Senior Manager – Advisory Growth & Strategic Accounts

Job description

Deloitte Africa's Engineering, AI & Data business is seeking an experienced and commercially driven Senior Manager – Advisory Growth & Strategic Accounts to support the continued growth of its Advisory practice. The role will be responsible for originating and developing strategic client opportunities across AI, data, cloud and technology-enabled transformation. Working closely with senior practice leadership, account teams and specialist capability leaders, the successful candidate will identify areas of client demand, develop senior executive relationships, shape compelling advisory propositions and convert opportunities into significant consulting and transformation engagements. This is a senior market-facing role requiring a combination of commercial origination, strategic account development, consulting judgement, executive engagement and technology fluency. The successful candidate will be expected to create opportunities proactively rather than rely predominantly on existing pipeline or formal procurement processes. They will play a central role in strengthening Deloitte's relationships across priority accounts and developing new areas of demand around emerging enterprise and technology priorities. Candidate Profile The successful candidate will combine the commercial intensity of a hunter with the judgement and credibility of a senior advisor. They will be energised by creating opportunities, establishing new client relationships and developing markets rather than primarily managing established work. They will be intellectually curious, commercially pragmatic and comfortable engaging across both business and technology. Importantly, they will understand that successful origination in advisory is not simply about selling an existing solution. It requires the ability to recognise an unresolved enterprise problem, shape a distinctive point of view, mobilise the right expertise and convert that insight into a valuable client engagement. Key Responsibilities Business Development and Origination Originate new advisory and transformation opportunities across priority accounts and target clients. Identify emerging client issues, strategic priorities and investment themes capable of creating new demand. Develop client-specific hypotheses and points of view to initiate senior executive conversations. Establish relationships with new buyers, decision-makers and executive stakeholders. Develop opportunities proactively, including where a defined client brief or formal procurement process does not yet exist. Convert early-stage conversations into qualified consulting opportunities with clear client need, sponsorship and commercial potential. Contribute materially to the development and maintenance of a strong and sustainable qualified pipeline. Strategic Account Growth Work with senior account leaders to identify and pursue growth opportunities across strategic clients. Develop a strong understanding of client strategies, investment priorities, organisational structures and key transformation agendas. Identify whitespace across existing accounts and develop targeted plans to access new areas of the organisation. Build and maintain senior relationships across business, technology and functional leadership. Support the development of account-level growth strategies and opportunity roadmaps. Identify opportunities to expand existing work into broader or longer-term client relationships. Coordinate relevant Deloitte capabilities around the client's strategic priorities. Opportunity and Proposition Development Translate complex and often ambiguous client challenges into clearly defined consulting opportunities. Work with subject-matter specialists to develop differentiated propositions and engagement approaches. Shape client value propositions, executive narratives and transformation hypotheses. Support the development of engagement scope, commercial models and delivery approaches. Ensure proposed solutions address the underlying client problem and clearly articulate expected business outcomes. Identify opportunities to connect advisory engagements to broader transformation and implementation requirements. Pursuit Leadership Lead and support strategically important pursuits from qualification through to conversion. Develop pursuit strategies, win themes and stakeholder engagement plans. Coordinate multidisciplinary pursuit teams across relevant business and technology capabilities. Lead or contribute to executive presentations, workshops, proposals and commercial discussions. Support senior leaders in preparing for critical client interactions. Maintain momentum across pursuits and actively manage barriers to conversion. Contribute to commercial negotiation and deal-shaping activities. Executive Client Engagement Build trusted relationships with senior client executives across business and technology. Engage confidently with stakeholders including CEOs, COOs, CIOs, CTOs, CFOs, Chief Data and AI Officers and other functional executives. Facilitate senior-level discussions on business transformation, emerging technology and enterprise performance. Translate complex technology subjects into clear business implications and executive choices. Act as a credible adviser capable of identifying and shaping opportunities during senior client interactions. Market Development Monitor emerging trends across AI, data, cloud and technology transformation and identify their relevance to clients. Work with senior practitioners to convert market insight and thought leadership into commercial conversations. Support targeted client campaigns, executive forums, roundtables and other market-development activities. Identify opportunities for ecosystem- and alliance-enabled business development. Contribute to the development of differentiated market propositions and go-to-market initiatives. Strengthen Deloitte's visibility and relevance with priority executive audiences. Experience and Background Candidates should typically have 10 years relevant professional experience, including significant experience in management consulting, technology advisory, professional services, enterprise technology, strategic account development or complex business-to-business transformation environments. The successful candidate should demonstrate: A strong track record of personally originating and developing new business opportunities. Evidence of converting qualified pipeline into material professional-services, consulting or transformation revenue. Experience developing and expanding senior client relationships. Experience working with large enterprise or strategic accounts. Strong understanding of complex enterprise buying environments and decision-making processes. Experience shaping complex consulting, advisory or transformation opportunities. Strong commercial judgement and understanding of professional-services economics. Experience leading or supporting significant competitive pursuits. Demonstrated ability to work across