Business Development Officer

Key Elements of the role

Report to the Head, Corporate Strategy
Create and build profitable and successful relationships with clients in the Fashion and Retail communities by marketing and cross-selling all of our service offerings
Constantly pursue new business opportunities within new companies and markets while collaborating with Account Management partners to strategically expand the existing business
Be in constant communication with prospective clients via cold calls, warm calls, networking events and the use of social media with the goal of generating business opportunities
Collaborate with internal team members and strategically leverage the strength and knowledge of the team to determine how to best service accounts
Utilize existing clients and resources to network and build client referrals
Development of strategy and business case pre-launch through roll out
Execution and evaluation of market, competitive analysis, and market positioning of the company
Strategic product planning, positioning, and cost optimization calculations
Establishment and control of the product development processes
Manage Budget and cost responsibility
Act as the first port of call for nominated customers
Liaise with customers and in house design/development teams in order to develop seasonal ranges
Providing customers with accurate and timely sampling, costing, lead-time and delivery Information as needed working with the head office production team
Identify potential new customers/markets in association with Head of Design and Product Development to develop business
Identify key trends in association with Design and Production teams

Desired Skills & Experience

Bachelor’s degree/HND in Business Administration, Marketing or any other relevant discipline with 4 years demonstrable experience in the same capacity
MBA and/or Professional financial certification will be an added advantage
Membership with Fashion Institutes
Extensive knowledge of International fashion business practices and procedures
Business acumen and understanding of the retail products and business cycle
Knowledge of capital structuring
Excellent knowledge in marketing, market research, corporate communications
Experience in set-up and implementation of new business models in the lifestyle sector
Extensive network in fashion and lifestyle
High affinity for innovative themes and intuition for market trends
Experience in cost and project management
Ability to coordinate external partners
Excellent poise, presence, and presentation skills
Self-starter with mature analytical skills and ability to work under pressure
Ability to handle people, processes and products
Innovative and forward thinking, with a track record of executing new ideas
Excellent organisational skills
High level of attention to detail
Good problem solving and decision making skills
Good negotiation and persuasion skills
Experience in the use of ERP
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
A good working knowledge of Microsoft Office tools such as Word, Outlook and Excel