Director of New Business

We are seeking a Director of New Business to join our leadership team and play a key role in driving Ashton Court’s next phase of growth. In this role, you will lead our new business strategy, build a strong and sustainable pipeline, and develop senior relationships with prospective customers, Microsoft and strategic partners to create and convert high-value opportunities across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure and our wider Microsoft services.

About the Role

This is a senior commercial leadership appointment with direct accountability for acquiring new customers and building a predictable, scalable pipeline of profitable new business. Reporting to the CEO/Senior Management Team, the role is a hands-on new-business leader who personally creates and closes business while building the discipline and operating model for a scalable new-business function. The ideal candidate will shape the strategy, operating model, governance, disciplines and external relationships required to scale a high-quality new logo growth sales function across the Microsoft technology ecosystem, with particular focus on Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure and associated business transformation services. The role must also ensure that every new customer opportunity is approached as the foundation for a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship, where Ashton Court is positioned from the outset as a trusted advisor.  

The successful candidate will bring a demonstrable record of creating and converting complex consultancy and services opportunities, building senior stakeholder and partner relationships, and operating with the commercial judgement, leadership presence and strategic discipline expected of a director level role. They will understand that sustainable new business growth depends not only on pipeline generation and sales conversion, but also on the quality of the relationships created during the sales process and the confidence customers have in Ashton Court as a long-term delivery partner. 

The Director of New Business will provide senior leadership across the full new business lifecycle: identifying priority markets and opportunities, building executive level relationships, establishing a disciplined pipeline, shaping differentiated propositions, leading commercial negotiations, and working closely with technical, delivery and leadership teams to secure high-value, commercially sustainable new customer wins. 

The remit is deliberately focused on generating new logo growth business and acquiring new customer acquisition. Once a prospect converts to a customer following contract award, ownership of the ongoing customer relationship will transition to the appropriate Account Manager through a structured handover. The Director of New Business may remain involved where appropriate in strategic expansion opportunities, major commercial discussions or new market initiatives related to growth, but day-to-day customer relationship management, customer satisfaction, retention and existing account growth will sit with the Account Management team. 

Key Responsibilities

New Business Development

• Set, own and lead Ashton Court's new business strategy and operating model, from market targeting and lead generation through qualification, proposition development, commercial negotiation and contract award. 
• Define priority markets, sectors and target organisations, qualifying opportunities against strategic fit, commercial value, delivery capacity and probability of conversion. 
• Establish and govern a high-quality new business pipeline, ensuring robust forecasting, clear opportunity ownership, disciplined qualification and timely executive reporting. 
• Create and develop senior level prospect relationships through targeted networking, referrals, Microsoft channels, partner ecosystems and direct market engagement. 
• Lead the development of bids, tenders and proposals, taking a hands-on role in drafting, structuring and refining submissions. Work with technical and operational colleagues to translate customer requirements and our proposed solutions into clear, persuasive and compliant responses, and retain overall responsibility for the quality and timely completion of each submission. 
• Lead proactive market engagement, account-based prospecting and executive outreach to build visibility, generate qualified opportunities and position Ashton Court as a credible strategic Microsoft partner. 
• Take executive ownership of new logo acquisition, prospecting and lead generation, qualification, new logo opportunity strategy, sales pipeline performance, new logo forecasting, proposal strategy, negotiations through to contract, Microsoft relationships, new business partnerships and new market development. 
• Work with the SLT and delivery leadership to shape, refine and take to market compelling propositions that respond to identified customer needs, reflect Ashton Court's delivery strengths and create differentiated commercial opportunities. 

Microsoft & Partner Relationship Management

• Build and maintain senior relationships across Microsoft seller teams, partner managers and alliance networks, positioning Ashton Court for relevant co-sell and strategic partner opportunities. 
• Translate Microsoft and partner ecosystem relationships into qualified new business opportunities, clear market insight and commercially relevant routes to growth. 
• Represent Ashton Court at Microsoft events, conferences and partner engagements. 
• Develop strategic partnerships that enhance Ashton Court's market presence, lead generation capability and credibility in priority sectors. 

