Role Context:
A mid-management role to report directly into the Director of Telephony & Operations of UK Distribution. The role holder will manage a team of 9-10 Telephony Account Managers, covering either Platforms & Investment (and in some cases a team of Generalists).
Role Purpose:
- To manage the delivery of the new business inflows and market share targets by managing a team of Telephone Account Consultants.
- Set and lead Telephone distributions sales strategies to retain and grow our existing and new client segments, thinking innovatively and creatively about new ways of working
- To provide clear leadership, development and mentoring opportunities to team member
Key Outcomes / Responsibilities:
- Develop and implement the strategic and operational telephony plans to support delivery of the business plan.
- Think innovatively generating new, creative ways of working and achieving our goals.
- Lead new business and retention strategies, priorities, proposition development and best deployment of resources to deliver plan as appropriate to contribute to the overall business plan.
- Produce team business plans setting out sales targets and tactics for your business, and identifying the key tactics and resource required to meet those targets.
- Work as one team across the regional model to set the pace, motivate and take ownership for delivering the growth plan
- Establish effective relationships with Head of Regions for both Investments & Platforms working as one team to ensure resources are flexed to meet customer & business needs and delivering the strategy.
- Develop highly effective relationships with the key accounts team to maximise business opportunities
- Help manage key relationships across the industry to shape thinking and practice on key Adviser issues and to understand and influence common issues and best practice
- Lead, coach, develop and performance manage teams to achieve or exceed published business targets and enhance individual skills, performance and engagement
- Define, cascade and control (through Salesforce) the list of target clients within segments for team engagement
- Implement effective resource deployment to point the most capable team members at the highest priority clients
- Ensure engagement with known and unknown clients based on potential opportunity
- Educate team members to a high level on Platforms (Wrap & Elevate) or Investments (ASI funds), or both – for Generalists.
- Consider new ways of working, new sales tactics and new opportunities for new channel engagement which embrace technological developments (contributing to a Distribution Digital strategy)
- Support the development and implementation of a digital distribution strategy driving greater client engagement, lead generation and more effective ways of working.
- Coach & Develop team members through mentoring, articulation of stretch targets and the adoption of appropriate training programmes
- Analyse and use management information to initiate and direct team activities to achieve new business targets, and for reporting purposes
- Ensure compliance guidelines are adhered to within team, to protect Standard Life Aberdeen’s reputation
- Gather competitor and intermediary intelligence and share with other divisions (e.g. Marketing and Propositions) to influence and negotiate the development of Standard Life's selling proposition
- Represent the Director of Telephony & Digital Distribution, Key Account and Regional Account managers at forums internal and external where required
Role Specific Skills and Knowledge:
- Strong leadership experience and qualities to lead a fast-paced team through a changing and challenging market
- A good understanding of the UK Wholesale market, and an appetite to remain on top of market changes
- Experience in Telephony sales account management, and/or a good understanding of the success criteria/challenges of a sales account manager
- A high level of understanding, and be able to articulate, of both the Platform & Investments propositions
- Managing and motivating the performance of people to achieve the production targets
- Establishing and managing internal and external relationships and network of contacts to achieve team targets
- Managing the many demands on time to ensure the focus is maintained on the right things
- Implementing and managing change in response to industry or corporate objectives
- Negotiating the best deal for Standard Life Aberdeen when faced with strong competitive pressures
- Balancing the needs of the Intermediary's with the needs of Standard Life Aberdeen
- Maintaining a demanding working lifestyle which impacts on work/life balance
Qualifications:
- Undergraduate Degree (or equivalent)
- IMC and/or Diploma in Financial Planning
Competencies (if using):
- Delivering Results
- Innovation & Creativity
- Leading People
- Build Relationships
- Commerciality
- Customer At The Heart
- Customer Engagement, Retention and Growth Level 5
- Laws, Regulations and standards
- Market and Industry Knowledge
- Proposition Knowledge