Business Development Director

Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world. Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.

Automotive and Industrial is one of Ricardo plc’s five operating business units and is a trusted global engineering services partner for clean and efficient integrated propulsion and energy systems. Our experience and history over more than 100 years at the forefront of mobility innovation enables us to deliver solutions to the most complex challenges, allowing our customers across all global transport sectors to achieve a sustainable zero-carbon future.

The Role: We are currently looking for a Business Development Director to join our team with a focus on Commercial Vehicles, Off-Highway, and Industrial Market Sectors.

Key Responsibilities:

• Developing (often from scratch), growing, and maintaining client relationships and close contact with engineering procurement champions at selected client accounts and target prospects, to identify, qualify and communicate their needs to the appropriate Practice leaders and Engineering Capability heads in Ricardo.
• Coordinating and managing the sales process, from prospecting to contracting.
• Proactively supporting the successful implementation and further development of the sales strategy and go-to-market plan, to deliver pipeline volume objectives.
• Working with the Ricardo teams (Practices, Engineering, and Legal / Finance), to develop and promote attractive value propositions, sales presentations, and bids.
• Driving sales actions plans, in line with regional order intake (OI) objectives.
• Producing high quality client-visit and trip reports, capturing and growing leads and opportunity within the Ricardo CRM system (customer relationship management).
• Building and leading capture plans for specific opportunities.
• Negotiating with client purchasing / finance stakeholders to close OI / cash.
• Ensuring best practice tracking and forecast of sales to selected clients.

Key Competencies and Experience:

• Significant sales experience in Business-to-Business engineering services.
• Deep understanding of the US automotive and / or industrial markets, products and OEM / Tier1 requirements.
• Good understanding and experience of engineering offerings across automotive and industrial propulsion and energy systems including Engines, Transmission & Driveline, HV Batteries, Fuel Cell systems, Power Electronics, Motors and Drives systems.
• A degree in an engineering discipline would be a valued plus.
• Driven and self-motivated, leveraging an extensive portfolio of existing contacts in relevant industries and markets.
• Able to work in autonomy, and happy to accept leadership when required, including regular monitoring and reporting of activities.
• Used to work with a CRM (customer relationship management) tool, and understanding the importance of it for the success of the wider business.
• Innovative, creative, client-focused and commercially aware.
• Interested in proactive business development and in engineering services.
• Excellent listening and communication skills.
• Happy to travel (mostly within the US and occasionally abroad) and visit customer sites as and when required.

Working here: You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place. We will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on. Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable.

Work life balance: We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We’re happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core of our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.

Benefits: We want you to know how much you are valued. Your remuneration and benefits package will reflect that. You will receive a range of benefits which include support for your physical and mental health.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion statement: We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, creed, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, marital or parental status, height, weight, national origin, citizenship status, age, domestic violence victim status, arrest record or conviction record, genetic information, military or veteran status or disability, or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state, or municipal law.