Strategic Lead – Technology & Services Vacancy

We are looking for a Strategic Lead – Technology & Services to drive high-impact inward investment into the West Midlands across the Technology and Services sectors. This senior leadership role involves developing and executing business development strategies, managing strategic investment projects, and building strong relationships with key stakeholders, intermediaries, and investor companies. Leading a team of sector specialists, the role will champion the region’s value proposition, attract high-quality job-creating investments, and ensure WMGC’s contribution aligns with regional economic priorities and sector growth opportunities.

Main responsibilities and key activities

• Lead a team of sector specialists to translate the strengths of, and opportunities within, the West Midlands, into compelling (and where appropriate, highly tailored) value propositions to attract job creating investment within the Technology & Services spectrum, from key global and domestic investment markets.
• Lead, develop and implement an effective business development strategy, focused heavily on intermediary relationships and direct business engagement, to build and progress a pipeline of regional investment prospects, with the objective of securing successful new investment and the expansion of existing employers in line with the WMGC’s key service level agreements.
• Generate and manage a pipeline of inward investment enquiries involving new and expansion projects with key measures around investment projects influenced/ generated and secured, and associated new direct jobs created.
• Take a lead role in account management of strategic businesses specific to the sector across the WMCA geography in collaboration with local partners, with the aim of generating business growth and securing expansion projects.
• Provide consultative support and sector expertise to the Head of Inward Investment, WMGC’s Leadership Team and other functions within the WMGC, when required and in accordance with WMGC’s wider strategic objectives.
• Identify commercial and revenue generating opportunities for commercial partners of the WMGC, within the Technology & Services sector and engage them, where appropriate, to play a supporting (and mutually beneficial) role in attracting inward investment into the WMCA region.
• Work closely with and influence key stakeholders located within and externally to the region (including Local Authorities, Universities, property developers, industry bodies and other stakeholder groups to raise the profile of and enhance the perceived attractiveness of the region’s offer to potential investors and to stimulate incremental investment by local firms within the sector.
• Work closely with the senior management team at the West Midlands Growth Company to ensure consistent and effective achievement of contract objectives, providing flexible support to ensure the team targets are achieved.
• Forge and develop effective relationships across and between the public and private sectors within the WMCA and neighbouring geographies. Build influence to become the natural ‘go to’/consultative investment lead for WMCA, when initiating or carrying out strategic initiatives. 
• Undertake planned marketing and lead generation activities both nationally and internationally, where there is a strong strategic rationale to do so. 
• Make efficient use of CRM systems and processes to record, monitor, review and refine business development strategies, together with marketing and communications programmes to fully exploit business opportunities both for the business and for the wider benefit of the region.
• Take line management responsibility for a team of business developers to include; recruitment, communication and engagement, performance management, development and coaching activities.
• Mentor and support other team members across the business to ensure key investment opportunities and nuances of the sectors are understood and can be communicated to external stakeholders in a manner that supports delivery of WMGC’s strategic objectives.

Next steps?