Opportunity and Commercial Leadership

• Own and deliver agreed annual new business bookings, revenue and gross margin targets, maintaining an appropriate level of qualified pipeline coverage to support forecast performance, with accountability for deal quality, commercial discipline and sustainable growth. 
• Personally originate and develop new opportunities as well as converting leads generated through Microsoft, marketing, referrals and other channels; this is a hands-on new-business role and is not dependent upon an established inbound pipeline. 
• Lead senior discovery, qualification and customer engagement activities, ensuring opportunities are shaped around business outcomes, executive priorities and clear commercial value. 
• Interpret customer challenges at a strategic level and position Ashton Court's Microsoft capabilities as outcome led solutions that are commercially compelling and deliverable. 
• Lead the commercial and customer-facing strategy for proposals, tenders and competitive procurements, coordinating technical, delivery and commercial input to produce responses that are compelling, accurate, deliverable and commercially robust. 

Leadership, Governance and Handover

• Provide executive ownership of the complete new business sales cycle from qualification through proposal strategy, commercial governance, negotiation and contract award. 
• Engage COO, delivery teams and other subject-matter experts at the appropriate stage of the sales cycle, ensuring that opportunities are properly qualified before significant delivery resource is committed. Ensure that commitments made during the sales process are realistic, commercially viable and capable of being delivered within the agreed scope, timescales and margin parameters. 
• Ensure CRM accuracy and robust opportunity management including sales stages, qualification criteria, pipeline reviews, forecasting, opportunity governance, reporting, sales dashboards, sales process, templates, bid/no-bid process, win/loss analysis and sales performance analysis. 
• Provide high-quality executive reporting, including forecasting, pipeline performance, market intelligence, conversion trends and strategic growth risks or opportunities. 
•  Maintain rigorous opportunity governance, qualification disciplines, bid/no-bid decision-making and commercial review processes. 
• Monitor competitor activity and industry trends. 
• Ensure a structured handover from new business to delivery and account management following contract award, including agreed scope, commercial assumptions, customer expectations, commitments, risks, key stakeholder relationships and any agreed transition plan. 

Experience & Skills Required

Essential

• Substantial senior experience in technology sales, business development or commercial leadership, ideally within consultancy, managed services or Microsoft partner environments. 
• Proven track record selling Microsoft business applications, cloud, data or digital transformation consultancy and managed services, with strong working knowledge of Dynamics 365, Power Platform and/or Azure.  
• Strong commercial judgement, including experience of pricing, margin management, contractual negotiation and structuring commercially sustainable consultancy and managed-services engagements. 
• Strong knowledge of the Microsoft partner ecosystem. 
• Evidence of consistently achieving or exceeding sales quotas. 
• Experience leading complex, consultative and multi-stakeholder sales engagements at senior decision maker level. 
•  Strong executive stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build credibility, influence senior decision makers and represent Ashton Court with authority. 
• Demonstrable ability to develop consultative, trusted-advisor relationships with prospective customers, positioning new business activity as the beginning of long-term partnerships rather than isolated transactions. 
• Exceptional presentation, negotiation and communication abilities. 
• Able to articulate how technology, consultancy and delivery capability translate into tangible business benefits and positive customer outcomes. 
• Experience managing CRM based sales pipelines and forecasting. 

Highly Desirable

• Existing network within Microsoft and the wider Microsoft partner community. 
• Experience selling into both public and private sector organisations. 
• Knowledge of Power Platform, Modern Workplace and Data & AI solutions. 
• Experience responding to framework opportunities, tenders and competitive procurements. 

Personal Attributes

We are looking for someone who is:

• Commercially ambitious and results driven. 
• Able to build credibility quickly with senior stakeholders. 
• Self-motivated and comfortable working autonomously. 
• Entrepreneurial in approach with strong business acumen. 
• Collaborative and capable of working across technical and delivery teams. 
• Relationship-led, with the judgement to build trust, create confidence and establish the foundations for long-term customer partnerships from the earliest stages of engagement. 
• Passionate about Microsoft technologies and digital transformation. 
• Committed to customer value, ensuring commercial ambition is balanced with integrity, delivery confidence and a genuine focus on positive outcomes for clients. 

