Audit Director, Grant Thornton, Leicester

Directors are the most senior employees in the firm and are expected to support the partners in implementing the firm's strategy. The role requires individuals to take the initiative to develop and implement plans in their area to deliver the firm's strategy. Close collaboration with partners and other colleagues is essential. Directors are expected to role model the firm's values and guiding behaviours. The role is key to providing leverage to the partner team, including developing a high quality team beneath them. They will typically have a focus on one of three broad areas, elements of which may interlink:
- Leading business development within a specific business area;
- Managing and developing a profitable portfolio of client or intermediary relationships, including delivering excellent client service with little or no partner input; and
- Leveraging their deep expertise and specialism to drive a competitive advantage for the firm.

The responsibilities below cover all of the above areas and the emphasis on the various aspects would differ depending on the core focus of the role.

This role will have a significant business development weighting, helping to drive our growth in the East Midlands market, in addition to leading on an existing portfolio of audit clients. Experience of and a network in the East Midlands market are essential.
Job Description:

Markets
Main responsibilities
• actively seeks and capitalises on opportunities to enhance the reputation of the firm through their activities in their business area
• develops and implements relevant service line or location business plans in order to apply the appropriate market strategy effectively in their business area and to generate new business opportunities for the firm, including development of new service offerings and growing existing ones
• builds and manages a focused internal and external network to generate fee winning opportunities in their business area and for the wider firm
• demonstrates excellence in their specific market or technical area in line with the firm's competencies and leverages their excellence through developing thought leadership from which reputation, new services or more effective delivery of our strategy results
• introduces colleagues across the firm to contacts in their network and uses firm wide tools, such as Interaction, to share knowledge and networks
Broad measures/ outputs
• 360° interaction evidences strength in business development activity. Other evidence includes opportunity reports, contribution to campaigns and successful targeting of potential contacts at marketing events
• writes articles/appears/quoted in media/presents at different forums in area of expertise
• achieves agreed sales targets
• leads and supports the conversion of pitches to agreed target levels
• delivery against marketing plans

Clients - delivering distinctive client service
Main responsibilities
• manages day to day delivery of client service and ensures their teams deliver the highest quality of service to clients; maximises client satisfaction by acting on client feedback
• acts as lead on assignments where appropriate, or supports the partner in carrying out this role, seeking opportunities to add value by bringing a broader business perspective
• takes a one firm approach in relation to business development and client relationships to maximise opportunities and leverage for the firm as a whole. Note: audit directors must not have objectives to sell other services to audit clients that could impede our audit independence although they can recommend services in order to meet clients' needs
• initiates regular review of clients in their portfolio using the firm's client service tools (such as key account plans) and implements plans to enhance/protect the relationship
• develops relationships with key counterparts in the Grant Thornton global organisation to enable them to deliver seamless client service to clients operating internationally
Broad measures/outputs
• delivers agreed fee growth from existing client base
• attrition rate of controllable losses less than x clients for whom they are responsible
• evidence of work passed, or support given, to other business streams
• examples where they have used the GTI network, if applicable
• achieves 'zone of affection' rating in client satisfaction scores for clients they take the lead on; where clients are internal, receives excellent feedback
• manages a profitable portfolio of clients or intermediary relationships

People - becoming a magnet for talented people
Main business area responsibilities
• ensures clear objectives are set and communicated for their employees which are aligned with the business unit/firm's strategy
• invests significant time in coaching and developing their team to deliver on their objectives, realise their potential and develop future partners and directors of the firm