Head of Client Development

Role: Head of Client Development

Ford & Stanley Executive Search (Part of the Ford & Stanley Group) are a leading Executive search firm to the UK, North American and European Rail, Defence, Technology & Heavy Manufacturing industries.

Our search directors, search consultants and research teams specialise in all horizontal functions of our clients' organisations with expertise spanning engineering, commercial, procurement, HR, IT, finance, HSQE, sales, projects, operations and c-suite.

We are trusted by over 100 leading organisations when they seek to make a leadership appointment, be that a permanent appointment or interim solutions.

We have been appointed by our client company on a retained search for a pragmatic and inspirational sales leader who isn t afraid to roll their sleeves up and drive new business sales from the front whilst holding the gravitas and executive maturity to operate at a strategic level.

Below you will find an candidate opportunity briefing document developed from notes taken during the scoping meeting (Situational Discovery) held between the Head of Ford and Stanley Executive Search and Principal Consultant of Ford & Stanley Executive Search and the CEO and COO of the business.

This brief is designed to give candidates a deeper insight into the opportunity inherent within the role, the challenges the role presents, and provide access to the detail that sits behind the job specification.

Client Opportunity Statements:

As we continue on our growth journey, we are focused on elevating our client development and consulting capability. Currently our C-Suite find themselves heavily involved in hands-on client development and need to step back, to ensure focus on strategy and long-term business growth.

We need to secure an individual who can not only embed themselves into our customer, but equally develop a deep understanding of their complex operation. The Head of Client Development will grow robust relationships with senior stakeholders across client s board and leverage these to identify opportunities for our business.

The incoming Head of Client Development will need to remain persistent and patient in their approach, recognising that our sales cycles can take more than 12 months.

Challenges expected within the first 12 months include:

1. The incoming Head of Client Development will need to recalibrate how they measure success, with sales cycles that take more than 12 months, wins come from extensive and detailed consultation with the customer.
2. The incoming Head of Client Development will need to build a deep understanding of our client and appreciate not only the scale but also the diversity of their operation.
3. Although the company are shifting to more of a SAAS model, the incoming Head of Sales will need to appreciate that the service remains complex and requires extensive and relentless consultation with the client. (Noting that they do not have basic SAAS packages)

Key deliverables within the first 12 months include:

1. To have successfully built extensive and robust relationships with a number of senior stakeholders across our client including Managing and Route Directors
2. Extensive evidence of collaboration internally, demonstrating the ability to utilise the extensive knowledge across the business.
3. To have successfully translated unique customer nuances into tangible business opportunity. Acting on the current pipeline, leading on bids whilst becoming a true consultant to the end customer.

Essential Hard Skills (Skills & Experience)

• Extensive experience in consultive sales/client development.
• Experience selling complex, products, solutions and/or services that require business change for the customer.
• We are open to the individual s industry background but would ideally like to secure candidates who have sold products, services or solutions that support the end client s operation.
• Experience developing clients to secure consistent and repeat business.

Essential Soft Skills (Attributes & Behaviours)

• Patience, Client development is rarely about instant results; it s about nurturing relationships and guiding clients through complex decisions. Helping them realise the value the business s products can bring.
• Consultative Approach it s about being a trusted advisor. A consultative mindset means asking insightful questions, understanding client needs at a deep level, and providing solutions tailored to their challenges.
• Emotional Intelligence Success in client development hinges on understanding and managing emotions both yours and your clients . Whether reading between the lines of what a client truly needs, navigating difficult discussions with diplomacy, emotional intelligence ensures you connect authentically.
• Relentless Drive Client development demands persistence and determination. A never-give-up attitude fosters growth, strengthens relationships, and ensures continuous progress.

Desirables

• Experience gained in a Consultancy environment.

Working Arrangements & Location:

The company observe a hybrid working policy with one mandatory day in the office, however, the job will require consistent client visits, event attendance and project locations where applicable.

Locations include London, Buckinghamshire, East Midlands, Scotland (upcoming location), noting also clients situated as far north as Scotland and as far south as London & surrounding.

Therefore, the Head of Sales can be based anywhere in the UK as long as they can commit to a regular commute to one of these locations and travel as required.

Ford & Stanley Interview Process:

• 1st Stage : Candidate Discovery: An open, conversational and consultative discussion where interested candidates are assessed on their suitability for the role in the context of the above and challenged on how the opportunity lines up with their career aspirations, motivations, financial expectations and personal circumstances.
• 2nd Stage : The shortlist : Candidates are asked to reflect on the candidate discovery discussion, take time to reflect on the opportunity and undertake subsequent research on the client business, reporting back on their thoughts, questions and providing additional specific information on their suitability (if applicable). Final checks of role, package and logistical alignments made.

Our Client Company s Interview Process:

• 1st Stage interview: Teams / Face-to-Face interview with the CEO and COO.
• Psychometric Assessment: Candidates selected for final stage will undergo a Thomas Internation personality profiling assessment.
• 2nd Final Stage interview: Face-to-face interview with the CEO, COO and with inclusion from other members of the board (to be agreed)

Good to know:

• This business is an SME with some long-term contractors and strongly embedded external software teams.
• Historically, the business has been project-heavy; however, have more recently transitioned to offering operations systems. This has impacted upon financial performance reporting, particularly T/O performance during the transition period . The company have achieved / exceeding all financial targets and have had an exceptional start to 2025.
• Despite their strong business offering into the rail industry, they do not see themselves as a rail business. Their identity is of a dynamic innovative tech software developer, which comes with a great drive for creativity.
• The business have made a reputation within their client of going above and beyond in ways other suppliers have fallen short. The company do not sell kit or pieces of equipment. They sell solutions to issues with fleet performance, traffic management, and increasing efficiency and safety in the day-to-day operations of the railways.
• The business needs to strengthen their client development capability and offload this work from the C-suite who are leading on a lot of the more senior customer relationships currently. The company need to secure an individual who can be boots on the ground and drive client consultation from the front.
• The business have a strong and well-established suite of products, they know there is vast opportunity within their client and they need the Head of Client Development to lead on building exceptional relationships with senior stakeholders, consulting to leverage further business opportunities.
• The Head of Client Development will need to be relentless but equally patient in gaining a deep understanding of the business's client and their nuances, consulting with a number of stakeholders to demonstrate how their solutions can bring value to their operation.
• The scale of the business's client is vast and as such, stakeholders struggle to pull together broader operational synergies, the company have gained a broad context to the business and utilise this to present solutions to consistent operational challenges.
• The Head of Client Development will need to work the full sales lifecycle, and ensure they remain heavily involved with the client as they sell transitions to implementation. This will support in building true case studies of success that can be utilised as a sales tool for other stakeholders within our client
• The business s contracts have a tenure of 10 years, however, those contracts are dependent on the products and solutions performance therefore design phase . click apply for full job details