Business Development Manager, Southeast Asia

We are currently recruiting an Business Development Manager, Southeast Asia on 12 month Fixed Term contract, based in Malaysia.

To apply, please send a CV and cover letter (including details on your current salary) to HRsupport@actuaries.org.uk by the closing date of Sunday 12 February 2023. 

Purpose of the job

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Business Development - Southeast Asia (SM), the primary purpose of this position is to deliver the IFoA business development strategy in Southeast Asia and any other assigned markets within Asia Pacific.

The main areas of responsibility for this position within Southeast Asia are:

• Support the development of Southeast Asia market strategy and business plan with a specific focus on student and member growth and building awareness of the IFoA brand and value proposition.
• Support the acquisition strategy to develop recognition and demand for IFoA’s qualification, leading to a sustainable pipeline of new members in the region
• Raise awareness of the IFoA qualification and drive sustainable student recruitment through presentations and other similar campaigns; increase the number of university exemptions and support new universities with the accreditation process.
• Promote and communicate information, changes or updates about the IFoA qualification, examination and new products to universities and employers across SEA.
• Organise Business development events, engagement and acquisition activities in markets
• Understand the implication of economics, market trends, developments in the education sector, activities of key competitors and product / service developments from IFoA in delivering the Southeast Asia market strategy.
• Understand members’ needs and seek to enhance member value by linking to opportunities that may emerge in our engagements with various stakeholders including but not limited to career, speaking, mentoring opportunities etc.
• Manage the engagement and relationships of stakeholder accounts and seek to develop IFoA’s presence as a global actuarial body
• Develop relationships with senior decision makers (for example academics, Chief Actuaries, senior actuaries, members, HR and learning stakeholders)
• Support the manager in delivering market insights and intelligence

This role is key in supporting the Senior Manager in establishing the IFoA as the preferred global actuarial qualification in Southeast Asia; for building successful and sustainable relationships with a range of stakeholders and ensuring the effective delivery and execution of IFoA’s international strategy to deliver member value and global influence.

Key Result areas

Key results fall into the following main areas:

Account Management

• Engage with key stakeholders and decision makers to assess and identify new opportunities for IFoA and members, contributing to member value while ensuring access to prospective students
• Develop and implement account / market plans
• Investigate and assess stakeholder / member needs, seeking opportunities to offer IFoA products, services and solutions
• Review and assess account activity / results regularly and determine actions necessary to achieve objectives
• Provide account updates and reports as required
• Build relationships with existing stakeholders to increase their support of IFoA’s qualifications and to consider IFoA’s events for their professional development

Maintain the high standards and relevance of the IFoA Qualification

• Identify key decision makers, understand their needs and build valued, sustainable relationships, with for example: CFOs/ Managing Partners, academics, Chief Actuaries, senior actuaries, Human Resource and Learning & Development Managers, Government stakeholders
• Highlight the benefits of being an Actuary and employing IFoA Qualified Actuaries and create demand for IFoA’s members and qualification.
• Strengthen connections with employers and universities to better support prospective student and members.
• Seek to accredit new quality universities
• Ensure the marketing and communication efforts are weighted appropriately between members, employers and prospective members, so they become advocates of IFoA’s qualifications.

Attract high calibre prospective students

• Arrange and participate in events associated with meeting identified prospective student needs, e.g. Information sessions, career fairs at higher education institutions, other employer and tertiary activities
• Conduct presentations and other promotional activity, linked to prospective student needs, that generate leads
• Support and distribute outlined acquisition campaigns, e.g. Information sessions, Key conferences, Career events etc. Maintain excellent product and service knowledge and apply it to the specific situation/requirements of customers, e.g. students at higher education institutions, employees in managed accounts
• Maintain a group of student ambassadors.

Commitment to innovation, initiative and continuous improvement

• Show initiative in problem solving, customer service and initiate ideas, areas for improvement, and initiatives that lead to an innovative culture within the team.
• Maintain and share knowledge of competitor offers and activity
• Actively contribute to the development of new products, services, marketing communications and initiatives
• Actively assist to manage/service institutions with operations across markets
• Support for IFoA members in the profession

Market Knowledge

Maintain organization information and the integrity of account and portfolio data

• Maintain the integrity of stakeholder information including key decision makers, and contact details and history
• Obtain and maintain a database of prospective leads and ensure they are captured in the right systems, provided with the right follow up and converted where appropriate
• Apply the account management and lead management business rules
• Regularly review CRM data to ensure accuracy and validity
• Contacts and relationships are kept up to date and mapped in the CRM
• Quality reviews to be completed on each account based on revenue and/ or quantum
• Adhering to CRM guidelines and data integrity

