Head, Business Development
Full-time · Ibadan · Strategic/Tactical level. A leadership role owning pipeline, proposals, client relationships and opportunity conversion.
Full-time · Ibadan · Strategic/Tactical level. A leadership role owning pipeline, proposals, client relationships and opportunity conversion.
The Head, Business Development is responsible for developing and managing our client’s business development function, with primary responsibility for the firm’s pipeline, client relationships, proposals, opportunity conversion and business development channels. The role builds a consistent, measurable flow of suitable opportunities into the firm, converts qualified opportunities into signed engagements, and ensures newly won engagements are properly handed over to Design or Projects.
The role is expected to build a disciplined business development system that reduces dependence on informal relationships, memory and opportunistic enquiries, consistent with our client’s capacity, professional standards and strategic direction. It owns client experience during the enquiry, proposal and post-project follow-up stages, while Head, Design and Head, Projects own client experience during active delivery.
To build and manage a healthy, visible and repeatable pipeline that converts the right opportunities into profitable, deliverable engagements.
The role balances generating and developing opportunities with protecting the firm from unsuitable, poorly defined or commercially unsound ones. Success means bringing in the right projects, from the right clients, on terms the firm can properly deliver — not merely more projects.
The Head, Business Development is one of three Strategic/Tactical function heads, alongside Head, Design and Head, Projects, and reports to the Chief Operating Officer, who provides day-to-day operational oversight. The Managing Director retains responsibility for matters requiring executive approval and strategic significance.
Supports Business Development with proposal presentation, pitch decks, portfolio materials, case studies, project imagery/visual documentation and approved BD communication materials. The Head, BD sets priorities, allocates relevant work and reviews outputs, without compromising the designer’s responsibilities to other approved Company priorities without appropriate coordination.
The Head implements the Company’s approved BD Strategy and recommends improvements based on actual market and pipeline information — identifying suitable opportunities, developing approved growth channels, monitoring the market, identifying target clients, developing repeat-client and referral relationships, supporting strategic corporate and institutional opportunities, and providing Management with useful market intelligence — all within the Company’s approved target markets and growth channels.
Material expansion into other markets requires Management approval.
The Head maintains a structured pipeline in which every material opportunity has a clearly identifiable stage, owner, status and next action:
| S/N | Stage | Description & key actions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lead Identified | A potential opportunity is identified through a recognized BD channel. Record the lead, source, date and contact; determine the initial next action. |
| 2 | Initial Contact | Contact is established with the prospective client or referral source, to determine whether a genuine opportunity exists. |
| 3 | Lead Qualification | Assessed against minimum criteria — genuine requirement, client identity, project type/fit, approximate timing, decision-making position, commercial viability, strategic value. Contact information alone does not make a lead qualified. |
| 4 | Qualified Opportunity | Has passed the qualification threshold. Record project/service type, client, source, estimated value, expected timeline, status and next action. |
| 5 | Discovery / Client Meeting | A substantive meeting clarifies objectives, requirements, site/project context, scope, constraints, programme, budget, decision process and other stakeholders. |
| 6 | Opportunity Definition / Internal Review | BD coordinates with Head, Design, Head, Projects, COO, Finance, ED or MD (as relevant) to establish a realistic, deliverable basis before proposing. |
| 7 | Proposal / Pitch Preparation | BD coordinates client brief, scope, fees, programme, technical inputs, team information, portfolio material, commercial conditions and presentation. Fees, timelines and scope are confirmed with the relevant Head before issue. |
| 8 | Proposal / Pitch Submitted | Formally issued following the Standardized Proposal Template, required approvals, confirmed scope/fees/timelines, proper filing and pipeline record. Target: within 5 working days of a qualified enquiry. |
| 9 | Proposal Follow-Up | BD confirms receipt and follows up on review status, clarification needs, changed requirements, decision timeline and barriers to conversion. Every active proposal carries a documented next action. |
| 10 | Negotiation / Clarification | Client engages on scope, fees, programme, terms and commercial concerns. The Head negotiates within delegated authority and escalates matters outside it. |
| 11 | Awaiting Client Decision | Proposal is sufficiently clarified; pipeline records expected decision date, last contact, next follow-up, known risks and current client position. |
| 12 | Verbal Intent / Preferred Bidder | Client has indicated likely intent or named the Company as preferred provider, but formal engagement is not yet completed. Not treated as secured business. |
| 13 | Contract / Engagement in Process | Client has substantially agreed to proceed; formal documentation is being completed. BD coordinates the process; contract approval sits with the MD or COO per the Delegation of Authority Matrix. |
| 14 | Won / Signed Engagement | The engagement is formally signed and becomes secured business, moving into onboarding. |
| 15 | Client Onboarding / Handover | BD completes its portion of onboarding — contract filed, client added to the Stakeholder Register, project information transferred, commercial and scope commitments communicated — and hands over to Head, Projects or Head, Design per the Client Onboarding Checklist. |
| 16 | Lost | The opportunity does not convert. The reason is recorded where known — price, competitor, timing, funding, scope change, client or company decision, no response, or other. |
| 17 | Deferred / Nurture | Remains potentially viable but not currently active. A future review or follow-up date is recorded. |
The Head ensures every material enquiry is logged with its source recorded; every active opportunity has a current stage and next action; dormant opportunities are identified; lost opportunities are categorized; deferred opportunities carry future follow-up dates; and pipeline information is available for Management review — making pipeline performance visible rather than estimated, and enabling conversion and source to be tracked from actual data.
