Business Head

BUSINESS HEAD

Client Success | Business Development | P&L Ownership | Business Growth

Role Title

Business Head

Function

Business Leadership — Cross-Functional

Reporting To

CEO / Founder

Location

New Delhi, India (HQ)

Employment Type

Full-Time | Senior Leadership

Experience Required

15–20 years in commercial / leadership roles

Industry Background

Any B2B service, consulting, SaaS, BFSI, media, or professional services

Digital Background

Not mandatory — added advantage if present

About the Role

The Business Head is a senior cross-functional leadership role responsible for driving the commercial engine and strategic growth of a fast-growing digital marketing agency. We are looking for a sharp business leader who deeply understands client success, revenue growth, and comprehensive P&L management.

If you have built client success functions, owned P&Ls, and closed enterprise deals — this role is for you. Digital marketing knowledge is an added advantage; we will invest in onboarding you to the domain.

Key Areas of Ownership

1. Client Success —Retention, Health & Expansion

• Own the CS function end-to-end: team structure, SLAs, processes, and performance accountability

• Track and improve NRR, GRR, churn rate, CSAT, and account health metrics across all tiers

• Build and enforce cadences for account reviews, escalation handling, and proactive risk management

• Drive a culture shift from reactive account management to strategic, consultative client advisory

• Own the upsell and cross-sell pipeline — structured identification, pursuit, and conversion

• Govern CS matrix: account classification tiers, ownership assignments, and SLA standards by account type

2. Business Development — Full Cycle Ownership

• Own the complete BD cycle: outreach → lead assignment → presales → pitch → commercial approval → closure

%E6; Define ICP, outreach strategy, and lead sourcing channels

%E6; Enforce pipeline hygiene and lead assignment governance across the BD team

%E6; Approve all presales strategies and commercial proposals before client delivery

%E6; Personally lead high-value, enterprise-level pitches

%E6; Drive commercial negotiation and deal closure with full authority

• Set BD team targets, win-rate benchmarks, and conversion standards

• Take pricing and packaging decisions — discounting authority, deal structuring, custom mandates

3. P&L, Budgeting & Financial Governance

• Own full agency P&L — revenue, cost, margins, and EBITDA across all departments

• Lead annual budgeting and quarterly reforecasting across CS, BD functions

• Govern debtor management: collections discipline, DSO targets, invoicing accuracy

• Identify and address revenue leakage, under-billing, and scope creep commercially

• Build and maintain CEO-level MIS: revenue by account, cost by department, margin by service line

• Build investment cases for headcount, tooling, and infrastructure additions

4. Business Growth & Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute the annual revenue growth plan — new business and account expansion

• Identify new verticals, service lines, and market opportunities to grow the business

• Represent the agency in high-value client conversations, partnerships, and industry forums

• Build a second leadership tier — develop CS heads, BD leads, and KADs to own their functions

• Present structured business reviews to the CEO with forward-looking growth roadmaps

Key Performance Indicators

Area

Metric

Client Success

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Client Success

Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)

Client Success

CSAT / NPS Score

BD

New Business Win Rate

BD

Pipeline Coverage Ratio

Upsell / CS

Expansion Revenue

Finance

Debtor Days (DSO)

Finance

P&L vs Budget Variance

Qualifications & Experience

Must-Have

• 12–18 years in commercial leadership — any B2B service, Digital Marketing ,consulting, SaaS, BFSI, media, or professional services industry

• Demonstrated P&L ownership — budgeting, margin management, collections oversight

• Proven CS leadership: NRR growth, churn management, team building, account health governance

• Full-cycle BD track record: outreach to closure, enterprise pitching, commercial deal authority

• Operational mindset: has built or improved processes, enforced SOPs, driven cross-functional efficiency

• People leadership: managed and developed multi-function teams (CS, BD)

• Commercially sharp: pricing decisions, cost-benefit analysis, investment case building

Added Advantage

• Prior exposure to digital marketing, performance agency, SEO, or content services environment

• Familiarity with digital service lines: SEO, Paid Media, Content, AI Search / GEO

• Experience in BFSI, Healthcare, or B2B enterprise client segments

• Network among senior marketing decision-makers: CMOs, VP Marketing, Heads of Digital

• Experience building a CS or BD function from scratch in a growing agency

30 / 60 / 90 Day Plan — Department-by-Department

The following plan defines what the Business Head is expected to understand, prioritise, and deliver across each department within the first three months. This is not a generic onboarding plan — it is a department-level operating roadmap that sets expectations from Day 1.

