Business Development Manager (Ireland)

The Business Development Manager owns new business for Identity Travel across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, raising opportunities with the strategic sales managers and building a pipeline of travel buyers, procurement managers and contract decision-makers. The role also looks after Identity Travel’s global partnerships through the Lufthansa City Center network, coordinates the RFP process and keeps sales data accurate and actionable. Larger and more complex bids are led with senior colleagues, giving a clear route to developing commercial skills.

New business and pipeline (NI and ROI)

• Identify, research and target SMEs, corporates and public sector bodies across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
• Run structured outbound telephone, email and LinkedIn campaigns to engage travel buyers, procurement managers and contract decision-makers.
• Qualify prospects, run discovery meetings and build a healthy, accurately forecast pipeline.
• Represent Identity Travel at industry events, chambers of commerce and business networks across NI and ROI.

RFP support and process coordination

• Coordinate the end-to-end RFP, RFI and tender process, from logging opportunities and registering on procurement portals to final submission.
• Build and manage bid timelines, allocate questions to contributors across Operations, Implementation, Account Management and Finance, and chase inputs to deadline.
• Draft and quality-check responses using approved Identity Travel content, ensuring each submission meets the buyer’s format, compliance and evaluation criteria.
• Maintain the bid content library, keeping evidence, case studies, policies and accreditations up to date.
• Track clarification questions, deadlines and outcomes, and capture buyer feedback to improve future bids.
• Monitor public procurement portals in NI and ROI, including eTendersNI and eTenders, for relevant opportunities.

Global partnerships: Lufthansa City Center network

• Build and maintain strong relationships with Lufthansa City Center partner agencies worldwide.
• Coordinate with partners to support clients’ international travel and in-country servicing, ensuring a consistent experience wherever they travel.
• Identify and develop two-way referral opportunities, including inbound business from partners’ clients travelling to or operating in Ireland.
• Contribute to joint partner initiatives and shared propositions for SME and mid-market clients.
• Record partner activity and referral pipeline in the CRM and report on partnership value.

Sales data and CRM

• Own the accuracy and completeness of account, contact and opportunity data in Salesforce.
• Produce regular reports and dashboards on pipeline, forecast, conversion, win/loss and bid outcomes.
• Analyse sales and client data to identify target sectors, trends and growth opportunities.
• Maintain data quality across the team, including deduplication, consistent data entry and GDPR compliance.
• Use sales data to improve forecasting accuracy and inform sales strategy with the sales leadership team.

Market knowledge

• Keep up to date with corporate travel trends, competitor activity and supplier developments across NI and ROI, including sustainability requirements in travel procurement.
• Clearly articulate Identity Travel’s value proposition, tailored to each sector and buyer.

General

• Embrace and champion Identity’s values and behaviours
• All other duties appropriate to the role

Experience
Essential

• A proven track record in B2B new business sales, including closing contracts independently.
• Experience writing, coordinating and submitting proposals, tenders or RFP responses to deadline.
• Experience managing sales data and CRM systems (Salesforce preferred), including reporting, forecasting and data quality.

Desirable

• Experience in corporate travel, TMCs or a related B2B services sector.
• Experience working with international partner networks, consortia or referral partners.
• Experience of public sector procurement in NI and ROI, including eTendersNI and eTenders.
• Experience using bid management tools or maintaining a bid content library.

Skills and Competencies
Essential

• Strong analytical skills, with confidence using Excel and CRM dashboards to turn data into insight.
• Confidence engaging and negotiating with senior stakeholders and procurement teams.
• A good understanding of the business environment in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
• Strong written communication, with the ability to write persuasive, accurate proposals.
• Excellent organisation, with the ability to manage several bids and deadlines at once.
• Resilient, self-motivated and target-driven.

Desirable

• Familiarity with travel management platforms, online booking tools or GDS systems.