Business Development Specialist at The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL)

POSITION OBJECTIVE

As the Business Development Specialist, your role will be to devise business development and product and commercial services analysis strategies and implementation plans that articulate the approach to achieving defined strategic objectives. In addition, your role will involve being responsible for devising execution plans for new markets and revenue opportunities, including defining product visions, strategies, and roadmaps, managing the cost center, and monitoring financial performance. Your role will also require conducting financial, commercial, and business analysis to help support the development of and quantification of the potential business benefits to be derived from opportunities and to assess/forecast project and company performance. Monitoring of global and local trends in the identified market sectors, performing due diligence and risk analyses; and instituting strategic and/or tactical changes where required to achieve the strategic objectives.  

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s Degree or Advanced Diploma in Business Development, Economics or Finance or Marketing or equivalent NQF 7 qualification.
• 5 years min relevant experience in a similar environment.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

KNOWLEDGE

• Technical strategy knowledge: Knowledge and understanding of best practice and commonly used strategy development tools and techniques.
• Governmental landscape and regulations    Knowledge and understanding of the local governmental landscape and the regulatory and legislative operating environment.

SKILLS

• Communication skills: Good interpersonal skills, people skills, organising and communication skills and ability to communicate and interact effectively with all levels of the organisation.
• Relationship Building: Ability to build and manage meaningful relationships with employees, business leadership and external stakeholders.
• Influencing skills: Ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Critical thinking: Ability to objectively analyse and evaluate issues and factual evidence in order to form judgements.
• Research skills: Ability to search for, locate, extract, organise, evaluate and use or present information that is relevant to a particular topic.
• Business case development: Ability to define and evaluate business cases, including cost benefit analysis and investment appraisals.
• Financial/Commercial analysis: Ability to analyse and interpret financial data to produce statistical information and reports used to assess past and present, and forecast future, performance of projects and/or the company. Understanding of financial modelling and product development along with Sales and Marketing.
   

ATTRIBUTES

• Collaborative: Leveraging skills and capabilities across the organisation to solve problems and working effectively as a team by ensuring inclusiveness. 
• Proactive: Taking action that is forward looking by anticipating the outcomes of scenarios, not only reacting as and when issues arise.
• Adaptable: Ability to adjust to align to different situations and new sets of information.
• Innovative: Introducing new and original ideas to solve problems and suggest new ways of working and engaging with stakeholders to achieve the desired outcome.
• Planner: The sequencing of activities, setting goals, and anticipating the future.
• Commercial and financial acuteness: An inclination towards the financial, economic and risk related ramifications and impact of decisions as well as an appreciation for value maximisation.
• Detail oriented: Ability to pay close attention to detail.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Business development strategy and planning 

• Assist with and provide input into the development of an enterprise-wide strategic plan that leverages the long-term business strategic objectives. 
• Propose (business development) initiatives to support the implementation of the strategic plan.
• Develop, in collaboration with the GM Business Development, a business development strategy to identify and develop new markets and sales opportunities. 
• Develop, in collaboration with the GM Business Development, strategies for product and services; and commercial analysis and associated implementation plans that detail the approach to achieving defined strategic objectives.
• Assist with the establishment of measurement criteria to monitor implementation and provide input in updating the business development strategy and monitoring economic and financial performance.
• Monitor and report on predefined measurement criteria and recommend or co-create corrective actions where necessary.

Business development and market research

• Continuously research, in collaboration with the Market Research and Analytics Specialist, and identify new markets and revenue opportunities for SANRAL.
• Develop, in conjunction with relevant cross-functional internal stakeholder teams, detailed execution plans for exploiting new markets and revenue opportunities identified.
• Define the product strategic plan, which outlines the essence of the product/service; the product strategy, including market analysis and customer acquisition and retention and the product roadmap that documents the plan to deliver key features over time.
• Maintain competitor awareness to maximise penetration in markets held by the competition and foster partnerships with new and existing stakeholders.
• Provide consultation and technical assistance, including market plans, business/commercial evaluations, etc., to any SANRAL programmes geared towards business development.
• Conduct extensive market research to keep track of competitors’ product developments and marketing strategies, as well as identifying purchase patterns and emerging trends.

Financial/Commercial analysis and business case development

• Conduct the financial, commercial and business analysis required to support the development of strategic initiatives that aim to drive business development, business improvement and/ or support the realisation of the overarching business strategy. 
• Collaborate with the Market Research and Analytics Specialist to utilise research and insights gathered across various market factors, including technological and economic, to assist with the evaluation, prioritisation and recommendation of new markets and revenue opportunities.
• Quantify the potential benefits of leveraging opportunities and/ or mitigating against potential risks identified through an understanding of the operational landscape, including technology, stakeholder, market, and regulatory drivers.
• Combine understanding of operational landscape and market factors with analysis and interpretation of business financial data to produce statistical information used to assess past and present, and forecast future, financial performance, or projects and/or the business.
• Compile necessary monthly and quarterly reports for finalisation by the GM Business Development
• Compile and manage the operational risk register and give inputs where necessary on the Strategy Risks relevant to Business Development.