Inward Investment Officer
Business South is currently recruiting for an Inward Investment Officer to join the team. The role will be part-time initially (x3 days per week) based at the Solent Business Centre in Southampton. The contract is initially for 12 months so would suit someone looking for a secondment to enhance their personal development.
Business South is a business engagement organisation that works with leading employers from the public and private sector including education to collaboratively promote the Central South Region for investment, trade and talent. The Central South Region encompasses the County of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight tipping into Dorset and West Sussex.
You will be a key player in making the Central South of England the best it can be for jobs, trade and inward investment. We are delivering on bringing secure and fairly paid jobs to the region, supporting people to gain new skills, and businesses facing economic uncertainty. We are building on our reputation as a region of innovation and creativity.
The Role
Reporting to the CEO, you will work to support inward investment sector campaigns and international lead generation activity. You will undertake tasks that support delivering new investment and business support activity aimed to encourage businesses to locate and expand in the Central South of England, driving economic growth. Core to the role will be sector and international markets research, support to develop compelling propositions and campaigns to attract new inward investment.
Qualifications and Knowledge – Essential
• Excellent IT and research skills including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and database entry and reporting
Qualifications and Knowledge – Desirable
• Experience of providing a range of business support in an innovative and fast-paced project environment
• Experience of administration in a complex political environment or similar
• Experience of business development, inward investment and/or trade, and international market activity.
• Knowledge of what motivates investment decisions and the drivers of business growth.
• Understanding of the Central South of England’s key sectoral strengths, capabilities and its business ecosystem.
• Understanding of international markets and the work of the Department of Business and Trade.
Experience – Essential
• Managing internal and public, business enquiries by phone, email and face to face
• Use of intelligence and research tools/contacts to support proposals to clients, database support including system administration, designing reports, and analysis of data
• Lead generation, skilled in working in a business-to-business sales and/or business development environment
• Providing business and admin support
• Developing documents and presentations in a range of styles and formats
Key skills
• Excellent written and oral communications skills at all levels, with ability to create reports and presentations to a high standard with strong attention to detail
• Public speaking, able to confidently present information to individuals and groups
• Self-motivated, capable of planning and prioritising own workload to meet deadlines
• Flexible and agile with the ability to respond at pace to competing demands
• Able to work as part of a team and build relationships with colleagues in partner organisations and external stakeholders, with a focus on excellent customer service
• Appreciation of the importance of discretion and confidentiality
• Confident working autonomously as well as part of a small team
• Knowledge of CRM systems
• Driving licence and own vehicle
Key Responsibilities
The role will encompass business support, research responsibilities, and project support in an innovative and often fast-paced environment. The key responsibilities will include:
• Strengthening Business South’s relationships with the region’s Local Authorities by communication regularly with the Economic Development and Inward Investment Officers
• Keeping up to date with Local Government Re-organisation, Devolution and the Mayoral Elections
• Lead generation to ensure a steady flow of new incoming investment enquiries, by supporting the development of bespoke propositions and sector campaigns, gathering intelligence and pro-actively identifying new opportunities. You will use intelligence and research to support inward investment targeted lead generation, business development, and international delegations hosting.
• Triaging and first point of contact for Investment enquiries, dealing with enquiries and proposition requests, problem solving for the public, funders, project partners and other internal and external stakeholders; using initiative and project knowledge to work autonomously and make real time decisions, knowing when to escalate more major issues; inspiring confidence and trust when providing advice and guidance on project delivery
• Pro-actively following up investment enquiries generated at national and international events
• Research as needed to contribute to continuous project innovation, bringing project knowledge to support continuous improvement and create compelling propositions to encourage new investment and business expansion into the region.
• Project promotion, working with the communications team, including developing content for the website, collateral and social media, creating and delivering presentations to stakeholders.
• Supporting logistics and developing programmes for project-wide events and visiting investment and trade delegations.
Competitive Salary
To apply for this role, please send your CV and covering letter to natalie@businesssouth.org
