Business Development Director – UK & Nordics in London

Founded in 1974, MAPI Group has grown both organically and through acquisition over the past 35 years. Today, MAPI Group employs over 450 people in North America, Europe and Asia. MAPI is structured into three divisions which comprise a number of separate legal entities:

• Late Phase CRO
• Phase IV Clinical Trials
• Observation and Registry studies
• Strategic Consulting
• Market Access
• Cost effectiveness evidence generation
• Linguistic Validation
• Patient reported and clinical assessments for appropriate cross-cultural use and interpretation

A separate entity, the MAPI RESEARCH TRUST is a non-profit association concerned with the promotion of PRO evaluations and worldwide distribution of information concerning these measures. The MAPI Group consists of a number of companies; all dedicated to providing unique solutions to aid and improve drug development to meet patient and market needs.

MAPI group anticipates change and develops services and solutions designed to respond to a full range of evaluation needs. Their experience comes from extensive partnerships with industry, health authorities, investigators and patients. MAPI Group's strength lies not only in its breadth of experience and expertise, but in the total dedication to research conducted by dynamic, specialised teams, backed up by powerful technical and logistics support.

REGISTRAT-MAPI is the industry's largest clinical research organisation dedicated solely to "real world" clinical research. Successfully drawing upon their strategic and operational expertise to design and conduct global late phase studies and to develop partnerships with biopharmaceutical and medical device company clients.

The demand for Late Phase development grows significantly both in size and complexity. REGISTRAT-MAPI continues to lead the way through innovation in registries, safety studies and product utilisation studies.

Given REGISTRAT-MAPI's leading position in Europe, unique range of expertise and experience already gained through its numerous key clients, the Group is well positioned to win large scale international studies, negotiate preferred provider agreements and become a leading global player in the Late Phase segment.

Context of the Role: It is widely recognised that the demand for CRO services will continue to grow over the coming years with some predicting that this will be as much as 20% per annum. The market for Phase IV post-approval research is estimated at $12bn and growing by 23% per year. REGISTRAT-MAPI is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this growth for several reasons:

• They are the industry's largest clinical research organisation dedicated solely to "real world" clinical research and have the expertise and infrastructure required to perform large, multinational observational studies and registries.
• They have more than two hundred specialist employees in 7 locations and have successfully conducted studies in over 32 countries.
• MAPI Group has pursued an acquisition strategy and partnered with companies that have enabled them to incorporate many ancillary services to their product and service offering without compromising their quality.
• REGISTRAT-MAPI has an enviable track record in the design and successful conduct of late phase studies which provides an excellent platform for further new business generation.
• Experienced and proven track record in assisting clients through the process and all the associated requirements for EMA and FDA registration.
• Access to other MAPI Group company expertise provides a rich source of complementary capabilities.

Job Description: Primary Purpose of the Job

Essential Functions:

• Reporting to the Executive Director, Business Development, Europe you will serve as overall business developer, account relationship manager and strategic business partner for new and established account(s) in your region.
• You will be responsible for developing and expanding new business opportunities within allocated account(s) to include developing and overseeing the sales strategy for assigned clients, managing the sales process and coordinating with Project Management to ensure client satisfaction.
• The focus will be on the United Kingdom and Nordics primarily.

Accountabilities:

• Contribute to REGISTRAT-MAPI's growth in supporting the company's objectives.
• Develop and communicate in depth pipeline and account analysis and territory development.
• Achieve individual goals and support team goals.
• Work closely with Executive Director, Business Development to ensure continuity of messages to clients and provide guidance to team members to resolve client issues and questions.
• In conjunction with Executive Director, Business Development, develop and maintain a plan for the expansion of business in the respective accounts.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive business plan for all activities within your area of responsibility.
• Secure preferred status for REGISTRAT-MAPI in target accounts, leveraging creative deal structures as appropriate and negotiating mutually acceptable terms with support of the contracts team.
• Participate in customer oversight committee(s) as appropriate.
• Lead client services proposal teams and bid-defence teams and/or act as REGISTRAT-MAPI senior executive as appropriate.
• Ensure that all proposal/contract details, clients' meetings, RFP information and relevant updates of the respective team members are captured and maintained within Sales force.
• Contribute to the annual forecasting process in collaboration with the Executive Director, Business Development and attend the respective planning meetings.
• Demonstrate cross functional collaboration with other Group companies.
• Cultivate strong, long-term relationships with key decision-makers within accounts and develop deep knowledge of the account organisations.
• Identify and respond to client needs in order to define potential REGISTRAT-MAPI opportunities. Ensure appropriate strategy and solution is proposed to the client.
• Work with Project Directors and Function Managers to identify most appropriate sales team and prepare presentation.
• Educate team participants in client culture, operational needs, methods and sales techniques required to close the sale.
• Coordinate with Project Managers, Project Directors and Executive Director to escalate and quickly address client issues and concerns.
• Seek input from Project Managers and Project Directors, as required, to proactively address Changes In Scope (CIS), new opportunities or customer dissatisfaction.
• Work with Project Managers, Project Directors and CRU Management to ensure CIS's are appropriately negotiated with the client.
• Maintain high visibility within client organisations.
• Monitor client satisfaction through regular formal and informal surveys.

Personal Style:

• A flexible and adaptable team player with a strong sense of fun and a positive, "can do" attitude.
• Creative and prepared to think outside the box; willing to take the initiative and to present solutions rather than problems.
• Thrives under pressure while maintaining a high level of personal and professional integrity.
• Clear desire and ambition for success, comfortable making decisions and prepared to make the personal commitment to ensure success.

Person Specification:

• A minimum of a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) and a higher level degree (Master or PhD, MBA) desirable.
• An established senior level network with some of the world's top 25 Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies.
• Proven track record of identifying and securing full service business in top tier accounts.
• Experience in developing new Late Phase business opportunities.
• Analytical approach to business.
• Skilled in performing presentations and leading meetings.
• Demonstrable competency in sales or business development preferably for a Contract Research Organisation or company providing services to the healthcare industry.
• Fluent written and spoken English language skills.
• A solid understanding of the clinical process (Phase II – IV) coupled with a desire to develop existing knowledge.
• Knowledge of EMA regulated drug development process helpful.
• Good skills in Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Word, etc.
• Sound understanding of the principles of Key Account Management.
• Strong detail orientation and an ability to work creatively in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent planning/organisational skills and ability to prioritise and multitask.
• Results orientated.
• Responsive and strong customer focus.
• Convey information in a clear, concise, and accurate manner.
• Display an open and flexible attitude, with a desire to support others and genuinely operate within a team structure.
• Demonstrate professionalism and presents a positive image of REGISTRAT-MAPI.
• Understand the customer's needs before presenting a solution.
• Effectively handles challenging customer situations.
• Maintain a high energy level when interacting with customers.
• Develop and ensure compliance with project timelines and budgetary requirements.
• Understand and demonstrate knowledge of milestones and timelines.
• Prioritise time effectively based on project and employee needs.
• Demonstrate honesty and integrity in dealing with others.
• Work effectively with different types of people.
• Proactive attitude and drive to develop senior level business relationships.
• Consistently proven sales and negotiation skills.
• Ability to work with other Senior Executives to facilitate joint customer development.

Package:

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience.
• Commission and Bonus Plan, with stretch targets, and the potential to significantly exceed base salary through the meeting of targets and objectives.
• Holiday – 28 days per annum.
• Private health for employee and dependants.
• Life assurance and disability insurance cover.