DAYS 1–30 | Listen, Audit & Understand

Department

Priority Actions

Success Marker

Client Success

Meet all KAMs and KADs. Audit top 20 accounts — revenue, health score, relationship strength, and risk flags. Understand CS org structure, team gaps, and current SLA framework.

Full account health map complete. At-risk accounts flagged. CS team capability assessed.

Business Development

Review full BD pipeline — stage-wise and owner-wise. Understand current ICP, pitch decks, win/loss patterns, and lead source mix.

Pipeline audit done. Win rate and funnel drop-off points identified.

P&L & Finance

Review last 3 months P&L, invoicing status, debtor ageing report, and budget vs actuals. Understand revenue recognition and billing workflow.

Clear revenue health picture. Pending collections and budget gaps documented.

People & Structure

Meet all department heads and senior team members. Understand org design, reporting lines, bandwidth gaps, and priority open hires.

Org clarity achieved. Priority hires and structural gaps documented for Management’s review.

DAYS 31–60 | Stabilise, Fix & Build Momentum

Department

Priority Actions

Success Marker

Client Success

Implement account review cadence. Personally intervene on top 3 at-risk accounts. Launch upsell conversations on 5+ accounts. Define CS SLA framework by account tier.

First retention wins visible. Upsell pipeline initiated. CS review cadence running.

Business Development

Fix pipeline hygiene — enforce stage definitions, update CRM. Attend and review 2–3 live pitches. Improve presales proposal quality with structured feedback loop.

Pipeline cleaned. Pitch quality improving. First collaborative closures in motion.

P&L & Finance

Initiate structured debtor follow-up. Fix known billing gaps. Set up monthly P&L review cadence with finance. Build department-level cost view.

DSO improving. Monthly MIS structure in place. Budget vs actual tracking operational.

People & Structure

Define performance expectations for all direct reports. Initiate critical open hires. Begin structured weekly 1:1s across CS and BD leads.

Performance framework set. Hiring pipeline moving. Leadership team aligned on priorities.

DAYS 61–90 | Own It, Scale It & Deliver Results

Department

Priority Actions

Success Marker

Client Success

Full CS function ownership. NRR trend stabilised or improving. CS playbooks documented and adopted. Upsell pipeline generating first revenue.

NRR improving. CS team operating independently. First expansion revenue booked.

Business Development

Own BD pipeline with full commercial authority. Close first 1–2 new accounts. BD team operating with clear targets, pipeline governance, and weekly review rhythm.

BD win rate on track. New revenue added to base. Pipeline coverage at 3x.

P&L & Finance

Full P&L accountability live. Budget variance within target. Debtor book reducing. CEO-level MIS delivered proactively on a monthly cadence.

P&L within budget. Collections improving. Financial discipline established across the org.

People & Structure

All direct reports performing against defined KPIs. 6-month growth plan ready. Full business review presented to CEO with clarity and confidence.

Org fully operating under COB ownership. Next 6-month plan locked and ready to execute.

Leadership Competencies

Commercial Ownership

Treats the P&L like it is their own business. Revenue, margins, and collections are never someone else's problem.

Client-First Thinking

Builds trust before pitching. Knows the difference between managing an account and genuinely owning a relationship.

Operational Rigor

Finds inefficiency and eliminates it. Builds systems that scale, not workarounds that create the next problem.

BD Drive

Loves the chase. Comfortable from the first pitch to the final close. Does not hand off at the hard part.

Data-Driven

Runs on numbers. Tracks what matters. Builds dashboards before anyone asks for them.

Team Multiplier

Makes people around them better. Develops leaders below, not just manages tasks above.