Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate)

Birmingham City University are looking to appoint a high calibre graduate (graduated within the last five years) as a Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate). This role presents an exciting opportunity to work in collaboration with leading academics at Birmingham City University, to apply knowledge and technical innovation, delivered on site at the company. The Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate) should have a minimum 2.1 university qualification in a relevant subject area and have graduated within the last five years.

This Knowledge Transfer Project (KTP) is co-funded by a grant from Innovate UK and Kashket & Partners Holdings Limited. It is therefore essential you understand the fundamentals of the KTP collaboration between a UK business and a University works to deliver benefits for each (the company, the university, and the graduate) For more information please go to www.ktp.org.uk

Personal Training & Development Budget:

The Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate) will have access to a wider range of benefits including a personal development budget of £4,000 to upskill during the project. The successful candidate will be employed by Birmingham City University and seconded to work full-time onsite at Kashket & Partners Holdings Limited to deliver the 24-month KTP project in partnership Birmingham City University and Kashket & Partners Holdings Limited. The successful candidate will have full access to Birmingham City University’s resources such as offices, labs, and library to complete the KTP project (a project workplan written with KPIs and outcome deliverables has been written).

The Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate) will be supervised and mentored by both a Lead Academic and Academic Supervisor from BCU’s Business School as well as a Company Supervisor located at Kashket & Partners Holdings Limited. Their aim is to assist the Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate) to deliver the knowledge into Kashket & Partners Holdings Limited and successfully deliver the 24-month KTP project on behalf of Kashket & Partners Holdings Limited and Birmingham City University.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

The Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate) will work on:

• A new approach to market and product innovation which is congruent with the existing brand identity
• Data-driven decision-making from market and competitor research, analytics including market segmentation and targeting for each company in the group
• Cross-selling activities from SRM systems and improved sales techniques
• Management of cultural change to embed new digital platforms

The role requires the successful candidate to:

• Embed knowledge of new data and customer-management systems needs utilised across the Group
• Project manage implementation of the action plans in the growth and marketing strategies
• Work with the product team on digital skills (such as SEO) to compliment traditional organic “reputational” lead generation
• Support the business to develop its entrepreneurial and innovation culture, including new product development

The Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate) will be expected to interact with the senior management, suppliers and clients of the company as well as BCU academics.

The successful candidate must also be adept at applying their knowledge to commercial projects, driving value and making an impact where possible, with an ability to solve problems and create innovative solutions.

The Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate) must have the following key attributes to ensure the project’s successful completion.

Skills and Experience:

The Strategic Sales and Marketing Manager (KTP Associate) will hold a relevant degree. This might be a first degree (equivalent to a first class or 2:1 honours) in business and management, with a focus on marketing. A Master’s degree in such a discipline is acceptable.

Essential:

• A minimum 2:1 undergraduate qualification in a business and management, such as marketing
• Excellent communication skills to express ideas effectively, orally, graphically and in writing to articulate complicated matters between the academics and the company project team members
• An ability to work to tight deadlines with diligence, attention to detail, and maintain high standards of work
• An ability and aptitude to work effectively as part of an interdisciplinary team; and self-management and planning skills to make optimum use of time
• Strong leadership skills in successfully implementing and embedding new innovations within a company or organisation
• Practical working experience of working with businesses to solve complex real-world problems
• Completion of a substantial business research project, demonstrating quantitative and qualitative skills, in either university or industry
• Understanding of the complex relationship between people, information, processes and market
• Keen interest in developing enabling marketing strategies to facilitate business growth through aligning organisational change with international market opportunities
• Ability to analyse and redesigning sales management processes to improve business expansion and reputation, as well as brand awareness and enhancement

Desirable:

• MSc in a related subject or relevant experience
• Academic acumen to enable successful reporting through research publications in academic journals and marketing/training materials
• Involvement in the implementation of a new culture of continuous improvement using tools such as journey mapping and customer experience, and soft systems methodology.
• Practised in training and mentoring to embed new IT capabilities
• The Associate must be a proficient communicator and engage fully with all stakeholders, in seminars, workshops and events, to highlight the work of the project

On a personal note, the Associate should be enthusiastic, motivated, punctual, conscientious, trustworthy, and work well within a team.

For further information please contact Dr Bruce Philip at bruce.philp@bcu.ac.uk or Julia South at julia.south@bcu.ac.uk

The project is focused on enhancing the sales and marketing strategy and function for Kashket & Partners Holdings Limited. It will draw upon the expertise of the University’s industrial organisation and marketing teams to establish a bespoke approach for the Group, which is a business of cultural significance and substantial lineage. Through digitisation of the sales and marketing function, the project will drive profitability and growth.