensuring Deal Activation is deployed in a way that has maximum impact on revenue and outcomes.
• Actively guide the broader business to do the right things at the right time to maximise winnability, and call out improvements when needed.
• Navigate and lead through change – noting we are in a period of disruption to our business model and technology transformation.
• Advance best practice and spot opportunities to heighten competitive edge. Monitor market trends and enforce win/loss learning discipline.
• Be a strong voice to the top of EY with insight and challenge on where EY can improve.
• Work with service lines, markets and commercial teams, as needed, to land the new value equation to support new products and new methods of delivery (notably AI models) – to secure new revenues, protect margin and identify and sell the EY differentiators.
• Overall function leadership responsibility for the UK&I FS Deal Activation Team – which includes people, capability and processes.
• Direct line management of ~8 Senior Managers, and supervision and oversight of the broader team.
• Balance the performance demands on Deal Activation with capacity, resilience, and wellbeing.
• Regularly monitor and assess capability needs of the team.
• Sponsor the UK&I FS Deal Activation learning curriculum and champion continuous improvement.
• Spend most of the week physically in the office with the team members and close to business stakeholders.
• Provide targeted on-the-job training, guidance and feedback to people at all levels within the UK&I FS Deal Activation team.
• Responsibility and/or input into salary, headcount, expense costs and budget management for UK&I FS Deal Activation.
• Perform the ‘Pursuit Leader’ (bid director) role on certain strategic and complex pursuits end-to-end, from inception to close. This will be circa 50% effort of the role, and a key accountability in order firstly, lead by example and secondly, to stay close to the market and keep bid sharp and finally, to help evolve best practice.
• In addition to leading certain bids end-to-end, regularly provide robust interventionist support, challenge, review and strategic coaching at key stages across other critical pursuits – helping technical teams and Deal Activation team members to rapidly sharpen approach and course correct if needed.
• As the function lead for UK&I FS Deal Activation, visibly drive excellence and set a high standard for every bid that Deal Activation supports.
• Ensure governance, tracking and supervision are in place so that best practice standards are consistently met (or exceeded) and that gaps or weaknesses are remedied.
• Coach and support service line and innovation teams to best show technology to our existing and prospective clients during sales processes – with a focus on the “so what?” for the client – working with service line business development and account teams.
• Coach client-facing individuals on the full spectrum of client sales activity, building their confidence and impact.

Stakeholder Relationship Management

• Impact and influence a wide range of stakeholders at the most senior levels of business to inform decision-making and make things happen.
• Be visible, credible and effective in representing UK&I FS Deal Activation capabilities and needs within the business, including in leadership forums.
• Interface with external clients in various ways – leading procurement conversations, tender best practice consulting, and service feedback interviews.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with other Global Deal Activation Leaders – sharing best practice and contributing to strategic thinking.
• Build strong networks with adjacent functions and teams (like BD operations, Client experience, Brand, Marketing and Communications) so that Deal Activation can bring the best of EY to client opportunities.

To qualify and succeed in this role you must have:

• 20+ years of bids and pursuits experience.
• Substantial experience of large-scale bid function leadership, including accountability for people, capability, and process.
• Experience of having successfully transformed the operating and/or delivery model of a large-scale bid function – whether through technology, process or capability.
• A demonstrable track record of personally leading and winning complex, high-value bids in a professional services or other comparable environments.
• Proven expertise in all dimensions of bid leadership, including pursuit strategy, competitive analysis, value proposition formation and messaging, solution development, bid governance, and presentation readiness.
• Experience of selling technology and complex services.

The additional would be highly beneficial, but is not essential:

• Experience working in complex matrixed environments and/or partnerships – whether Big Four or elsewhere.
• Broader business development and/or sales and/or account management experience.
• In-depth experience of partnering with tech vendors (e.g. ‘alliances’) in consortium bid situations – and bringing component parts together to tell a strong single narrative.
• Knowledge of the UK audit tender landscape and of audit innovation.
• Undergraduate degree and/or relevant qualifications or accreditations, such as APMP (Practitioner or Professional).

The following attributes are essential and integral to the role:

• Strong executive presence and the ability to influence, challenge, and guide stakeholders of any seniority.
• The ability to lead complex, pathfinder deals and guide teams through ambiguity while ensuring ‘effort to impact’ is always at the forefront.
• Proven sound judgment to balance multiple priorities concurrently. This includes managing tight deadlines and keeping people, pursuits, and projects moving, while knowing when and how to escalate.
• The ability to rapidly absorb complex information, identify what matters and translate this into clear strategic direction under pressure.
• Strong ability to handle and resolve conflict and drive teams to consensus, without compromising quality or outcomes.
• Exceptional ability to build and sustain momentum up, down and across.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) with the ability to add strong editorial impact that improves client resonance.
• Commercial acumen.

What we offer

We offer a competitive remuneration package where you’ll be rewarded for your individual and team performance. Our comprehensive Total Rewards package includes support for flexible working and career development, and with MyReward you can select benefits that suit your needs, covering holidays, health and well-being, insurance, savings, and a wide range of discounts, offers and promotions.

Plus, we offer:

• Continuous learning: You’ll develop the mindset and skills to navigate whatever comes next.
• Success as defined by you: We’ll provide the tools and flexibility, so you can make a meaningful impact, your way.
• Transformative leadership: We’ll give you the insights, coaching and confidence to be the leader the world needs.
• Diverse and inclusive culture: You’ll be embraced for who you are and empowered to use your voice to help others find theirs.

Please note

Prior to finalising your application, you will be asked to provide personal information across several dimensions of diversity and inclusiveness. The information you provide is kept entirely confidential and will not be used to evaluate your candidacy. We collect this data to help us analyse our recruitment process holistically and implement actions that promote diversity and inclusiveness. While optional, we encourage you to provide this information to hold us accountable towards our goal of building a better working world.

The exceptional EY experience. It’s yours to build. EY | Building a better working world. EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets. Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow. EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.