Teamwork

• Assist and contribute to the Markets Development Group (MDG) to meet organizational goals and objectives.
• Contribute to maintaining and building a strong team culture and share best practices amongst the group
• Building collaborative working relationships with staff at all levels across the organization
• Provide professional and efficient customer service to members and non-members via all channels of communication
• Staff may also be required to administer member groups / task forces when related to their area of work and build collaborative working relationships with IFoA staff in other business units, presenters and members’ communities, project groups or focus forums.
• Contribute and uphold the overall culture and direction of the MDG Group

Organisation

• Reports directly to the Senior Manager, Business Development - Southeast Asia
• Liaise closely with colleagues in other business units, particularly marketing, member services, and education
• The position has a degree of autonomy, working within a team environment in the region

Main Contacts

Internal

• Director, Markets Development
• Regional General Manager, Asia Pacific
• Global Partnerships Lead
• Asia Pacific team
• Markets Development Group
• Member Services Unit
• Education & Learning
• Marketing and Corporate Communications
• Public Affairs & Research

External:

• Members
• Volunteers
• Tertiary education academics in actuarial / actuarial related faculties
• Employers
• Brand ambassadors
• Student association leaders
• Higher education careers professionals
• Graduate recruiters
• Corporate learning professionals
• Fresh graduates of actuarial / actuarial related tertiary qualifications
• Tertiary undergraduates

Decisions

• Contribute to and support the implementation of business development and member engagement strategies to attract and develop the next generation of actuaries
• Understand and link members’ needs to opportunities as they emerge through the engagement with stakeholders
• Develop a process for reporting and sharing outcomes from market activities
• Identify appropriate data sources and insight information, to support effective decision making
• Develop and follow clear procedures, making process improvements as and when such opportunities are identified
• Effectively manage, prioritize and schedule workload to meet competing deadlines

Complexity

• Reporting to line manager but also (when required) support the Regional General Manager, Asia Pacific
• Ability to interpret data to inform decision making and make recommendations or identify risks
• Contribute to market prioritization by providing quality data to support investment into the right markets at the right time
• Core skills required: problem solving, prioritizing, data collection and analysis, planning ahead, managing conflicting pressures whilst remaining calm and collected
• Ability to engage with a range of different stakeholders at all levels
• A collaborative and flexible approach to work, and the ability to contribute fully as part of a team.
• Collating, proof reading, formatting, and circulation of documents and other papers, presentations, establishing and maintaining spreadsheets/databases and action logs.
• Managing and properly recording external engagement

Impact

The post-holder will have an impact on how the IFoA is perceived both by members and externally by key stakeholders and decision makers in priority markets, including in the IFoA.  This role will play a significant part in shaping the IFoA’s future growth in international markets both geographic and sectoral and protecting IFoA’s market share.  The role will be core to the delivery of the international strategy in the region and contributes to a sustainable membership model for IFoA.

Knowledge and Experience

Qualifications

Tertiary Qualification in Business, Education, or related discipline and/or substantial business development experience in a strategic account management setting 

Language

• Proficient in written and spoken English
• Ability to speak in one other Asian language is welcome

Essential

• Strong customer influencing skills in a professional services or equivalent environment
• B2B and B2C relationship / account management experience
• Ability to interact and build strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels, including students, graduates, young professionals, members, HR & L&D, C-Suite, Senior Actuaries
• Professional maturity and strategic insight with excellent interpersonal skills.  A self-starter
• Proven ability to use influence and persuasion to achieve desired outcomes
• Self-driven with excellent interpersonal skills 
• Excellent time management, organizational, planning, and prioritization skills
• Excellent presentation skills
• Proficient in Microsoft 365, in particular, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Good knowledge on the use of social media
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills
• Team player with an inclusive style

Desirable:

• Experience in a member service organization / professional certification body is welcomed
• Experience in Microsoft Dynamics CRM
  • Experience of working within a Key Account Management structure
• Knowledge and experience of professional qualifications
• Customer experience and value proposition development
  • International experience and competencies

There will be a percentage of State and International travel (40%).

Values and Behaviours

The jobholder must be an ambassador for and demonstrate the IFoA Values in all aspects of their work.

• Member-focused: We put members at the heart of everything we do
   
• Action-oriented: We work hard, we work smart, and we take pride in getting things done, valuing action over perfection
   
• Forward- and outward-looking: We’re always looking to be bold and improve, innovate and take the next step
   
• Team-driven: We work in partnership, advancing together as one IFoA.