View Vacancy - Senior Business Development Manager France, Invest Northern Ireland (FRA22.242)

The British Embassy in Paris is part of a worldwide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now looking for a Senior Business Development Manager.

Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) (www.investni.com) is the Northern Ireland government’s principal business development agency. As part of the Department for the Economy (DfE), Invest NI has responsibility for supporting the growth of the Northern Ireland economy through the development of its businesses locally and internationally, bringing greater economic benefit and prosperity to this region of the UK.

The recently released “10X Economy” by DfE sets out the overall vision for the future of Northern Ireland’s economy. Achieving the vision requires a new approach to trade and investment which has been outlined in “Trade and Investment for a 10X Economy”. At its core our ambition is to harness trade and investment as a catalyst for inclusive, green growth in Northern Ireland to support our economic transformation over the next decade. We want to use trade and investment as a key driver to increase wealth, prosperity and living standards in Northern Ireland.

Invest NI currently has a presence in Western Europe and is seeking to expand its operations in the region. This is a new business development post which will based in the British Embassy, Paris.

Reporting directly to the Regional Director based in Invest NI’s Brussels office, the post holder will lead on delivering an evidence-based strategy for the French market maximising tangible commercial results for the Northern Ireland region. This trade-focused role will identify and proactively deliver trade opportunities and wins for Northern Ireland companies by:

(a) providing market knowledge and introductions for Northern Ireland exporters;

(b) raising awareness of Northern Irish goods and services and supporting Northern Ireland companies to export to the French market.

The appointed candidate will develop a network of contacts, forge relationship at the highest level with government officials, stakeholders and business & industry leaders in order to promote Northern Ireland businesses and secure export wins for them. They will also be required to develop positive working relationships with the UK Department for International Trade (DIT), Northern Ireland government representatives and work in partnership with a range of contacts to gather market intelligence and insights, and communicate them.

The post-holder will maintain data on the internal CRM system, prepare monthly returns and activity reports as required, and submit them on a timely basis. To deliver their work, they are expected to undertake travel occasionally within France, to the UK and other countries as required by the management team.

In summary, the post-holder will be responsible for:

• In-market sector strategy development & execution for France;
• Business development; to include finding export opportunities, making business introductions, supporting company and buyer visits from France to Northern Ireland, developing and maintaining senior relationships (government, private sector and industry body) and representing Invest NI at events, expos and seminars (including speaking at them); and
• Corporate reporting and other duties, including leading and managing Northern Ireland VIP / Ministerial visits to France.

Roles and responsibilities:

The post-holder will primarily be tasked to support Northern Ireland companies in the key target sectors to successfully find new business opportunities in and export to France. 

The overall roles and responsibilities include:

• Develop and implement a market strategy including marketing and event plans for France to promote Northern Ireland’s capability;
• Demonstrate strong leadership and communication in supporting Northern Ireland companies to find new business and export successfully to France;
• Proactively identifying business opportunities in the key target sectors for Northern Ireland companies through market intelligence, connections, research and conduct visits to promote the Northern Ireland capability to key decision makers;
• Support Northern Ireland companies interested in the region by presenting information they require and providing them sound advice in order to facilitate them to make informed business decisions,
• Develop strong C-level relationships with targeted companies, stakeholders and influencers in the region and enable Northern Ireland companies to engage with them;
• Develop a network of NI ex-pats living/working in France and work with Northern Ireland Connections to lever economic returns to Northern Ireland;
• Collaborate and build effective partnerships with British Embassy, DIT, Invest NI colleagues; and where appropriate, work on joint planning and delivery of events;
• Oversee and manage in-market support for company visits, trade missions, events and exhibitions;
• Advise and manage VIP (including Ministerial delegations) visit programmes and arrange all necessary logistics and protocols;
• Manage relevant information sources and maintain accurate recording of customer and stakeholder information on Invest NI’s CRM and management systems.

• University degree or equivalent;
• Over 6 years of recent* business development experience in a private or public sector organisation;
• A sound understanding of the French market, commercial knowledge and business sector knowledge, particularly in sectors such as Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing, Aerospace, Technology, and Life & Health Sciences;
• Recent experience in undertaking market research, analysing market data, preparing reports, presenting information to team/ clients and helping them to achieve positive business outcomes;
• Good networking skills, a recent successful track record in developing and maintaining relationships with senior executives, industry leaders and government officials to achieve positive business outcomes;
• Attention to detail, excellent organisational, IT and administrative skills;
• Ability to work at pace and independently as part of a remote team;
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office (Word/Excel/PowerPoint).
• Fluent in English and French.

*Recent is being defined as the last 8 years.