Overview:
Oxford Policy Management (OPM) seeks to appoint a Country Director – Europe to provide strategic and operational leadership as Managing Director of our European office. This is a permanent position based in Berlin.
We are an international development consultancy working to improve lives through sustainable policy change in low- and middle-income countries. Our vision is for fair public policy that benefits both people and the planet.
Through our global network of offices, we work in partnership with national stakeholders and decision makers to research, design, implement and evaluate impactful public policy. We draw on our local and international sector experts to provide the very best evidence-based support. We deliver projects with expert knowledge and experience, and can be relied upon for excellence in all aspects of project delivery. We work collaboratively, with ambition, to help deliver impactful public policy that will bring about lasting change.
Based in Berlin, OPM Europe contributes to our mission by growing our footprint with development partners in Europe, in particular the European Union, and the German Government. In collaboration with our network of global offices, OPM Europe develops specialised client knowledge, wins and delivers highly impactful projects, and contributes to cross-company learning. In addition to housing a team of highly specialised bidding and account management colleagues, technical expertise within the office spans multiple sectors; including climate and nature, poverty and social protection, and research and evidence. Working in close collaboration with colleagues around the globe, the team spearheads relationships with our European, EU and German government clients, delivering outstanding work across multiple sectors.
Position Summary:
The Country Director position offers a unique opportunity to steer and develop OPM’s operations and ambitions for growth in Europe. The office has had success in recent years, particularly with a strong pipeline of BMZ (GIZ and KFW) work, and is well placed to move into the next stage of its development.
Our Berlin office houses a highly talented team, comprising bid, project management and sectoral expertise, and we are looking for an exceptional leader to work with the team on building our existing relationships with European clients while driving further success in business development and sales. The Country Director reports to OPM’s Group senior management team via the Director of Strategy and Growth and works in close collaboration with technical consulting and regional leadership teams to shape shared strategic objectives objectives for resilience and growth.
This role leads OPM’s two main European key account management teams, in addition to providing oversight across overall European operations. In charge of expanding a growing pipeline of new work, the Country Director will drive office growth by expanding the client pipeline, ensuring that colleagues within the Berlin office are empowered and enabled to effectively contribute to our mission, whilst maintaining compliance in office management, as well as compliance with bidding and project delivery requirements.
The Country Director will be well-networked within the development cooperation sector, with the ability to engage strategically with funders, business development experts (e.g., bid writers, designers, technical experts), as well as activate a wide-ranging network of technical experts in programme management and delivery. They will expand networks with EU bodies, GIZ, KfW, and potentially other European clients such as DANIDA and SECO. The Country Director will be responsible for further developing our ability to establish and maintain mutually beneficial business development relationships, including with new funders.
A key member of our organisational leadership team, the Country Director – Europe provides high-level advice and guidance across the business, particularly to consulting and leadership teams, on the strategic objectives and operational modalities of our European clients. The role works in close collaboration, across our global, matrixed structure, to set and communicate the vision for OPM’s engagement with Europe, with an understanding of the integral role that OPM Europe plays in achieving our business-wide goals.
Strategic Leadership
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Working closely with the Director of Strategy and Growth to develop and implement European sales and business development strategies that align with overall business objectives.
- Developing strong and effective working relationships with Practice Leads, Senior Technical Leads, and Country Directors to achieve shared strategic goals.
- Designing and implementing our business development strategy, as relates to European funders.
- Developing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the European office; providing regular and ad-hoc reports to the Director of Strategy and Growth and the wider Senior Management Team (SMT) on the progress of strategic initiatives and performance against targets.
Business Development and Commercial Management
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Embedding a systematic understanding of European client priorities throughout business development strategy.
- Cultivating and building networks with client targets, furthering OPM Europe’s standing as a supplier of choice.
- Leading major bidding activities.
- Applying and improving industry best practices in business development and bidding, including standardised processes, gates, and tools.
- Taking responsibility for the priority pipeline of opportunities, driving strategic bid decision-making, and managing overall business development processes, in line with the OPM Europe strategy and budget.
- Sustaining market intelligence and insights by collating information on European industry trends, innovations, relationships, and partnerships, and preparing regular and ad-hoc reports.
