Relationship Development & Business Growth Manager – South and Midlands

Company Description

About Hilton-Baird Financial Solutions

Founded in 1997, Hilton-Baird Financial Solutions is an award-winning, FCA-authorised commercial finance broker. We help businesses of all sizes unlock working capital by introducing the most suitable funding solutions from a wide range of banks and independent lenders. With deep expertise in the invoice finance sector and broader commercial finance landscape, we’ve supported thousands of UK businesses in overcoming cash flow challenges and achieving growth.

Hilton-Baird is part of FRP Advisory Group, a leading national business advisory firm with 35 offices and more than 850 team members, including over 100 Partners, across the UK and overseas. We’re a group that values clarity, integrity, and considered thinking - and we’re always looking for talented people to help our clients make confident, informed decisions.

Job Description

Overview: This is a multi-faceted relationship-focused role encompassing client generation, business development, stakeholder (lead opportunity Introducer) management, and strategic partnership development. Potential to extend to building an extended outsourced sales model.

Reports to: Managing Director / Partner

Hours: 9.00am-5.30pm, Monday to Friday

Location: This role is a mobile / hybrid role, incorporating working from various FRP offices, introducer (such as accountants) meetings. The candidate will cover the South of England up to and including Birmingham.

Key Responsibilities

• The primary function of this role is to generate income through new business, via building exceptional relationships, instilling confidence in all stakeholders, generating new business opportunities, and over time may include a comprehensive outsourced sales model whilst providing invaluable full-service support to clients and finance partners as an independent intermediary.
• This role requires a relationship-focused professional, with a significant track record of success within the IF/ABL market, who excels at building rapports and has exceptional business acumen and communication skills – perhaps has been a client manager and understands how IF/ABL facilities work.
• The successful candidate will be motivated, organised and professional, and able to deliver in a fast-paced environment whilst maintaining the highest standards of compliance and best practice within our FCA regulated business.
• As an extension of a new offering within our brokerage team, the role is focused on building new relationships with primarily external introducers, albeit this can extend to internal relationships across FRP’s wider pillars, where existing relationships do not exist.
• Relationships can span client Managers within the funders, again where these do not already exist, in order to build rapport and support them with manage-away cases.
• The role currently has no direct reports, however this may evolve over time.

Relationship Building & New Client Engagement

• Establish exceptional rapports with new introducers and introducing partners - instilling confidence through professional behaviours and demonstration of expertise and genuine care and interest.
• Engage with businesses throughout their journey, providing new business opportunities for the brokerage team, providing businesses with extensive support and guidance without creating fiduciary duty.
• Manage expectations effectively whilst identifying opportunities to add value and exceed client expectations.
• Develop new and subsequently maintain detailed introducer relationships, understanding their business challenges, client base and aspirations and the same for the clients they introduce to HBFS.
• Act as the primary relationship anchor for the connections established within the role, ensuring stakeholders feel supported and well-informed throughout processes.

Business Development & Case Management

• Generate new business opportunities through strategic relationship building and referral networks (mainly externally but also some internally, amongst FRP’s wider pillars).
• Work collaboratively on cases with all stakeholders, both internal and external, ensuring seamless coordination and delivery.
• Complete comprehensive fact-finding exercises, gathering crucial business intelligence to inform optimal solutions, adhering to our processes to ensure compliance.
• Manage complex multi-party communications, ensuring transparency and alignment across stakeholders.
• Identify and assess potential risks, transparently communicating these and developing appropriate mitigation strategies, where possible.
• Utilise their extensive insight and deal construction to generate increased opportunities to convert cases.

Partnership Development

• Identify and engage with strategic partners who will become a source of new business leads / opportunities.
• Establish strong relationships with accountants, business advisors, and other professionals who can be a valuable lead source.
• Create a compelling partnership proposition that demonstrates mutual value and long-term benefit.
• Develop referral networks that generate high-quality leads and sustainable business growth.
• Convey our USPs and service proposition to lenders, so as to bring to life our service levels when they have clients that require either to be managed away or additional funding.
• Develop relationships with, where appropriate enhancing service offerings and adding value.
• Provide analytical insights and risk assessments to support informed lending decisions.
• Maintain detailed records within our CRM of all business interactions, ensuring compliance and enabling strategic analysis.
• Identify trends and opportunities for process improvements and service enhancements.
• Facilitate escalations and ensure appropriate stakeholder involvement at all stages.

