About this role
The Senior Business Development Manager – Financial Services is a senior individual contributor responsible for driving sustainable revenue growth and expanding SANS' presence across the UK Financial Services sector, including retail and investment banking, insurance, asset management, payment providers, FinTech organisations and financial market infrastructure. This role is responsible for identifying, developing and securing strategic opportunities whilst building trusted, long-term relationships with senior executives, cyber security leaders, learning and development professionals, and risk and compliance stakeholders. Working collaboratively with the Head of UK & I, the Senior Business Development Manager will execute strategic account plans, lead complex and commercial engagements, and position SANS as a trusted partner, supporting cyber resilience, workforce capability and operational excellence within highly regulated financial institutions. This role requires exceptional commercial credibility, consultative selling expertise and knowledge of the financial services landscape. The successful candidate will act as a role model for professional sales execution, customer engagement and commercial discipline without formal management responsibility. Strategic Business Development & Market Engagement Drive business development activity across a defined portfolio of Financial Services accounts. Identify, qualify and secure complex, high-value and multi-year commercial opportunities. Develop and execute strategic account plans that align SANS solutions with customer business priorities and cyber resilience objectives. Build and maintain a deep understanding of the Financial Services sector, including cyber security challenges, workforce capability requirements and regulatory developments Position SANS as a trusted strategic partner supporting operational resilience, cyber maturity and professional development. Develop relationships across multiple stakeholder groups including CISOs, CIOs, Heads of Security, Risk, Compliance, HR, Learning & Development and Procurement. Identify opportunities to expand existing customer programmes through cross-selling and strategic account development. Client, Relationship Management & Programme Delivery Build long-term, trusted relationships with senior decision-makers and influencers across Financial Services organisations. Lead customer engagement throughout the full sales lifecycle from opportunity identification through to contract execution and programme delivery. Act as the primary commercial contact for strategic customer engagements. Conduct regular executive business reviews to maximise customer satisfaction, retention and growth. Support successful customer onboarding and ensure programmes deliver measurable business value. Represent SANS at Financial Services industry conferences, cyber security forums and customer events. Sales Execution, Governance, & Commercial Discipline Manage the end-to-end sales process, including qualification, solution development, pricing, proposals, contracts and commercial negotiations. Maintain accurate opportunity management, forecasting and pipeline reporting through Salesforce. Navigate complex procurement and governance processes within large Financial Services organisations. Collaborate with Marketing, Customer Success, Product Management and internal stakeholders to maximise customer success. Support marketing campaigns, executive briefings and customer events focused on Financial Services. Ensure commercial governance and compliance throughout all sales activities. Market Intelligence & Customer Insight Maintain a detailed understanding of cyber security trends affecting Financial Services organisations. Monitor developments across operational resilience, cyber regulation and emerging threats to identify new business opportunities. Understand customer challenges relating to skills shortages, capability development and regulatory compliance. Share market intelligence, customer insight and competitive information with colleagues to support wider business growth. Identify opportunities to position new SANS products and services within existing accounts. Commercial Performance & Contribution Deliver agreed revenue targets, KPIs and strategic objectives. Lead commercial responses to RFPs, tenders and procurement exercises where applicable. Build collaborative relationships across SANS to ensure exceptional customer delivery. Promote the SANS brand, mission and values in every customer interaction. Undertake additional responsibilities appropriate to the seniority of the role.