Business Development Representative

Who are we?

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities - work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering - you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

Job Description

Working for the Howden Employee Benefits division, this is a fantastic and exciting new role in our Business Development Team, working as a Business Development Representative.

Working on our intuitive CRM system, proactively responding to email and web enquiries, making outbound calls to prospective and existing clients to arrange meetings for our Consultants & following up on a pipeline of activities to generate new business and nurture relationships.

You’ll also be working closely with our marketing team, supporting them with campaigns and delivery of great content and advice for our clients and prospects.

Who are we looking for?

We’re looking for enthusiastic, driven telesales professionals who can deliver against targets and generate opportunities for new business. Who are able to demonstrate success in telesales, telemarketing or tele-research roles including setting appointments for field sales consultants.

Who can manage their own workload and pipeline of activities and opportunities and see them through to completion. We’re looking for somebody with commercial awareness and the ability to understand the changing needs of businesses priorities, and the people who work for our clients and prospects so that we can help them provide for their people.

Highly literate with keen attention to detail and competent with Microsoft Office applications. Someone with a sense of responsibility and ownership who can work with minimum supervision

Key responsibilities

The role supports Howden’s plans for business growth and expansion through building a genuine pipeline of prospective clients and accurate data. The job holder will focus on contacting prospects and managing the Customer Relationship Management database. The job holder will ensure that all activities are consistent with Company/Group policies.

Planning and Reporting:

• Manages own work priorities and activities in line with agreed business plans to ensure the achievement of personal and team objectives.
• Manages assigned projects and contributes to other project as required
• Provides relevant management information to the senior manager, as required

Technical:

• Works with data to create an accurate and valid new business pipeline, often linked to specific or targeted campaigns by telephone and/or e mail,
• Manage diaries and schedule meetings for Consultants
• Builds, checks and expands the client database and key contact information
• Undertakes research on behalf of their manager as required

Policy, Process and Procedures:

• Ensures prompt and accurate processing of data/information on relevant systems
• Maintains appropriate client files, and provides marketing information when requested by the client

Environment, Customer Focus and Relationships:

• Actively develops contacts and builds relationships in the market in order to secure new business and identify opportunities for the future.
• Builds and maintains strong relationships with internal stakeholders e.g. marketing, broking teams
• Attends external seminars, forums and events where necessary, to positively represent the company and increase own knowledge and understanding of client priorities, changing needs and market trends. The job holder will actively seek to understand the external professions/trades within which the role has contact in order to engender confidence from prospective clients and an openness to engage.
• Provides support and assistance to senior colleagues and/or their clients on request.

• Responds to the clients(both internal and external) requirements as appropriate
• Behaves with all clients (both internal and external) fairly and ethically
• Shares information that could be beneficial to the Operating Entity/Group

People Management/Personal Development:

• The job holder has no direct reports
• Actively undertakes personal development to ensure up to date knowledge and understanding of best practice

• Remains aware of external, industry, legal and regulatory developments etc. to ensure practice and outputs are of a sufficiently high standard
• Keeps informed of all legal and regulatory developments relevant to the Operating Entity/Group

Regulatory and Compliance:

The Board of each Operating Entity requires the highest standards of corporate governance, operational excellence and financial reporting throughout the Group from all its employees. Specific responsibilities are listed below.

• Ensures compliance of self and direct reports (if any) with all applicable legal, fiscal and regulatory obligations in the form of policies and procedures
• Ensures correct authorisation is obtained and processes followed when required by the Operating Entity and/or Group
• Ensures performance, HR and T&C records are up to date and meet the Operating Entity and/or Group’s requirements
• Maintains accurate records and deals with correspondence appropriately
• Operates in an honest, professional and ethical manner
• Strictly adheres to the Group Employee Code of Conduct
• Completes all relevant regulatory training
• Ensures competence of self and direct reports (if any)

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE

• Experience in a B2B telesales / telemarketing role
• Experience of working within an insurance and client facing environment
• Previous experience of working in a sales or marketing environment is desirable
• Awareness of the regulatory environment and requirements including e.g. FCA rules, data protection, money laundering, specific standards of insureds’ professional bodies
• Knowledge of the market within which the company operates including an awareness of competitors, specific territory knowledge, cultural awareness

SKILLS/BEHAVIOURS

• Is confident and has good communication
• Strong negotiating skills; able to influence and persuade others
• Professional and personable
• Computer literate
• Able to work independently and use initiative - a self-starter who has drive and enthusiasm
• Highly organised, with good planning/time management skills. Is proactive.
• Resilient and calm under pressure
• Strong attention to detail

QUALIFICATIONS

• GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent)
• A levels minimum or tertiary level qualification is desirable

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity - there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

Reasonable adjustments

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application - if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.