Key Performance Areas

• Deliver against business touchstones and KPIs across relationship building, business generation, partnership development and compliance / Quality aspects.
• Produce reporting on pipeline activity as required, detailing new business opportunities and relationship development progress and business outcomes.
• Maintain the highest levels of quality, professionalism and compliance in all interactions.
• Add measurable value to business results through relationship excellence and strategic insight.
• Build and maintain a sustainable network of referral partners and loyal relationships.
• Support colleagues and share knowledge to enhance team performance.

Qualifications

Essential Experience

• The candidate should have extensive experience in relationship-driven commercial finance, with a proven track record in achieving engagement and business development.
• A thorough understanding of Invoice Finance, Asset Based Lending, and commercial finance markets is essential.
• Understanding of asset finance is helpful.
• Prior experience in relationship management, sales, risk, recovery and stakeholder coordination is required, along with a demonstrated ability to build trust and rapport with diverse audiences.

Skills and Attributes

• Relationship Excellence: Exceptional interpersonal skills with natural ability to build rapport and trust.
• Outstanding communication skills across all mediums (face-to-face, telephone, written, video conferencing, presentation skills etc).
• Professional presence that instils confidence in introducers, their clients and across all colleagues internally also.
• Empathetic approach combined with commercial acumen.

Business Acumen:

• High level of analytical thinking and problem-solving capability.
• Ability to assess risks and identify potential mitigation strategies.
• Strong understanding of commercial finance products and market dynamics.
• Capable of managing complex stakeholder relationships and expectations.
• Able to communicate the background, story, the journey, manage expectations and negotiate the best possible outcome for all stakeholders.

Personal Attributes:

• Self-motivated, driven individual with entrepreneurial mindset.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills.
• Adaptable and dynamic, able to modify approaches as needed.
• Professional, reliable and detail-oriented.
• Determined and collaborative, an individual who knows they have much to offer and wants to make a positive impact.

Technical Proficiencies:

• Advanced proficiency in CRM systems, Microsoft Office Suite.
• Comfortable with various online applications and accounts packages.
• Full clean driving licence.
• Ability to work under pressure whilst maintaining composure and high quality standards.

Collaborative Skills:

• Proven team player who supports colleagues effectively.
• Ability to work independently whilst taking direction constructively.
• Keen to evolve, develop and also share knowledge with others.
• Constructive participant in meetings, training and team events.

What We Offer

• A vibrant, enjoyable and committed workplace with hybrid/flexible working.
• Rewarding balanced scorecard based discretionary bonus structure after completing a full financial year (May to April).
• Permanent Health Insurance and Life Assurance benefits post commencement.
• 25-27 (dependant on grade and experience) days holiday plus bank holidays.
• FRP pension scheme after three months' service.
• Comprehensive ongoing training and development programme.
• Opportunity to be integral to a company making real difference to UK SME and corporate businesses.
• Career development opportunities.
• Annual flu vaccination and Employee Assistance Programme.
• Flexible Benefits Scheme with enhanced and optional benefit selections.

Additional Information

Our Values

• Straightforward: We provide clear, no-nonsense advice.
• Confident: Our guidance is backed by expertise and evidence.
• Pragmatic: We focus on practical solutions and tangible outcomes.
• Real: We are professional yet approachable, understanding the challenges our clients face.

Our Commitment to You and the Environment

At FRP, sustainability is integral to our strategy and operations. Our sustainability depends on building and maintaining meaningful, long-term relationships with all our stakeholders – including our employees, clients, and local communities – while also reducing our impact on the natural environment.

We are always striving to improve in all areas – whether it’s our people, our clients, our planet or our governance. Our ongoing success as a business depends on our sustainability and agility in a changing and challenging global landscape.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and diverse culture for our people. We maintain an Equal Opportunities Policy, ensuring that recruitment and employment decisions are based solely on the skills and experience required for our professional services — regardless of ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic. We believe every individual should have the opportunity to thrive.

Our learning and development programmes enable us to invest in growing our employees’ careers. We aim to empower our team members to each achieve their potential.

We are committed to growing long-term relationships with our clients and supporting them in achieving their objectives. We understand that our clients’ sustainability and success lead to our sustainability and success. We are emotionally invested in our clients right from the beginning.