Business Development Consultant - APAC

Introduction

Cambridge Consultants (CC) is British a fee-for-service organisation that delivers breakthrough innovation and technology consultancy and development services to clients across a wide range of markets, from aerospace to AgriTech, consumer to industry, communications to healthcare. We solve the toughest scientific and engineering challenges and create new-to-the-world technologies, services and products for our clients. We offer deep tech expertise across diverse engineering disciplines (e.g. GenAI/ML, synthetic biology, quantum technology, photonics) to turn cutting-edge science into commercial success.

To support our long-term growth strategy in Japan, we are seeking a Business Development Manager with a proven track record of winning and expanding new accounts, developing streams of business that are predictable and sustainable.

Based in Tokyo, you will join an established team of commercial and technical experts working mainly with clients in the telecom market although potentially in some other markets. You will own the commercial responsibility for developing relationships, both new and existing with key decision-makers in Japan. This role has significant client contact, and you will use your knowledge and experience to drive innovation with our clients. You will work as part of our senior team to define work programmes and develop the commercial approach to bids and work closely with the project execution teams based in Cambridge UK and Singapore to steer projects to drive client success.

You will be able to work on your own initiative and develop your own line of business. Developing key client relationships and repeat business built on trust is the cornerstone of our commercial approach and your responsibilities will include an important element of client management during project delivery.

Responsibilities

• Develop and own our plan for building business in the responsible sectors, mainly in telecom market but not limited to in Japan – exploring possible markets, testing hypotheses of what we could do and testing these with industry stakeholders
• Develop strong commercial relationships with key individuals within client and potential client organisations to enable further sales opportunities
• Drive the sales process from lead generation to deal closure, with project teams that draw on the deep consulting, scientific and engineering development skills across CC.
• Collaborate with CC’s industry sector and technology leaders, and other members of the senior team, to identify and engage in opportunity areas for growth
• Expand existing accounts, identifying new areas where CC can deliver additional deep tech consulting and broader new technology development services.
• Build and represent CC’s business insight through thought leadership pieces and attendance at industry events and conferences in accordance with overall CC strategy.
• Take a hands-on role in proposal development, pitch presentations, and commercial negotiations.
• Work collaboratively with our UK and Singapore based technical teams throughout the client journey
• Interact with teams across the whole of Cambridge Consultants to develop the best solutions to our clients to solve their problems or maximise their opportunities for market gain
• Build and maintain a relevant, deep tech domain knowledge in the areas you’re pursuing business

You will also use your strong industry background to communicate what Cambridge Consultants can deliver to potential clients. Your background skills will also help you to make a significant contribution to the overall direction of development projects, often working on multiple projects at a time.

Our technical project execution team is largely based in Cambridge, UK although they will also be able to travel to client sites in Japan, you will likely be required to travel to the UK to accommodate client visits sometimes per year as well

Requirements

Having a strong industry background in areas relevant to the telecom market with deep understanding of business drivers and challenges in this sector. Your career will likely have included experience in technical sales/sales engineer role. You will have responsibility for developing the commercial side of accounts and projects within this market area and you will possess detailed relevant domain knowledge.

Previous experience of working in a consultancy, or a tech disruptor delivering to the relevant sector or other ‘fee for service’ organisation would be an advantage.

Ideally you will have a successful track record of building business to deliver technical solutions / services in this sector and will have experience developing innovative development work for specific client needs.

To meet the requirements of this role you will have:

• A strong, proven track record of hunting and closing new business in consulting and/or technology development services
• Experience structuring, selling and delivering complex, high-value consulting and/or technology innovation projects
• Strong commercial acumen with significant experience in managing the boundary between technology and business objectives.
• A deep understanding of the latest technical and commercial developments and challenges of the industry
• A passion for helping your clients find innovative technology solutions and for solving complex problems
• A commercial understanding of, and ability to communicate what will add value to our clients’ businesses
• A team focused individual who is always looking for ways to support and contribute to the team
• Experience working with clients in telecom sector selling the type of work we do at Cambridge Consultants (see below for a description)
• Japanese language skills to a native level, English working level proficiency

Developing key client relationships and repeat business built on trust is the cornerstone of our commercial approach. If you are a self-starter, deal-closer, and strategic relationship builder looking to make a significant impact in deep-tech consultancy, we would love to hear from you.

Type of work undertaken by division

Within telecom sector we work with clients to analyse complex network and technology challenges and develop bespoke solutions—combining areas such as RF engineering, data analytics, and embedded systems—through prototyping and into scalable, commercially viable deployments. Often projects start with an analysis of our client’s complex issues, informed by our collective domain knowledge. Following a well-established risk-mitigation approach we then develop commercially viable solutions through technology development, prototyping and, where needed, supporting eventually the manufacture and long-term delivery of equipment and services. The projects often resolve considerable technical challenges and the solutions we develop have a significantly innovative component. We deliver transformative solutions to our clients rather than incremental improvements. We work across the entire lifecycle and ecosystem, from research with start-ups through to major multinationals and Government Departments.

About CC

As the deep tech powerhouse of Capgemini, CC spearheads transformative projects to solve the toughest scientific and engineering challenges, to create new-to-the-world technologies, services and products. We enable our clients to create exciting and novel breakthroughs in technology and products. We help them achieve the kind of game-changing leap forward that will transform their whole business.

At the heart of what we do are talented and motivated multi-disciplinary teams empowered to create cutting edge technologies and systems to solve difficult problems for our clients. Our workforce has broad expertise in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, sensing and data analytics & signal processing as well as radio frequency engineering, analogue electronics, embedded and high-level software development, simulation, robotics, mechanical design, physics and mathematics so we can and do develop complete systems for clients.