Business Development Manager

SUMMARY:
The Business Development Manager (BDM) is an experienced and seasoned sales commercially astute leader responsible for positioning the organisation as a strategic talent development partner to employers, enabling growth in the employed-learnership and corporate skills development market.
 
The BDM drives strategic revenue expansion, market penetration, and solution innovation, ensuring the company’s training offerings are aligned to organisational effectiveness, leadership development, succession readiness, and workforce transformation priorities within client organisations.
 
As a member of the Executive Committee, the role contributes directly to business strategy, revenue growth, product innovation and long-term sustainability. The BDM applies a solution selling methodology, facilitating strategic conversations with executives and HR leadership, identifying opportunities to customise high-impact learning and leadership programmes that support client business objectives thereby achieving revenue growth for the company.

POSITION INFO:
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

• BCom degree (preferably Business, HRD, Psychology, Education, or Commerce) or Marketing-related degree.
• Postgraduate qualification (MBA, MBL, or similar) advantageous.
• Marketing knowledge.
• BBEEE Codes knowledge.
• High competency on the use of technology.
• 10+ years senior sales and commercial experience, with at least 5 years in solution selling at executive level.
• Experience in corporate learning, leadership development, talent management, or professional services environments.
• Proven track record of revenue growth and client portfolio expansion.
• Minimum of 5 years’ strategic participation within a business development environment.
• Strategic Marketing experience.
• Experience in PR and networking.
• Advanced knowledge of business development, sales & marketing strategies, and brand expansion.
• Experience with lead qualification at all levels within organizations - managers, directors, executives.
• Proven track record of working with rapidly changing deadlines and having an ability to move in a fast-paced environment.
• A combination of private small business and corporate sales experience would be preferred.
• Experience in generating and analyzing data and compiling reports.

• Strategic foresight and executive-level strategic contribution.
• Market repositioning and business model innovation.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen.

• Experience and track-record in direct sales.
• Mastery in solution selling and consultative sales.
• Ability to engage C-suite executives in talent and organisational strategy.
• Experience designing integrated L&D and leadership development solutions.

• Executive presence.
• Influencing and negotiation.
• Cross-functional leadership and collaboration.
• Building a high-performance commercial culture.

• In-depth understanding of the South African corporate training industry.
• Strong knowledge of corporate leadership development and talent management practices.

• Actively contribute and influence the shaping of the organisation’s 3–5-year strategy, specifically the transition into the employed training market.
• Provide strategic insights on national and sector specific talent development trends, workforce capability needs, succession planning, leadership development, and corporate learning.
• Serve as a trusted adviser to the CEO and Executive Team on commercial positioning, product relevance, and revenue diversification.
• Translate market intelligence into organisational capability requirements, product innovation, and operational alignment.

• Reposition the company’s offering to appeal to corporate clients seeking integrated learning and development solutions.
• Advise on the development of customisable learning pathways, leadership development programmes, talent acceleration initiatives and employed-learnership offerings.
• Actively support and participate in the evolution of learning and skills solutions to ensure relevance to organisational strategy, talent readiness, and workforce performance.
• Guide the design of integrated solutions that align legislative requirements (e.g., Skills Development, BBBEE) with genuine organisational capability-building.

• Engage CEOs, HR Executives, Talent/Leadership Development Heads, and Transformation Executives in strategic conversations about workforce priorities.
• Facilitate executive strategic workshops with clients to diagnose organisational challenges and identify capability development opportunities.
• Apply a consultative/solution selling approach to architect comprehensive training, leadership and skills development solutions that drive revenue growth for the company.
• Build long-term, strategic partnerships with key clients; act as an ambassador for the organisation’s value proposition.

• Develop and execute a sales growth strategy targeting corporates, industry bodies and strategic partners.
• Grow revenue in the employed-learnership and corporate learning market by expanding market share and deepening client penetration.
• Build and manage a high-quality, qualified pipeline aligned to sales targets and revenue forecasting.
• Consult on and advise on pricing strategies, support solution structuring, and proposal design to ensure competitiveness and maximize profitability.
• Drive a high-performance, solutions-driven sales culture across all client-facing teams.

• Oversee the marketing function to ensure the brand is positioned as a credible partner in talent and leadership development.
• Drive thought leadership through speaking engagements, industry contributions, and market education.
• Ensure marketing strategy, campaigns and collateral align to the company’s strategic growth objectives and support high-value sales outcomes.
• Represent the organisation at executive forums, conferences and industry events to build influence and visibility.

• Collaborate with product development, operations and learning divisions to ensure client solutions are deliverable, scalable and aligned to quality standards.
• Oversee seamless handover to delivery teams with clearly defined client expectations and solution scope.
• Partner with internal teams to ensure technology, reporting systems and administrative processes support the full sales lifecycle.
• Champion a culture of commercial awareness and client-centricity across all departments.

• Ensure accurate forecasting, pipeline reporting, and performance measurement against commercial targets.
• Monitor industry regulatory changes (e.g., QCTO transition, SETA frameworks, BBBEE codes) and advise the executive team of the market requirement of these changes so that the organisation remains responsive to shifts.
• Provide monthly and quarterly insights to the Executive Team and Board on market trends, risks, opportunities, and strategic progress.