- Establishing and nurturing strategic partnerships to drive long-term business growth.
- Acting as OPM’s primary external representative with European clients and partners.
- Implementing corporate pricing strategies and managing contract negotiations to optimize profitability and ensure that commercial agreements align with the company's long-term objectives.
Compliance, Operations and Finance
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Ensuring OPM Europe remains compliant with all relevant laws, regulations, and the company's statutes; monitoring compliance on an ongoing basis.
- Acting as the company’s legal representative and Managing Director ( (Geschäftsführung) for the Berlin office, including as signatory authority for the office and through management of commercial register filings.
- Supervising risk identification, mitigation and management for all in-country and client operations, including as regards tax and legal compliance.
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Ensuring the office is run in a cost efficient and sustainable manner; strengthening financial sustainability of the office through effective budget administration.
- Providing oversight with regards to human resource management and ensuring that we meet our duty of care towards OPM Europe employees and external partners.
People Management
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Leading and mentoring the business development team to achieve revenue targets, foster client relationships, and support broader management objectives.
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Providing effective stewardship to colleagues based in Berlin, who report to other offices.
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Creating an equitable, effective, and enjoyable working environment.
Marketing and communications
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Disseminating OPM Europe’s achievements at client meetings and key conferences.
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Working closely with the Marketing and Communications team to maintain a proactive presence on social media and co-developing social media marketing campaigns targeting European clients.
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Ensuring that all bids submitted to clients are compelling, visually appealing, and well-written, while recognizing that each bid—whether won or lost—represents OPM's brand.
Key Qualifications / Experience / Skills / Behaviours:
Bachelor’s degree with an Advanced Degree (e.g., Masters or PhD), or alternative, relevant professional experience.
Strong leadership skills with proven experience in building, developing, and leading business development teams.
A strategic thinker with the ability to align operational activities with broader business objectives, particularly OPM’s mission to positively impact public policy.
Established networks within BMZ, with a seasoned understanding of its modalities of working and key priorities.
Extensive experience in project and bid management, including project recruitment for EU, GIZ, and/or KfW-funded initiatives.
In-depth knowledge of market dynamics and trends within the international development sector.
A demonstrated track record of achieving revenue targets and identifying and pursuing strategic opportunities within technical consulting or professional services organisations.
Excellent negotiation and contract management skills.
Experience working with project management teams, technical advisors, and establishing networks and partnerships to support teaming strategies and key personnel recruitment.
Expertise in articulating theories of change, developing results frameworks, and designing program strategies and activities.
Excellent interpersonal skills, adept at addressing challenging issues and communicating fluently in both English and German with a diverse range of audiences.
Able to explain complex business and technical concepts in an approachable manner to influence and drive adoption.
Proficient in managing or supervising external suppliers, including payroll companies, legal advisors, financial service providers, and pension administrators.
Familiarity with corporate risk management practices.
Diligent and transparent in the stewardship of company assets and resources.
Experience serving as Managing Director (Geschäftsführung) an asset .
Our Offer:
- We enable colleagues’ capacity to grow professionally through enhanced learning resources, opportunities to work cross functionally, and space to engage with a range of internal and external industry events.
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Our non-hierarchical culture values support, collaboration, intellectual curiosity, and a rich diversity of perspectives.
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We provide an exceptionally generous annual leave entitlement and a hybrid working model to encourage and enable healthy work/life balance.
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Wellbeing resources including a global Employee Assistance Programme and access to the UnMind app.
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Competitive salary and contributory pension scheme.
We are strengthened by the diversity of colleagues across our global business and are committed to being an equal opportunities employer, promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace for all.
Our recruitment practices reflect our ambition to make the international development sector more inclusive and firm belief that our work delivers the best outcomes when we actively include a diversity of perspectives and experiences.
Application:
If you share our vision for fair public policy that benefits both people and planet, we would love to hear from you. We review and interview applicants on a rolling basis and encourage you to apply via our careers site at the earliest.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this role and candidates must have a pre-existing right to work in Germany for their application to be considered.
Oxford Policy Management is committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of the business. Should you require adjustments to make the application process more accessible please inform us through completing this form or scan the QR code below.
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