multidisciplinary teams. Experience operating effectively with senior executives and senior internal stakeholders. Qualifications Master's degree in Business, Commerce, Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Economics or another relevant discipline. A relevant postgraduate qualification such as an MBA or equivalent will be advantageous, but is not essential. Relevant technology, consulting or industry certifications may be beneficial, but will not substitute for demonstrated commercial and client-development capability. Preferred Experience While not mandatory, candidates with experience in one or more of the following areas will be particularly attractive: Management consulting or technology advisory. AI, data, cloud or digital transformation. Building or scaling new consulting propositions or markets. Developing strategic enterprise accounts. Originating significant professional-services revenue. Launching new propositions, businesses or territories. Selling complex transformation programs rather than standalone products. Working across multiple industries or geographic markets. Developing business through alliance or ecosystem relationships. Financial Services, Telecommunications or other large-enterprise sectors. Required Capabilities Commercial Acumen Strong commercial instinct and a demonstrable orientation toward growth and origination. Ability to identify opportunities before they become formal client requirements. Strong understanding of opportunity qualification, pipeline development and conversion. Ability to balance revenue growth with commercial quality and long-term client value. Confidence in developing commercial propositions and supporting pricing and negotiation discussions. Strategic Account Development Strong understanding of strategic-account management and growth. Ability to identify account whitespace and new buying centres. Strong stakeholder mapping and relationship-development capability. Ability to navigate complex organisational structures and decision-making environments. Demonstrated ability to build relationships beyond established contacts. Consulting and Problem-Solving Strong structured problem-solving capability. Ability to create clarity from ambiguous client problems. Strong ability to develop hypotheses and identify the underlying business issue. Ability to translate client challenges into coherent consulting or transformation propositions. Strong synthesis and executive communication capability. Executive Communication and Presence Strong verbal and written communication. Confidence operating with C-suite and senior executive stakeholders. Ability to influence and challenge constructively. Strong presentation and facilitation capability. Ability to communicate complex topics in clear commercial and business language. Technology and Transformation Fluency Candidates are not expected to be deep technical specialists but should have sufficient understanding of contemporary enterprise technology to engage credibly with clients and specialists. Relevant areas may include: Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI Data and analytics Cloud transformation Enterprise architecture Digital transformation Enterprise platforms Intelligent automation Technology strategy Technology-enabled operating-model transformation Candidates should be able to connect these technologies to business outcomes, investment priorities and enterprise transformation. Leadership and Collaboration Ability to lead through influence rather than organisational authority. Strong ability to convene and coordinate multidisciplinary teams. Ability to work effectively with senior subject-matter specialists. High levels of personal ownership and accountability. Strong coaching and team-development capability. Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving and entrepreneurial environment. What Success Looks Like Success in the role will be demonstrated through: Consistent origination of high-quality, qualified pipeline. Conversion of opportunities into material client engagements. Growth within strategic accounts. Development of new executive relationships and buying centres. Strong contribution to major pursuits and improved conversion. Increased penetration of Deloitte's advisory capabilities across priority clients. Strong collaboration across account, advisory and technical teams. Sustainable revenue growth and long-term client relationships. Note: The list of tasks / duties and responsibilities contained in this document is not necessarily exhaustive. Deloitte may ask the employee to carry out additional duties or responsibilities, which may fall reasonably within the ambit of the role profile, depending on operational requirements. Be careful of Recruitment Scams: Fraudsters or employment scammers often pose as legitimate recruiters, employers, recruitment consultants or job placement firms, advertising false job opportunities through email, text messages and WhatsApp messages. 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Their messages may be filled with poor grammar and spelling errors. The look and feel may not be consistent with the Deloitte corporate brand. If you're unsure, make direct contact with Deloitte using our official contact details. Be careful not to use any contact details provided in the suspicious job advertisement or email. At Deloitte, we want everyone to feel they can be themselves and to thrive at work—in every country, in everything we do, every day. We aim to create a workplace where everyone is treated fairly and with respect, including reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. We are committed to employment equity and building a diverse and inclusive workplace across the African continent. Our recruitment processes are aligned with our Employment Equity Plan and the principles of the Employment Equity Act. Preference may be given to candidates from designated groups. 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Harnessing the talent of 450,000+ people located across more than 150 countries and territories, our size and scale puts us in a unique position to help change the world for the better—by bringing together the services we provide, the societal investments we make, and the collaborations we advance through our ecosystems. Deloitte offers career opportunities across Audit & Assurance (A&A), Tax & Legal (T&L) and our Consulting services business, which is made up of Strategy, Risk & Transactions Advisory (SR&T) and Technology & Transformation (T&T). About Africa Consulting Services Deloitte’s Africa Consulting Services has always been about helping our clients and our people move forward. It’s important that we do the same for our business: celebrating how far we’ve come, and always preparing to take our next, big steps towards a global future. We’re moving and evolving on our journey to be an undisputed leader in consulting, globally and in all major markets. Together, we will achieve our aspirations through a relentless focus on our shared strategic agenda.