Senior Business Development Manager

About Us:

An ASX100 business with a 50-year heritage, IDP is a global leader in international education services. We’ve been operating for 50 years with a global office network spanning over 100 offices and our websites attract a combined 100 million visits a year.

Our team of experienced and dedicated counsellors are experts at providing trusted advice to students and their families at every step of the international education journey, and almost 8 in 10 students placed by IDP recommend our services to their family and friends.

IDP’s ongoing success comes from our highly committed and professional employees around the globe. Our diverse talent, expertise and passion of our people that makes IDP unique. We strive to provide a working environment where our people are encouraged to excel, be agile and creative, seek new ways to solve problems, take initiative, and generate new opportunities. We respect diversity in our people: their ideas, work styles and perspectives.

IDP is building a global, connected marketplace that guides international students into the life and career of their dreams. IDP co-owns IELTS, which supports test-takers’ study, migration, and professional ambitions. We not only jointly provide the IELTS test, we help test-takers prepare and gain confidence through IELTS support tools and guidance.

As corporate team within IDP, we help to create experiences that help students understand their options, choose their path, and reach their study goals. We’re embarking on a series of strategic digital projects to provide a seamless, transparent, personalised customer experience that puts the customer in control of their outcome.

It is an exciting time to be part of the IDP team. As we continue to build our global platform to guide international students along their journey to achieve their lifelong learning and career aspirations.

The Role:

We invite you to join our team at Melbourne for an exciting new product as a Senior Business Development Manager.

You work to improve IDP’s market position and achieve financial growth as we launch a new product to market. This role works on long term strategy together with the BU manager, builds key customer relationships, identifies business opportunities, negotiates, and closes business deals and maintains extensive knowledge of current market conditions. Working with an internal team, marketing staff, and other managers to increase sales opportunities and maximize revenue for IDP from our new B2B product offering.

You will find potential new B2B customers, present to them, ultimately convert them into clients, and continue to grow business in the future. You will also stay connected to clients once they are onboard to ensure they stay satisfied and positive. The role requires extensive travel as the customer base is built and requires the ability to work & lead remotely.

There is also a small team to manage that are responsible for sales, product, marketing, and customer support for this product. Team members will also be supported by a broader IDP functional management team in a matrixed organisational framework.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

The primary role of the Senior Business Development Manager is to prospect for new B2B clients by networking, cold calling, advertising, or other means of generating interest from potential clients. They plan persuasive approaches and pitches that will convince potential clients to do business. They develop a rapport with new clients and set targets for sales and provide support that will continually improve the relationship. Once customers are on board they grow and retain existing accounts by presenting new solutions to clients.

Senior Business Development Manager works with mid and senior level management, marketing, and technical staff. He/she may manage the activities of others responsible for developing business for the company. Strategic planning is a key part of this role, since it is the business manager’s responsibility to develop the pipeline of new business coming into the company. This requires a thorough knowledge of the market, the solutions that IDP can provide, and of our competitors.

While responsibilities may vary the main duties of the Senior Business Development Manager can be summarized as follows:

New Business Development

• Prospect for potential new clients and turn this into increased business.
• Cold call as appropriate to ensure a robust pipeline of opportunities.
• Meet potential clients by growing, maintaining, and leveraging your network.
• Identify potential clients, and the decision makers within the client organization.
• Research and build relationships with new clients.
• Set up meetings between client decision makers and company’s SME’s to advance the sales proposition
• Plan approaches and pitches.
• Work with the IDP team to develop proposals that speaks to the client’s needs, concerns, and objectives.
• Act as the team lead for a small team involved in developing and delivering the product to market. (Sales, marketing, customer support, product management)
• Use a variety of styles to persuade or negotiate appropriately.

Client Retention

• Present new products and develop strong relationships.
• Work with technical staff and other internal colleagues to meet customer needs.
• Arrange and participate in internal and external client debriefs.
• Represent the customer voice in internal meetings and product requirements

Business Development Planning

• Attend industry functions, such as association events and conferences, and provide feedback and information on market and creative trends.
• Present to and consult with mid and senior level management on business trends with a view to developing new services, products, and distribution channels.
• Identify opportunities for campaigns, services, and distribution channels that will lead to an increase in sales.
• Using knowledge of the market and competitors, work with marketing and product team to identify and develop IDP’s unique selling propositions and differentiators.

Management and Research

• Develop a sales plan to meet annual KPI’s
• Track and record activity on accounts and help to close deals to meet these targets.
• Research and develop a thorough understanding of IDP’s people and capabilities.
• Understand IDP’s goal and purpose and translate that into a team culture to continually enhance the company’s performance.

We’re interested in hearing from people who possess:

Experience

• A bachelor’s degree, in marketing, IT, computer science or business
• 5-7 years of sales or marketing experience, preferably with background in the education or Edutech industries in a B2B environment
• Leading and managing a small sales team in B2B environment
• Fluent in English and at least one other language (preferred Mandarin or Spanish)

Other Skills and Qualifications

• Networking
• Persuasion
• Prospecting
• Public Speaking
• Closing Skills
• Motivation for Sales
• Prospecting Skills
• Sales & Business Planning
• Identification of Customer Needs and Challenges
• Territory Management
• Market Knowledge (Education Sector)
• Meeting Sales Goals

More about us

We are evolving rapidly. This is an exciting time to join us as we transform the way people access global education and opportunities, through leveraging innovative technology and a creating a connected world.

As a Great place to work certified organisation, our people are always at the forefront of what we do.  We strive to provide workplaces that are truly diverse and representative of the communities that we work in, so our people feel empowered to bring their best and authentic selves to work.  We are focused on continuing to build a culture of inclusion and belonging by providing a safe work environment where all our people are encouraged to excel, be agile and creative, and seek new ways to solve meaningful problems.

Why join us

Be part of our story, as we support you to create meaningful and rewarding experiences, grow your career with purpose, and celebrate as a global team.

If you identify as a member of an underrepresented community, we encourage you to apply, even if you feel you do not meet all the criteria, but have relevant skills, experience and capability that will enhance the role. At IDP, you can be yourself, be seen, heard, valued, and celebrated every day for your meaningful contributions. If you require any adjustments, let us know.

Some other benefits include:

• Work in our new 6 green star office, featuring creative collaboration zones and a focus on health and wellbeing.
• Professional development programs to grow your career.
• Two paid volunteer days every year to support our local communities.
• Stay energized with free fresh fruit and barista onsite.