Main Accountabilities:

• Experience of Development of a robust pipeline of opportunities, and ensuring that internal monitoring documents and market intelligence is regularly updated and accurate
• Ownership of full relationship with our biggest partners in Airports
• An ability to identify new opportunities and carry out detailed research to support a potential business case for investment in respect of new and existing Channels and Markets.
• A detailed understanding and proven experience of account management with existing and potential Partners
• Possess the necessary interpersonal and influencing skills to work cross-functionally with other head office teams including International Operations, Buying, Finance, Marketing, HR, Space Planning and Construction in order to plan and prepare all documentation required for the on-time submission of winning tenders. All the way through from inception to store opening.
• Lead the collation and completion of formal tender documents across multi-disciplinary teams, working closely with the Marketing and Brand Design teams to deliver winning bids
• Preparation and presentation of robust internal business cases including formal board papers to Directors in order to obtain sign-off for capital requests and rental commitments
• Negotiation of contracts in order to ensure the most commercially advantageous terms for WHSmith
• Liaise with internal / external legal teams and landlords in order to negotiate and ensure that any lease documents or contract amendments are properly completed.in line with governance
• Preparation, presentation and participation at internal meetings on subjects including Tenders, Projects, Monthly Management etc
• Assess any competitor or market developments in current and target markets which could impact WHSmith profitability and develop mitigation plans
• Preparation and presentation of tender launch meetings with key internal stakeholders as part of the tender process for new opportunities as well as ongoing monitoring of agreed plans to ensure compliance with timelines
• Ability to disseminate the contents of tender documents issued by new and existing landlords to cascade all of the key information required to internal stakeholders
• Lead the collation and completion of formal tender documents by working closely with the Marketing and Brand Design teams
• Experience of preparing robust internal business cases including presentation of formal board papers to director level in order to obtain sign-off for capital requests and rental commitments
• Negotiation of contracts in order to ensure the least onerous terms for WHSmith
• Leading the process for the renewal of existing leases and contracts
• Liaise with internal and external legal teams and teams and landlords in order to negotiate and ensure that any legal lease documents or contract amendments are completed.
• Identify new sales, profit, income and unit opportunities when visiting our stores, landlords and business partners
• Assess any development or competitor changes to our sites and present clear plans to mitigate any risk to WHSmith’s profitability
• Working closely with the Construction teams on the successful delivery of projects.
• Accountability for the capital expenditure and performance versus expectations of allocated projects.
• Preparation of documents for presentation at approvals meetings and monthly BD Exec meetings

Requirements for the role

• Possess strong commercial business awareness
• Experience of identifying new leads and formulating approaches to potential partner organisations,
• Results focused and with demonstrable skills of securing new business and consistently exceeding targets
• Previous commercial and relationship management experience with partners and landlords would be highly desirable
• Excellent communication skills across all levels of the business including at Executive level
• Resilience and an ability to articulate conflicting own views in support or challenge of a business decision
• Highly professional and capable of being a strong ambassador for the company
• Self starter with ability to work at pace, under your own initiative and within a dynamic environment
• Strong internal and external influencing skills
• Flexibility in the approach to a task and possess the capability to work within a multi-task environment
• A team player who is able to manage workload with colleagues and partners across the UK
• Excellent time management and planning skills
• Demonstrate a high drive for results
• Strong attention to detail and an ability to collate present complex information into a clearly understandable format in a simple straightforward manner
• Flexibility and ability to travel within the UK

What’s in it for you?

We’re a company that values our people; from day one you will receive ongoing support and have access to our various training and development programmes as well as exciting career development opportunities for your future. We offer a wide range of benefits to say thank you for all your hard work including; a competitive salary, a profit related bonus, 24 days holiday plus your birthday off, pension, as well as other perks such as our popular holiday trading scheme. If successful, candidates will be required to provide a valid passport and provide 3 years of continuous educational, professional or employment references. Due to the high number of applications we receive, it is with regret that we are unable to respond to all applications and therefore will only contact short listed candidates.

Key competencies

Communication: can plan and deliver oral and written communications that make an impact and persuade their intended audiences both internally and externally.

 Influencing Others: The ability to gain others’ support for ideas, proposals, projects, and solutions

Building Collaborative Relationships: The ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside or outside the organization who can provide information, assistance, and support.

Forward Thinking: The ability to anticipate the implications and consequences of situations and take appropriate action to be prepared for possible contingencies.

Results Orientation: The ability to focus on the desired result of one’s own or one’s unit’s work, setting challenging goals, focusing effort on the goals, and meeting or exceeding them.