Business Development Director, Santander

Salary not provided

Expert level

Edinburgh

More information about location

Retail and commercial bank

Be an early applicant

Retail and commercial bank

1001+ employees

B2CB2BBanking

Be an early applicant

Salary not provided

Expert level

Edinburgh

More information about location

1001+ employees

B2CB2BBanking

Company mission

To help people and businesses prosper.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

Experience and confidence in origination, including regular cold calling and targeting of leads. (Required)
A proven track record of delivering results, by winning new Corporate Clients into the Banking sector. (Required)
A strong awareness of the local region and activity of our competitors in the marketplace. (Required)
Degree-level education (or equivalent experience) in a relevant field such as Business, Finance, Economics, or Accounting. — (Preferred)
Relevant professional banking or finance qualification, such as the Chartered Banker Diploma, ACIB, CFA, or ACCA (or working towards). — (Preferred)
Fluent English (spoken and written) — (Required)
Required for clear communication with clients, internal stakeholders, and regulatory correspondence
Additional European language skills (e.g. Spanish or Portuguese) — (Preferred)
Advantageous for collaboration with Santander Group colleagues and clients across international markets, but not a mandatory requirement for UK-based roles
Strong commercial acumen — deep understanding of corporate banking products, markets, and the wider economic environment. (Required)
Digital proficiency — confident use of CRM and workflow tools such as Salesforce, nCino, and Office 365 to manage client portfolios and ensure data accuracy. (Required)
Exceptional relationship management and communication skills — able to engage and influence clients, stakeholders, and colleagues effectively. (Required)
Leadership and coaching ability — inspires and develops others, fostering a culture of collaboration, performance, and continuous improvement. (Required)
Resilient and optimistic mindset — approaches challenges positively, demonstrates adaptability, and promotes Santander’s values and behaviours. (Required)
Ability to lead and support local relationship teams to build and maintain a strong origination pipeline of high-quality businesses. (Preferred)
Highly developed interpersonal, negotiation and networking skills. (Preferred)

What the job involves

The Business Development Team is looking for a Business Development Director based out of Edinburgh
This role reports to the Head of Business Development and works closely with the Regional Director and Corporate Client Relationship Teams as well as Product Solution Teams to drive market origination activity
You will work together to deliver a client-centric approach offering relevant banking solutions for prospect clients at the point of origination, building and enhancing Santander’s market profile and presence within the Corporate Clients segment, and working collaboratively with other relevant areas of SAN UK
We’re shaping the way we work through innovation, cutting-edge technology, collaboration and the freedom to explore new ideas
Working with the Regional Director to lead New Business delivery in the Region
Working with the Relationship and Product Teams to drive market origination activity as well working collaboratively with all parts of the CCB business to ensure deal conversion for the right new business opportunities
Supporting origination of Internationally focussed/ambitious, sustainable, high growth businesses, as well as working with structured finance to originate M&A, or Growth Capital deals
Building external relationships where your knowledge and understanding of businesses and the Santander Proposition is creating a source of differentiation for Santander with prospects and Key Business Introducers (KBI’s)
Playing a leading role in co-ordinating Corporate and Commercial Banking regional origination & market strategy. Understanding the market opportunity, identifying market trends, and creating opportunities. Creating and using client advocacy to demonstrate differentiation
Following an IAM Risk framework, managing all types of risk

Our take

Santander serves 14 million UK customers as a retail and commercial bank. Despite a mixed history, including issues with call centre service, mis-selling PPI, and anti-money laundering control failures between 2012 and 2017, Santander continues to thrive by focusing on innovation, digitalisation, and sustainable, responsible growth.

Recently, Santander has enhanced its digital and mobile services to meet the needs of modern banking customers. This includes the My Home Manager app, which provides mortgage customers with a centralised platform for their information, and increased fraud alerts to protect less digitally literate customers as they transition online. These efforts aim to connect physical and digital channels for a seamless customer experience, positioning Santander to better compete against digital banks like Monzo and Starling.

In addition to these digital advancements, Santander has joined forces with Iberpay in Spain to become inaugural participants in the European Payments Council’s One-Leg Out Cross-border Transactions Instant Scheme (OCT Inst). This initiative is set to introduce global instant transfers, further emphasising Santander's commitment to innovation and enhancing its service offerings in the digital banking landscape.