Buyer & Audience Programme Manager in Manchester

At Grant Thornton we do things differently - looking to the future, driving ambitious growth and pioneering positive change in our industry. Providing audit, tax and advisory services, we empower clients through strategic insight, curiosity, and genuine partnership. And we empower our people with real opportunity, an inclusive culture and work life balance.

Grant Thornton UK LLP is part of a global network of independent audit, tax and advisory firms, made up of some 58,000 people in over 135 countries. We're a team of independent thinkers who put quality, inclusion and integrity first. All around the world we bring a different experience to our clients. A better experience. One that delivers the expertise they need in a way that goes beyond. Personal, proactive, and agile.

A look into the role: Our clients’ most senior decision-makers, such as CFOs, work with many parts of our firm at once. They should hear from us as one Grant Thornton, not as several separate teams. As our Buyer & Audience Programme Manager, you’ll make that happen. Joining our Commercial Growth & Strategy team and reporting to the Head of Demand Generation, you’ll lead our firmwide programmes for a small number of priority senior buyers, starting with our Finance Leaders Programme for CFOs. This is a balanced role, roughly half strategy and half hands-on delivery.

In this role, you’ll:

• Own our priority buyer programmes, and work with the Head of Demand Generation to decide which buyer groups come next.
• Set an ‘audience-first’ standard, starting from what buyers need and how they behave, and build personas that teams across the firm actually use.
• Advise GTM leads and their teams on the messaging and channels that work for each buyer, including where they want a tailored version for their own sector or service line.
• Convene and chair an editorial and advisory board for each buyer, bringing together service line and sector representatives to steer themes, research and content.
• Own the insight behind each programme, such as a twice-yearly buyer barometer, working closely with our Head of Content.
• Turn audience strategy into clear briefs for the Campaigns team, and prioritise requests within the wider campaign calendar.
• Bring buyer and audience priorities into the firmwide planning cycle.
• Review nurture performance across firmwide and team-led activity, spot gaps in coverage and propose how to close them.
• Make sure warm interest is followed up, and help business development (BD) teams recognise when a buyer may be in market.
• Build awareness among partners and directors of what the programmes offer and how to use them.

Knowing you’re right for us: We’ve set ambitious growth targets for the firm, and we need the right people to help us achieve these. We’re looking for people who will bring ambition and drive to their role. In changing markets, we need to be able to work at pace and be adaptable to change and to be curious, asking questions of ourselves, each other and our clients to ensure we are delivering the services and quality we expect.

Joining us as a Manager, the minimum criteria you’ll need is experience running an audience, account-based marketing (ABM) or buyer programme across multiple business lines, and the confidence to influence senior stakeholders without formal authority.

It would be great if you had some of the following skills, but don’t worry if you don’t tick every box, we’ll help you develop along the way:

• You’ll have gained experience within professional services, financial services or another regulated environment.
• You’ll have turned audience research into personas and messaging that other teams have adopted.
• You’ll have written briefs that in-house or agency delivery teams can build from.
• You’ll be familiar with CRM-based reporting, ideally tracking programme contribution and attribution (Microsoft Dynamics is a bonus, not essential), and how BD teams work with warm leads and in-market signals.
• You’ll have strong research and analytical instincts, with the ability to spot a genuine gap in coverage or performance.
• You’ll be confident presenting insight to partners and senior leaders in a way that lands as support, not instruction.
• A collaborative, consultative style that makes teams want to work with you.

The culture at Grant Thornton is what sets us apart, we’re known for our inclusive culture and creating environments where all our people can flourish. The things that set you apart, we value them, and this helps us all to perform at our best.

In addition to a competitive salary and reward package, you’ll also get:

• Tailored development programmes and access to coaching.
• Flexible bank holidays – allowing you to celebrate the days that are important to you.
• Benefits including pension, life assurance and private medical, additional holiday purchasing and health benefits.
• And benefits giving you access to shopping discounts, gym memberships, financial advice.

We have a trust-based way of working, driven by responsible people who have the best interests of our firm and our clients at heart. Our how we work framework gives flexibility in where, how, and when we work to deliver the best results for our clients, whilst helping you keep a balance between work and life.