The Company
Context of the Role
Accountabilities & Activities
The Person
The Career Opportunity
The Package

Bupa International

The company offers customers access to high quality, affordable and effective services and has achieved strength and balance through diversification, both geographically and by sector.

Despite difficult trading conditions, the company expects continued business growth. In general, its services tend to be more resilient than many other areas of the economy. In addition to this is impressive organic expansion and recent acquisitions has provided the company with an excellent platform for future growth.

This is the world's largest provider of international services in its sector. Some key achievements include:

  • Pioneered the international services in this market in 1971.
  • Processes 4000 items each week from 180 countries.

Context of the Role

The Global Sales team is responsible for the strategic direction across three main groups: personal (typically high net worth individuals), SMEs and Corporates.

Corporate business is an area where the company is a dominant player, particularly in the UK, Europe and Australasia. A corporate sales structure that supports a regional presence with a centralised ‘global’ function that interfaces directly with the large accounts is an important part of the global strategy to become quicker in responding to possible opportunities and potential threats.

A need has been identified to recruit a strong professional account manager who can manage a portfolio of blue-chip clients and, by building strong relationships with the relevant key decision makers, will help the company achieve its business objectives for stability and growth.

The Senior Account Manager will effectively manage and develop a portfolio of existing business. This will be achieved by developing strong working relationships with 3rd party partners, advisers and clients and to develop long term relationships at the highest levels with accounts of strategic importance to the Group and also to identify any new business opportunities.

Accountabilities & Activities:

  • The jobholder will be expected to manage all aspects of a portfolio of important client accounts. They should retain, develop, and expand the portfolio to agreed pricing for both risk and contribution.
  • The portfolio will be diverse in size but the jobholder must identify those Key Accounts that can be developed and draw up a Strategic Account Plan. This will identify the business potential within each account, not only in terms of potential for expansion and growth for international business, but for the whole Group.
  • As the needs of the International marketplace change, there will be a growing demand from clients for advice on the most appropriate advice. The jobholder will be pro-active in managing their entire portfolio and maintaining appropriate communication with all parts of the business, particularly Pricing and Marketing, to ensure client needs are recognised and are met where possible and where appropriate.
  • To represent the company as a thoroughly professional organisation by good preparation and planning prior to calls and ensuring appropriate after-sales service and support.
  • To prepare and present appropriate sales material often to the highest management levels using full graphic capabilities, marketing and sales aids.
  • To assist in the management of the appointed sales co-ordinator ensuring they display an appropriate level of support and competency when liaising with their client portfolio.
  • To initiate and conduct appropriate discussions and negotiations with third parties and actively encourage tri-partite arrangements on all client accounts where an intermediary is appointed.
  • Ensure that all sales activity is completed in a compliant way, ensuring that the relevant governing bodies

Freedom of Action:

  • The jobholder must work within FSA guidelines in managing clients and intermediaries.
  • Decisions on benefits and pricing will be taken in conjunction with the relevant departments.
  • New initiatives are encouraged within the role and can be introduced under the guidance of the Regional Sales Manager.

Dimensions:

  • Portfolio of approximately 10 to 20 clients.

Environment:

  • The position will be based on the South Coast or London.
  • The job holder will work in an environment that is very target orientated and open to a lot of change in order to keep a competitive edge.
  • To meet the requirements of the role, the jobholder should be prepared to spend a proportion of their tine working overseas.
  • The jobholder may be required to lead the professional account management agenda and supervise/influence other account managers.
  • The jobholder will be a highly motivated self-starter.


External Contacts:

  • Corporate
  • International partners
  • Potential corporate prospects
  • International intermediaries
  • Professional service advisers, such as lawyers and auditors

Internal Contacts:

  • Managers and team members across all internal departments including development, sales, marketing, operations, IS, services, compliance and finance
  • Group functions, including Public Relations, Tax & Legal

The Person

The successful candidate will be bright, sharp and motivated by success. The role requires someone with the strategic and commercial ability to deliver results within this professional environment.

The senior Account Manager must be comfortable negotiating risk, reward and solutions with the target audience, usually senior-level decision makers from within Finance and/or HR, and possess the commercial awareness to ensure that the deals brokered extract the maximum revenue/return for the business.

Qualifications, Training & Experience:

  • To have at least three years experience in a service industry of handling large and blue chip accounts and selling at Senior/Board Level would be an advantage.
  • Ideally to have knowledge of selling to central HR and Finance functions with products and services that have a similar sign-off (these could include medical insurance. Pension provision, fleet management, workforce management, payroll, services, facilities management (in all its guises, from printing/imaging to access control)).
  • Fluency in at least one other language preferred.
  • To have a working knowledge of competitor products in the marketplace.
  • To have had previous working relationships with intermediaries or third party distribution channels.

Judgement Skills:

  • The jobholder must be able to understand and assess the risk presented by a client’s claims experience and ensure that renewal terms are offered on a profitable basis.
  • Must identify and evaluate new business opportunities in the region and develop appropriate strategies to reach new business targets.
  • Must ensure that tailored benefits offered to clients are not only suitable for a client’s needs but can also be profitably and effectively administered by the Group of companies.
  • The jobholder may from time to time need to involve senior management to help resolve issues or to develop an account. Involvement should be timely and appropriate.

The Career Opportunity

This position provides an opportunity to join a leading multi-national business at a management level. It is envisaged that the successful individual will make a significant short-term impact and that within two-three years of appointment they will then be well positioned and networked to take advantage of other, senior career opportunities.

The Package

This is a senior management level role and as such the package will be negotiated directly with the selected individual. As indication, however, the package is likely to include the following:

  • Base salary
  • Performance-related Bonus up to 30%
  • Additional personal bonus, equivalent of 3 weeks salary
  • Pension contributory
  • Car allowance
  • Healthcare including family
  • Life insurance
  • 28 days holiday


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