NielsenIQ is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide. We provide consumer packaged goods manufacturers/fast-moving consumer goods and retailers with accurate, actionable information and insights and a complete picture of the complex and changing marketplace that companies need to innovate and grow.
Our approach marries proprietary NielsenIQ data with other data sources to help clients around the world understand what’s happening now, what’s happening next, and how to best act on this knowledge. We like to be in the middle of the action. That’s why you can find us at work in over 90 countries, covering more than 90% of the world’s population.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: New Business Associate Director
Location: Lagos
Employment Type: Full time
Job Description
We are currently seeking a New Business Associate Director - CMI for East and West Africa who will be a part of the SSA CMI team.
This role combines business development, sales and marketing on the one hand (business development), with the creation of bespoke market research solutions for target clients (solution development), including pitching.
Essentially, the New Business Associate Director = CMI will own a revenue target for totally new clients i.e. clients we do not currently work with in east and West Africa, the sales process we have developed to unlock growth among new clients, and the successful development of winning research solutions for them.
Candidates will have accomplished skills ideally on both the business development and solutions development sides of the role. Whilst we have grown this area of our business, we see further huge potential to grow further.
This role will be the driving force in achieving our ambitions, by targeting, qualifying, and nurturing new client relationships, landing small initial wins to pave the way to much bigger game-changing wins.
As such, this is a crucial hire for us to realise our ambitions. You won’t be alone or without support: we have already a prioritized list of new clients we seek to target in various industries (FMCG, Retail, Banking), advanced capabilities in several areas (brand tracking, segmentation, ad pre-testing, customer satisfaction, qualitative research, etc). Whilst ambitious, the targets are realistic.
This is an extremely exciting role at the very forefront of our plans, which is why you will be reporting directly into the CMI lead for NIQ GfK SSA
As New Business Associate Director - CMI you will have the following responsibilities
Own the target list of clients we want to start working with in East and West Africa
Qualify and own the qualification criteria for this target list, to zero in on the clients who will be our game-changers
Hunt as many qualified clients as possible: initiate the relationship, nurture, land the first piece, then expand into much bigger pieces of work that will accelerate our growth
Connect client needs, to our clearly defined market research specialisms of brand tracking, segmentations, ad pre-testing, customer satisfaction, qualitative research, etc.
Own sales and marketing materials used to open and nurture relationships with new clients
Leverage local, regional and global account manager relationships (within CI and RMS/MI) to create inroads into new clients
Create bespoke proposals for new client pitches that connect their explicit and implicit needs, to uniquely contrived research solutions, that leverage the unique selling points of our chosen specialisations
Lead pitching to new clients, and support the pitch process for other clients
An ambitious but realistic sales target
This role will not however be responsible for delivering the work sold.
Now that we've introduced you to the position as New Business Associate Director - CMI EWA, what skills, qualifications and experience are we looking for?
Ideally, you have minimum Bachelor’s / Master’s Degree, or equivalent experience
Experienced Consultant +10 years of relevant experience at agencies (some client side OK but needs competitive pitching experience), giving you the gravitas, sophistication, and problem-solving skills that only experience buys
You have experience of conducting business development in Sub-Saharan Africa, for local and international clients
You have deep experience in business development or sales, or at least a strong inclination towards commercial sense, structure, and discipline
Black book of client contacts in FMCG, FS, Media etc. a plus
You are an active listener, probing for implicit and not just explicit needs
Credible, confident, able to talk meaningfully with Senior Leadership Teams in Insights, Marketing, and Sales functions, and able to pitch to ELT where necessary
Willing and able to go hunting new clients
You bring a spirit of the entrepreneur, who galvanises support for themselves and their initiatives, from internal teams and clients.