Business Development Manager - Government

As Business Development Manager for Central Government, you will lead new business development into a specific central government department or body, building Simpson Associates' presence from the ground up. This is a hunter role: your focus is identifying and building relationships with the right people, opening new doors, and generating meaningful new business opportunities of significant scale. Rather than a generalist central government background, we are looking for genuine expertise and an established network within a single major department or body, gained through direct, hands-on experience selling into that organisation. You will collaborate with our technical and pre-sales specialists to shape and close opportunities, with the ambition of building out a broader central government team over time as this initial role proves successful. Key Responsibilities Identify, build and own relationships with key decision-makers and influencers within your target central government department or bodyProactively generate new business opportunities from a standing start, with no existing account base to inheritBuild and manage a pipeline of substantial, enterprise-scale opportunities, rather than a high volume of smaller dealsWork closely with technical and pre-sales colleagues to shape credible, expert-led proposals and solutionsLead structured co-sell activity with Microsoft and other alliance partners to strengthen credibility and open new routes to marketRepresent Simpson Associates at relevant industry, partner and government events to build profile and relationshipsProvide market intelligence and insight back into the business on your department/sector, informing future investment and hiring decisionsDeliver against an annual new business revenue target, paid monthly on delivered revenue Skills & Attributes Required A proven track record of new business sales into central government, ideally with deep expertise in one specific department or body rather than government generallyAn existing personal network of contacts within your target department, built through direct hands-on experienceA demonstrable track record of closing significant deals in data, analytics or related technology/consultancy solutionsA genuine hunter mentality – comfortable proactively opening new relationships and conversations from scratchStrong commercial acumen and the ability to build and manage a complex sales pipelineA strong understanding of central government procurement frameworks and buying processes (for example G-Cloud and other Crown Commercial Service frameworks), with the ability to negotiate commercial agreements and contribute to winning bids and proposalsComfortable using CRM and pipeline management tools (for example Salesforce, HubSpot or equivalent) to keep account and opportunity records accurate and currentResilience, tenacity and the confidence to represent Simpson Associates credibly at a senior level Advantageous Qualifications and Skills Experience selling data, analytics or AI solutions specifically, rather than a different technology categoryExisting relationships within relevant Microsoft or systems integrator/partner ecosystemsExperience operating in adjacent or comparable central government bodies, with transferable relationshipsA track record of building a new sector or account from scratch within a growing sales team Job Benefits Annual leave, starting at 25 days, increasing to 28 at 3 years and 30 at 5 years Matched 4% salary pension contribution Healthcare cash plan Private medical cover (following successful completion of probation) Wellbeing platform Life assurance, paying 4x basic salary Income protection insurance (after your first year) Car salary sacrifice purchase scheme Personal development through a structured and empowering approach Flexible working schedules Gifts on your birthday and Christmas Cycle to Work salary sacrifice scheme Tech salary sacrifice scheme