Success Measures

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Establish a qualified, sustainable and strategically aligned new business pipeline capable of supporting Ashton Court's growth ambitions. 
• Increase Ashton Court's visibility, credibility and relevance within the Microsoft ecosystem and priority target markets. 
• Generate measurable growth in new logo acquisition, qualified opportunity conversion and high-value customer wins. 
• Achieve agreed revenue and margin objectives. 
• Strengthen strategic relationships with Microsoft and partner organisations. 
• Improve forecast accuracy and sales governance. 

Why Join Ashton Court?

This is an opportunity to join an established, specialist Microsoft Solutions Partner at an important stage of growth. Ashton Court has strong delivery capability, long-standing client relationships and a clear ambition to increase new client acquisition across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure and wider Microsoft services. The business is built on a core belief that successful consultancy is rooted in trust, partnership and measurable customer benefit, with new engagements seen as the beginning of relationships that can deliver long-term value for both Ashton Court and its clients. 

Unlike a narrow sales role, this Director level appointment offers genuine strategic influence over go-to-market direction, partner engagement, proposition development, pipeline governance and commercial growth. The successful candidate will work directly with the executive leadership team, have access to experienced technical and delivery colleagues, and play a visible role in shaping the next phase of Ashton Court's development. 

For the right person, this is an opportunity to build and lead a credible, sustainable and strategically important new business function within a respected Microsoft partner, supported by senior level access, commercial autonomy, an uncapped reward structure and the opportunity to influence Ashton Court's future growth agenda as we transition into employee ownership. It is also an opportunity to help shape the first stage of customer relationships that can become long-term partnerships, ensuring that sales success translates into delivery confidence, customer trust and tangible positive outcomes. 

What We Offer

• Industry aligned competitive salary
• 33 days annual leave, including bank holidays
• Continuous professional development
• Access to learning resources to support study to achieve Microsoft certifications
• Bonus paid on passing agreed exams to gain specific Microsoft certifications
• Auto-enrolment pension scheme with options to increase your contributions
• Employee wellbeing strategy
• Free flu jabs
• Eyecare vouchers
• Company events
• Free on-site parking.

About Us

We believe in our culture, values and staff successes. We invest in developing our staff and we support our employees with their professional development goals. We strive to offer an environment that provides our staff with the right work/life balance. We offer genuine career prospects: you will have a clear career progression path with the opportunity to become stakeholders within the business as it transitions to an employee-owned company.

This role is UK-based but we particularly welcome applications from candidates within commuting distance of our Northampton HQ, as on-site collaboration and client engagement form part of the role. Candidates must have full entitlement to work and reside in the UK. 

Strictly Personal Applicants Only. Please apply below to upload your CV and cover letter, describing why you feel you are right for this position, together with details of your current and minimum salary expectations, current benefits and notice period. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis; we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Please note we cannot sponsor applicants for a visa. Please only apply if you have the right to work in the UK and are resident in the UK. Ashton Court is committed to supporting individuals with the desire and capacity for long-term career growth and development to achieve their full potential. Because the limitations of a time-bound visa do not align with our long-term career development plans, we regret we cannot accept applications from candidates whose right to work in the UK relies on a temporary, time-limited or dependency visa.

Interview Process

Ashton Court Group is an equal opportunities employer. Interviews are conducted at a minimum two-stage process with an additional stage added for senior or director-level positions. For this role, successful applicants will be invited to an initial 30 minute Teams meeting with a senior member of staff to explore cultural fit. If successful, we will be inviting candidates to a second interview of up to one hour, including an assessment of your skills and experience and may include a technical test. A third 1-hour interview will be with one of our Directors.

Recruitment Agencies

Strictly no agency contact in response to this vacancy. We have a strict company policy to recruit directly. We therefore do not accept speculative CVs and/or cold calls to our Recruitment Team or Hiring Manager.