About the role
As a Business Director, you will hold a pivotal role at Manifesto, leading and managing client engagement while driving significant commercial revenue across our not-for-profit sector. In this senior client services leadership role, you will take full accountability for the client lifecycle—from onboarding and relationship management to satisfaction and retention—ensuring measurable commercial success against targets set in collaboration with the business.
Reporting to the Chief Client and Transformation Officer, this role carries a high degree of commercial accountability, overseeing a substantial portion of the company’s revenue. You will lead the not-for-profit division of charity clients and the client services team, shaping and maintaining senior relationships that position Manifesto as a trusted partner capable of delivering exceptional value. By deeply understanding your client’s organisational goals, not-for-profit sector dynamics, and market challenges, you will ensure that manifesto remains an indispensable ally, driving outcomes that align with both client and agency objectives.
This role requires both visionary strategic thinking and practical leadership. You will champion the client's voice within manifesto, ensuring clarity and providing data-driven insights that inform key business decisions. Your ability to strategically steer client relationships, combined with hands-on oversight working with Director and C Suite clients, demonstrating your leadership in navigating their organisational challenges and opportunities with confidence.
To learn more about the role take a look at this video where Lou Lai our Chief Client and Transformation Officer talks through the role and what it's like to work at manifesto in more detail:
Responsibilities
Client Engagement
- Be personable to build trusting and effective relationships
- Have the authority to be the lead contact with senior clients
- Be confident with presenting at Executive and Board level
- Guide and facilitate clients in defining their needs ensuring we set our delivery teams up for success
- Bring together the right combination of people from across the agency to meet client needs, and shape and unlock commercial opportunities
Commercial Leadership and Growth
- Identify and deliver revenue in line with commercial targets
- Support the new business team to successfully win and onboard new clients
- Lead on monthly and quarterly business planning
- Meet revenue and client satisfaction targets
- Carry out regular analysis to review commercial performance and client relationship health
- Lead and coordinate proposals and existing client re-tenders including scoping, technical approach, design, costing, and SOWs
Agency Leadership
- Work with the Leadership Team to proactively solve capacity, timeline and budget challenges across all sold projects
- Work with the Leadership Team to provide commercially accurate insights to inform prioritisation for projects, team resources and allow the agency to make strategic trade-offs
- Work with the Leadership Team to proactively report, manage and resolve client complaints within agreed SLAs
Sector Expertise
- Apply in-depth knowledge of the Charity sector. And ensure the client services team has working knowledge of the sector
- Gather and share insights that the wider agency can turn into sector-specific trends
- Demonstrate an understanding of digital strategy, products, and services in your client sectors
- Build and maintain an active sector network including governing/membership bodies, partners, and agencies including submitting speaker submissions with clients
Team Development
- Work with your team to develop an expert understanding of your client’s business and goals
- Mentor and coach your team to enhance their understanding of their clients and our business offerings
- Ensure feedback is captured and delivered suitably, taking forward key learnings
- Ensure the appropriate delegation of tasks and responsibilities across the team
- Build a culture of collaboration, accountability, and shared ownership within the client services practice
Self Development
- Proactively pursue self-development and training opportunities, and actively work towards the achievement of your personal objectives
- Demonstrate a positive, professional, solutions-orientated attitude at all times
External Representation
- Represent manifesto as a client services and sector thought leader, contributing to external content and public speaking engagements
- Attend and speak at events, conferences, and workshops, showcasing manifesto’s expertise and ethos
About you
Professional knowledge and experience
Essential
- Extensive experience and proven track record in digital experience and transformation agency
- Extensive experience and proven track record of working in the charity sector with a proven network
- Extensive experience and proven track record in leading senior client accounts and relationships at Executive and Board level
- Extensive experience in overseeing the delivery of complex digital programmes
- Strong facilitator and presenter with experience leading meetings and engaging with senior audiences
- High commercial acumen, balancing client objectives with their budget and organisational goals
- Background in supporting new business proposals and pitches, crafting compelling narratives and pitching to new and existing clients
We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds; we must represent the communities we serve. You may have agency and strategy experience, but you may have worked in or had significant exposure to charity, not-for-profit, culture or membership organisations.
We have a hybrid working practice, ideally seeking candidates who are within a commuting distance of our major hubs in London, Bristol and Canterbury. We do not mandate set days in the office; these will vary depending on client and project requirements. We believe in the value of a hybrid approach, with different settings meeting different needs; there will be a requirement for onsite work and face to face meetings with clients and time with your colleagues and plenty of opportunity to work from home regularly.
About us
manifesto
We are the digital experience agency for changemakers. We are committed to delivering purposeful and positive impact for people, planet and society, in restless pursuit of a better world.
We take pride in creating award-winning digital experiences, products and services that are measurably ethical, inclusive, accessible, sustainable and joyful.
Our changemaker clients include UNICEF UK, Breast Cancer Now, The Trussell Trust, Woodgreen, The Royal Academy of Arts, Zoological Society London, Historic Environment Scotland and Fauna & Flora.
Part of the TPXimpact group - a Certified B Corporation™, we are a team of 130 digital product leaders, creative designers, user experience designers, engagement specialists, software engineers and experience strategists.
TPXimpact
TPXimpact is a digital transformation company, and Certified B Corporation™, on a mission to build a future where people, places and the planet are supported to thrive. Combining vast expertise in human-centred design, data, experience and technology, we help the public, private and third sectors with their digital transformation journey, delivering high quality solutions that improve services, experiences and outcomes. We’re passionate people who work in close collaboration with our clients to create sustainable solutions ready for an ever-evolving world.
Benefits include:
- 30 days holiday + bank holidays
- 2 volunteer days for causes that you are passionate about
- working from home allowance
- maternity/paternity - 6 months Maternity Leave, 3 months Paternity Leave
- life assurance
- employer pension contribution of 5%
- health cash plan
- personal learning and development budget
- Employee Assistance Programme
- access to equity in the business through a Share Incentive Plan
- green incentive programmes including Electric Vehicle Leasing and the Cycle to Work Scheme
- financial advice
- health assessments