Pursuit Manager (12 Month Cover)

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Location - UK

Reporting to - Senior Pursuit Lead

Department Information

Do you want to make a difference to KPMG's biggest and most important opportunities? As part of our Advisory Sales Enablement team you'll be supporting teams across KPMG through the end-to-end process of winning work. We help with everything from identifying client issues and positioning KPMG through to producing exciting proposal documents and compelling pitches. You'll be working with the most senior and influential stakeholders from across the firm on a daily basis. Building relationships, networking and growing your knowledge at the same time. We come together as a team to sell the newest, most innovative tools and solutions to the biggest organisations in the world. Our work gives KPMG the edge to win in a competitive, crowded market.

Role and Responsibilities

The role of Pursuit Manager is to establish and manage the pursuit process to support the pursuit team and Lead Partner and provide writing expertise. This position will manage significant pursuits across advisory (and often more than one at the same time). You will be expected to provide advice and some challenge across all major elements of the pursuit process including maintaining action plans, developing pursuit timelines with key milestones, supporting and developing the client contact plan, proposal design and production, attend value proposition and win themes sessions, political analysis & story-boarding sessions, providing first drafts of non-technical content and quality checks. The Pursuit Manager will have sound knowledge of the pursuit sales methodology across all stages of the pursuit process and implement pursuit best practice. The Pursuit Manager will be responsible for communicating timelines, milestones and responsibilities throughout the pursuit to ensure completion.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and drive a project management plan with critical milestones
• Ensure all team members have a clear understanding of their roles, deliverables and timeframes.
• Drive the process such that team members meet agreed deadlines.
• Communicate clearly to ensure efficient and seamless team working to completion of pursuit
• Co-ordinate resources and all pursuit sessions.
• Establish and drive the project management plan for the engagement team throughout the entire pursuit
• Actively contribute to the execution of the pursuit sales methodology including all sessions on value proposition, competitor analysis, sales strategy and lessons learnt.
• Draft responses for non-technical content as required drawing from our best practice from across the firm
• Ensure key messages are incorporated into all client materials and conduct a compliance check against the client's formal request and a quality check against document quality checklist
• Work with pursuit team members and the design team to prepare all pursuit collateral
• Collaborate and engage with the design team to prepare concepts that will support key messages, materials required for the client contact plan, drive and communicate timelines for deliverables and provide a seamless process
• Guide team on commercial, legal, quality and risk obligations and wider firm interactions where appropriate including overseeing the deal board process
• Attend regular training and meetings with the Advisory Sales Enablement team to ensure consistent best practice is applied to pursuits and knowledge is shared
• Build strong relationships across the firm and contribute to the internal reporting and identification process to ensure opportunities are qualified and Advisory Sales Enablement maintain a strong pipeline
• Provide ad hoc support and pursuit guidance as required
• Advocate use of KPMG pursuit proposal tools and processes and help to continue to improve and embed this.
• Have the ability to work successfully with multiple groups on different projects at the same time, and juggle different pursuits in a fast-paced, competitive environment
• Working with partners and directors on a daily basis, to have the self-confidence and drive to challenge and influence people at all levels.
• Responsibility for recording win/loss feedback in central reporting tool for priority pursuits and sharing top scoring questions as part of a knowledge bank to support future pursuits

Communications: able to get consensus and collaboration across many business units; able to explain complex concepts in simple language; able to generate enthusiasm; able to communicate with all levels of management and staff.

Teamwork: able to establish straightforward, productive relationships; treat all individuals with fairness and respect and maintain high standards of personal integrity; ability to collaborate with others in the Advisory Sales Enablement team and across boundaries; acknowledge others' contributions; work effectively with diverse teams; willing to seek help.

Learning and knowledge sharing: open to new ideas; shares own knowledge; applies knowledge in daily work; builds partnerships to learn and share knowledge.

The Person

Experience & Qualifications

• Significant experience in pursuit project management role and a track record of being critical to winning business opportunities
• A deep understanding of the pursuit process and the ability to leverage relevant prior learnings and experience
• Strong project management skills and the ability to prioritise, set and meet deadlines
• Experience of writing/editing bids or business communications.
• Creative skills and the ability to express them in writing and verbally
• Excellent communication skills and ability to develop trusted working relationships with the most senior people across the firm
• Very strong organisation skills, initiative and proactive approach
• Ability to work under pressure, show determination and persistence and take a pragmatic approach
• Resilient and aptitude to be a critical member of a committed, focused team.

Skills & knowledge

• Strong stakeholder management skills, up to and including Partner level
• Positive team player, able to work successfully across multiple groups
• Strong Microsoft skills (including PowerPoint, Excel and Word)
• Excellent written and communication skills
• Desire to learn and explore new and innovative ways to develop yourself and the future of the team.