Business Development owns client experience during initial enquiry, proposal and post-project follow-up. The Head maintains professional relationships with prospects and clients, manages priority relationships, maintains contact with repeat clients, develops referral relationships, identifies repeat-business opportunities, records significant relationships in the Stakeholder Register, and coordinates post-project follow-up within 3 months of handover.
Every incoming enquiry is acknowledged within 1 working day, properly logged and assigned a next action — a formal Company service standard. The Head owns the proposal process from qualification through submission: coordinating preparation, confirming the client’s requirement, obtaining technical input, confirming scope/fees/programme, ensuring approval before issue, submitting within 5 working days of a qualified enquiry, and maintaining records, follow-up and outcomes.
Business Development owns concerns arising within its stage of client responsibility. Concerns are acknowledged within 1 working day, with a clear next step or resolution provided within 5 working days. Unresolved matters are escalated to the COO and matters with reputational implications to the MD. Feedback and complaints are properly recorded, according to the Client Service Policy.
The Head develops strategic relationships that support referral opportunities, corporate and institutional access, professional collaboration, market access and repeat business, recorded through the Stakeholder Register. The initial operating target is 2–4 meaningful new strategic referral or business development relationships per quarter — not a requirement to create formal legal partnerships.
The Head assesses opportunities not only for revenue potential but also strategic fit, client quality, delivery feasibility, commercial attractiveness, resource implications, risk, reputation and repeat-business potential, and recommends declining or deprioritizing opportunities that would not be in the Company’s interest.
| Party | Focus |
|---|---|
| COO | Pipeline oversight, operational coordination, escalation. |
| Head, Design | Design-related opportunity assessment, scope, technical input, capacity. |
| Head, Projects | Construction and project delivery opportunities, capacity, handover. |
| Finance / Executive Director | Commercial and financial input where required. |
| Managing Director | Strategic opportunities, executive approvals, matters outside delegated authority. |
The Head manages the Business Development function and directs the Visual Communications Designer’s BD activities — setting priorities, delegating tasks, reviewing outputs, maintaining standards, monitoring workload, supporting development and ensuring activities are properly documented.
| Frequency | Contents |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Pipeline visibility for management review: new qualified opportunities, active opportunities, proposals in preparation/issued, significant follow-ups, at-risk opportunities, won/lost/deferred opportunities, required Management actions. |
| Monthly | BD performance to the COO: qualified leads, meetings, pipeline value and movement, proposals issued, proposal turnaround, conversion movement, referral activity, strategic relationships, client feedback, significant risks and opportunities. |
| Quarterly | BD information for Management Review: pipeline health, lead-source performance, opportunity quality, conversion trends, repeat business, referral performance, market observations, recommendations. |
The Delegation of Authority Matrix governs approvals.
| May | May Not (outside delegated authority) |
|---|---|
| Manage enquiries and the pipeline | Approve contracts |
| Develop client relationships | Commit the Company to unapproved fees or discounts |
| Coordinate proposals and follow up opportunities | Promise unapproved delivery dates |
| Develop approved BD channels | Approve technical scope without relevant technical confirmation |
| Manage relevant Visual Communications Designer activities | Enter binding partnerships or commitments on behalf of the Company |
| Recommend opportunities and commercial actions | Create financial or legal obligations outside delegated authority |
| Competency | What it means |
|---|---|
| Commercial Judgement | Identifies commercially worthwhile opportunities and recognizes poor-fit opportunities. |
| Pipeline Discipline | Maintains accurate, current and actionable pipeline information. |
| Relationship Management | Develops and sustains professional client and referral relationships. |
| Proposal Development | Translates client requirements into clear, commercially sound proposals. |
| Communication | Strong written, verbal, presentation and interpersonal skills. |
| Negotiation | Negotiates professionally within approved authority. |
| Coordination | Obtains timely input from Design, Projects and Management. |
| Leadership | Manages the BD function and supporting personnel. |
| Accountability | Owns outcomes, not merely activities. |
| Phase | Focus |
|---|---|
| First 30 Days | Review the Operating System, BD Strategy, BD Quick Reference SOP, Client Service Policy, Standardized Proposal Template, Stakeholder Register, Client Onboarding Checklist and Delegation of Authority Matrix. Audit all existing opportunities, establish a clean pipeline, identify dormant opportunities, establish initial lead-source tracking, and build the working relationship with the Visual Communications Designer. |
| Days 31–60 | Establish consistent lead generation activity and qualification discipline; implement the detailed pipeline; establish regular prospect/client meetings; improve proposal turnaround and structured follow-up; begin developing strategic referral relationships and monthly BD reporting. |
| Days 61–90 | Demonstrate a functioning, current pipeline with consistent qualification, proposal turnaround compliance, follow-up and measurable BD activity. Identify the strongest lead sources and major pipeline weaknesses, and present recommendations for improving BD performance. |
The Head, Business Development is effective when: the Company has a visible, current pipeline; qualified opportunities consistently enter it; proposals are produced and submitted promptly; opportunities are actively followed up; client and referral relationships are deliberately managed; business won aligns with Company capability and capacity; signed engagements are handed over cleanly; BD data is reliable enough to support Management decisions; and the firm becomes less dependent on opportunistic enquiries and informal memory.
The ultimate purpose of the role is to establish a dependable business development engine for the organization, without compromising the quality, commercial discipline or deliverability of the work the firm accepts.
Send your CV to recruitments@gfbsconsulting.ng with the subject “Head, Business Development”. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, through official GFB communication channels.
Contact GFB Strategic Consulting Limited for clarification on this opening, or return to the recruitments page for other opportunities.
