Role: Regional Business Development Director - APAC

Location: Anywhere in Asia

Role ID: 2025-3088

Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company, listed on the London Stock Exchange.

With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering innovative cross-sector sustainable outcomes to support energy transition and scarce resources, environmental services together with safe and smart mobility.

Our global team of consultants, environmental specialists, engineers and scientists support our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world

The Role:

Automotive and Industrial is one of Ricardo Plc’s three operating business units and is a trusted global engineering services partner for clean and efficient integrated propulsion and energy systems. Our experience and history over more than 100 years at the forefront of transport & energy innovation enables us to deliver solutions to the most complex challenges, allowing our customers across all global transport & energy sectors to achieve a sustainable zero-carbon future.

An entrepreneurial and accountable business mindset, with a vision and intent for short/medium/long term business growth. Responsible for leading and managing the business development and sales team within APAC.  A successful Regional Lead defines, implements, and drives a growth strategy in the region, and ultimately achieves the volume of pipeline that is required to sustainably deliver the Order Intake revenue targets in region. Working in accordance with Ricardo’s strategic plan, the Regional Lead execute and coordinate the business development plan for the APAC region. This role involves business acumen, strategic planning, stakeholder management, team leadership and mentorship, client relationship management and collaboration with the wider business. The Regional Lead work closely with the Growth Solution heads, as well as with the wider organisation (marketing, delivery, legal, finance) to best deliver their successful business development and sales plan. The Regional Lead has a strong understanding, experience, vision, and appetite to take ownership and accountability to deliver Order Intake through new and established client relationships.

Key Responsibilities:

Provides leadership and direction through Senior Managers and Managers.  Has accountability for the performance and results of a large, strategically important discipline in an extremely large market; and/or related disciplines or a medium-sized function in a large market or medium-sized division; and/or a medium-sized discipline or department in a major region.  Adapts and executes functional or departmental business plans and contributes to the development of functional or departmental strategies.  Decisions are guided by functional or major operational segment strategies and priorities.

• Ultimately owner of the regional order intake and accountable for delivering the volume of orders that is required by the business to ensure a successful P&L.
• Orchestrating and coordinating the Ricardo selling team in their region. This includes their direct reports of course, but also the Marketing and Growth Solutions teams, as well as relevant SMEs and stakeholders from the wider Ricardo business.
• Working with the SVP of Business Development & Sales, the Growth Solution Leaders and the Marketing team, to develop and then execute their strategic sales plans to achieve or exceed the pipeline and sales targets for their region.
• Leading, motivating, mentoring and growing the regional business development & sales team to maximise individual and collective performance, whilst also achieving personal quota.
• Working with the SVP of Business Development & Sales to set and monitor KPIs, provide the business with a robust OI forecast, manage lead qualification and pursuit process to help improve close rates, and drive order intake to meet and exceed order intake goals.
• Being the “voice of the customer” to help identify gaps between the regional market requirements and corporate capabilities and communicating those to Growth Solutions to enhance value propositions.
• Defining, quantifying and selling value (benefits) associated with Ricardo offerings in a way that effectively differentiates Ricardo from competitors in the region, and drives pipeline growth.
• Act and behave as an influential and knowledgeable regional expert, building and maintaining strong knowledge of the assigned region, and providing deep insights into the present and future of the regional market and the targeted/key clients and prospects within it; regularly disseminating such information (via territory plans and similar) to the wider Ricardo organisation; converting intelligence into market/client strategy and tactics.
• Representing the Company at relevant industry trade shows, seminars and associations to promote Ricardo and establish credibility as an industry/market leader.
• Providing proactive, appropriate and timely support to marketing for creation of value selling and competitive differentiation, competitor intelligence, market intelligence, network information, promotional material creation, presentations, special events, advertising, and PR campaigns.
• Supporting a timely and accurate generation of reports as appropriate and requested, ensuring CRM tool is updated and reflects pipeline, and understanding the importance of it for the success of the wider business.
• Very mobile and willingness to travel as needed, to best support the regional ambitions and plan for growth.
• Accountable for ensuring compliance with company standards, audit requirements, company policy and procedures for self and own team (including quality, health and safety, security, IT and information security).

Experience:

• Extensive experience in business development in similar industries, including demonstrated ability in effectively delivered strategy and value selling, with a track record of achieving or exceeding sales targets.
• Strong business and commercial skills with an understanding of financial drivers and shareholder value; solid knowledge of industry-standard legal and business language, including familiarity with contracts, NDAs, IP, payment terms, proposals, pricing, margins.
• Established network in the relevant sectors.
• Lead and work well with people, in a team environment, and to communicate effectively both written & verbal.

Personal Attributes:

Essential

• Very strong sense of ownership and accountability in achieving sector’s pipeline and OI targets, with an entrepreneurial mindset to grow the region as their own business.
• Extensive experience in business development in similar industries, including demonstrated ability in effectively delivered strategy and value selling, with a track record of achieving or exceeding sales targets.
• Professional approach; exudes expertise and credibility.
• Sound strategic thinker; possesses vision of what could be; ability to identify opportunities; ability to close deals efficiently; nimbleness in thinking; initiator of improvements.
• Strong but customer-aware negotiation skills; track record of building high-performing teams; ability to influence.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively multi-task.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills; ability to condense complex issues into succinct messages for both internal and external communication; astute stakeholder management, both internally and externally
• Strong problem solving, analytical and listening skills.
• Ability to handle and maintain confidential information.
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, matrix organization

Preferred

• Master’s degree in engineering or business
• Previous experience of sales management
• Previous experience of leading and inspiring sales professionals to drive results

Working here

You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place.

We will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on.  Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable.

Work life balance 

We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.

Benefits

We want you to know how much you are valued. Your remuneration and benefits package will reflect that. You will receive a range of benefits which include support for your physical and mental health. 

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.

Next steps

Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.