Business Development Director

THE OPPORTUNITY

As the Director of Business Development at Ear to the Ground, you will have the chance to shape the future of our agency and contribute to the evolution of sports, esports, and gaming on a global scale. Your passion for the industry, combined with your strategic acumen, will enable us to achieve new heights of success while cementing our position as a differentiated market disrupter in this dynamic field. If you're ready to make a significant impact, drive innovation, and lead a team that's dedicated to excellence, we invite you to join us on this exciting journey.

THE ROLE…

Job Title: Business Development Director
Hub: New Business
Location: Manchester / Remote Contract

Organisation Structure
Reports to: CEO
Responsible for: TBC

Job Purpose

As the Director of Business Development, you will play a pivotal role in driving our agency's growth and expanding our footprint within the dynamic and rapidly evolving sports, esports, and gaming market. This position offers an exciting opportunity to lead strategic initiatives, foster key partnerships, and contribute to the continued success of both our agency and our clients. You will join the senior leadership team and be an active contributor to business strategy.

Main Responsibilities and Activities

As the Director of Business Development, you will take ownership of the following key areas of

responsibility:

1. Strategic Partnerships:

• Identify, target, and cultivate strategic partnerships with brands, organisations, and stakeholders within sports, esports, and gaming industries.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with industry leaders, potential clients, and partners to drive collaboration and growth.

2. New Business Acquisition:

• Lead the identification and pursuit of new business opportunities aligned with the agency's core expertise and strategic objectives.

• Develop with your team suitable content and marketing plans that will continue to bring inbound enquiries to the agency feeding into a developed process of tailored pitches, proposals, and presentations to showcase the agency's capabilities and value proposition to potential clients and drive win rates up.

• Being accountable for the generation of disruptive communications, campaigns and business development activities to create and drive non- competitive, non-pitch dependant opportunities originated from resolving significant client business challenges using the advantages and benefits of the ETTG unique offer.

3. Client Relationship Management:

• Work in conjunction with the CSD to assist with the strategy and execution and growth of key clients, understanding their needs, challenges, and goals to ensure predictable expansion.

• Collaborate closely with internal teams to align strategies and solutions with client expectations.

4. Market Analysis and Trends:

• Stay at the forefront of industry trends, market dynamics, and emerging technologies within sports, esports, and gaming to drive innovation and informed decision-making and client value

5. Team Leadership and Development for Sales and Marketing:

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing marketing and business development team, fostering a culture of collaboration, growth, and achievement.

Key Results

• Develop and execute a comprehensive business development strategy aligned with company objectives

• Achieve and exceed sales and revenue targets through successful lead generation, conversion, and supporting client retention

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless project execution and delivery.

• Monitor competitor activity and market trends to identify opportunities and areas for differentiation

• Provide regular reporting and manage an accurate forecast for business development performance and contribute to strategic discussions at the executive level.

Skills & Experience

We’re looking for:

• A proven track record of success in business development within industries that value complex and high value service based propositions that require tiered active selling to multiple stakeholders within an organisation

• A demonstrable understanding of marketing for both demand generation and brand building to compliment the business development strategy

• It would be an advantage to have some experience of sports, esports, or gaming industries.

• In-depth knowledge of industry trends, key players, and market dynamics

• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and presentation skills

• Strong leadership abilities and experience in managing high-performing teams

• Excellent emotional awareness and people skills

• A strategic mindset with the ability to identify and seize opportunities for growth

• A network of senior client contacts and relationships that can be leveraged for business development.