Business Development Director

Are you passionate about enterprise selling? Do you want to contribute to the continued success of a fast-moving technology company that has grown year-on-year since its incorporation?  Do you have a demonstrable track record of sales success in SaaS and service-based technology products?

Join the growth story at Iprova

We are an exciting, innovative technology company enjoying real growth, with over 10 years’ experience delivering inventions to our clients, using our data-driven invention software.

We are pioneering the development of artificial intelligence and other technologies which augment and enhance the human ability to invent. Working with some of the world’s best-known technology companies in North America, Europe and Japan, our platform enables the products of tomorrow to be invented faster and more efficiently than has previously been possible. Already, all 10 of the world’s largest tech companies, including Amazon, Apple and Google, reference granted patents based on our inventions. 

Not only do we help companies invent fast, we are also growing fast as we enter a new phase in the company’s development. 

Some of our great benefits include:

• Flexible working arrangements
• Offices in London, Cambridge and Lausanne
• Close association with some of the world’s leading universities and companies
• A culture of curiosity, collaboration and continuous learning
• And, of course, an opportunity to join our friendly and fun-loving team!

The role

This role is for an experienced, yet hands-on, sales professional who is comfortable managing a team whilst also directly contributing sales through their own efforts.  You will have initiative, drive and energy and will enjoy engaging with your potential clients and building positive relationships. This means you must have the ability both to generate prospects and convert leads and to work with the CEO and other members of the senior management of the company. You will need to understand your targets’ innovation and intellectual property objectives and be prepared to work with them to develop an invention creation strategy that delivers real value. Think value creation, plus empathy, plus experience.

Key responsibilities include:

• Building meaningful relationships with and selling to new enterprise prospects and existing clients. Responsible for identifying, sourcing, qualifying and closing new opportunities.
• Lead the complete sales cycle from lead generation through proposal, negotiation and contract award.
• Work with Sales Development Managers, other Business Development colleagues and the Iprova Marketing team to create effective go-to-market and sales campaigns and identify new opportunities for growth.
• Accurately forecast sales against monthly, quarterly and annual targets.

About you

You will be comfortable working in a high energy B2B scale-up and be credible in front of high-level executives in large enterprises.   Most importantly, you must love what you do and have a passion to push the boundaries whilst having fun. You will be ambitious and driven. Mediocrity isn’t acceptable either from you or those around you. You are confident but also self-aware and look to your peers to help you improve.

Essential skills and experience

• Demonstrable and consistent year-on-year sales success in a software and services business.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the Intellectual Property and / or innovation ecosystem.
• Track record of leading the full sales cycle from lead generation through to contract award.
• Management of a small, focused, sales team to hit annual targets.
• Able to lead complex sales, think strategically and tactically; capable of understanding corporate innovation and invention needs.
• Ability to understand relevant client objectives, challenges and problems and effectively articulate how the Iprova solution will address them.

What’s in it for you?

• Real growth potential within a significant established client base.
• Exciting business area focus, ready for major transformation, with the Iprova invention platform pioneering the way large enterprises  bring digital transformation to invention creation and, more generally, innovation – impacting the Intellectual Property, R&D and New Product Development teams.
• Well-funded growth mindset company investing in marketing and business development capabilities.
• Room to grow and develop a global business development team.

Iprova culture

Iprova is a mix of people and backgrounds, from very bright machine learning engineers and invention developers to pragmatic managers.

Across this group there is a common thread – a desire to develop software products and services that enable the creation of inventions for the future, with measurable business value to our clients. If you are looking for a company where you can explore, learn, grow and experiment in an environment that values you for what you bring, then come and have a chat with us.

Our management and staff excel at what they do and are the heart of what Iprova does. As a company, we are big enough to make a real difference to our customers, but still small enough to know each other well, have fun, be flexible and appreciate what each individual brings to the company.

Application

Please send your CV and a covering letter outlining your interest in the position and why you feel you will be suitable to recruitment@iprova.com.

Languages:       English (Fluent)

Contract Type: Permanent, full time

Location:          UK, home working possible

Start date:         ASAP