Head of Growth, Benelux & Nordics (Experience & Engineering)
Amsterdam/Rotterdam, hybrid
DEPT® is a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, our 4,000+ specialists deliver growth invention services across Brand & Media, Experience, Commerce, CRM, and Technology & Data. We’re 50|50 tech and marketing, partner-led, and first to move. Clients include Google, Lufthansa, Meta, eBay, and OpenAI. We have been certified B Corp and Climate Neutral since 2021.
This role is part of our Experience & Engineering team based in the Netherlands. We combine our skills in developing future-ready technical solutions with our expertise in creating beautiful designs to deliver exceptional and engaging digital experiences that build lasting relationships with our clients like Gant, Inter Milan, bol.com and Just Eat Takeaway.
ROLE OVERVIEW
The Head of Growth is a senior commercial leader within our Experience & Engineering business, responsible for creating, shaping and converting high-value technology opportunities across Benelux and the Nordics.
This role goes beyond traditional business development. You will combine strong commercial instincts with a solid understanding of digital technology to identify client needs, shape strategic opportunities and lead complex pitches from first conversation through to close.
You will work across areas including digital experience platforms, commerce, web engineering, data and integrations and AI / agentic engineering.
A key part of the role is acting as the commercial orchestrator on strategic opportunities: understanding the real client problem, defining the win strategy, bringing together the right experts and ensuring that DEPT® presents a clear, differentiated and commercially compelling point of view.
You do not need to be the deepest technical expert in the room, but you must understand technology well enough to challenge both clients and internal teams, ask the right questions and confidently lead senior conversations with CDOs, CTOs, CIOs and other digital leaders.
JOB PURPOSE
As part of the Growth team, your role is to accelerate growth across Experience & Engineering by creating demand, shaping high-value technology opportunities and converting them into sustainable revenue growth.
You will combine commercial drive, strategic thinking and technology fluency to build senior client relationships and create differentiated opportunities for DEPT®.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Opportunity creation & growth
- Proactively identify and create high-value opportunities across new and existing clients.
- Build a strong pipeline through senior relationships, market intelligence, partnerships, outbound activity and account development.
- Identify transformation triggers and commercial white space before formal briefs or RFPs emerge.
- Drive net new business as well as strategic cross-sell and upsell opportunities.
- Lead commercial negotiations and help shape scope, pricing and commercial models through to close.
Strategic pitch & opportunity leadership
- Independently lead complex technology pitches from initial client conversation and qualification through to final presentation, negotiation and close.
- Define the win strategy, strategic direction, core narrative and commercial storyline for priority opportunities.
- Quickly get to the heart of complex client challenges and translate them into a clear and differentiated pitch direction.
- Determine which capabilities, experts and disciplines are required and bring together the right multidisciplinary team around the opportunity.
- Challenge and steer input from strategists, technologists, architects, designers and delivery experts to create one coherent client story.
- Maintain ownership of the commercial narrative throughout the opportunity, while knowing when deeper specialist expertise is required.
- Create momentum, clarity and accountability throughout the pitch process and raise the overall quality of our strategic opportunities.
Growth leadership
- Lead, coach and develop members of the E&E Growth team.
- Raise the standard of qualification, pitch leadership, pipeline management and commercial discipline.
- Partner with VP Growth and E&E leadership on go-to-market strategy and priority propositions.
- Maintain accurate forecasting and strong Salesforce discipline.
WHAT YOU'LL BRING
- Proven track record of originating, shaping and closing complex, bespoke technology services opportunities in an agency, digital consultancy or technology services environment.
- Strong knowledge of digital transformation, with experience developing joint sales and partner-led growth strategies with key technology platforms such as Adobe, Shopify and Optimizely.
- Strong ability to quickly understand and challenge complex client needs, identify the underlying business and technology problem and translate this into a clear strategic opportunity and pitch direction.
- Sufficient technology fluency to independently lead the majority of an initial client conversation, while knowing when deeper specialist expertise needs to be brought in.
- Proven ability to independently lead large, complex and multidisciplinary pitches from qualification through to close.
- Ability to develop and own the core pitch narrative, win themes and commercial storyline, rather than relying on strategy or technology specialists to provide the initial direction.
- Ability to operate credibly with CDOs, CIOs, CTOs and other senior digital stakeholders, using a strong consultative selling approach.
- Ability to orchestrate multidisciplinary teams across strategy, technology, design and delivery and turn specialist input into one coherent client proposition.
- Strong commercial judgement and qualification discipline, with the confidence to prioritise, make decisions and focus teams on the opportunities with the greatest potential.
- Ability to create momentum, take ownership and bring people with you in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment.
- Agency experience is highly preferred; candidates from adjacent environments should be able to demonstrate equivalent experience working on complex, bespoke solutions in fast-paced, multidisciplinary pitch and client settings.
WE OFFER
- A flexible, hybrid working policy (2-3 days from the office, depending on location) and the opportunity to work from abroad for 13 weeks a year.
- 24 vacation days per year and the possibility to buy an unlimited number of extra vacation days.
- DEPT®/YOU Learning Menu and DEPT®/YOU Special Programs. Develop your skills with courses and programs tailored to your needs.
- Stay happy and healthy with a contribution to your health through the OpenUp platform, gym and wellness discounts, and healthy lunches at the office.
- Get a discount on your lease bike and ride in style. You can also enjoy hassle free-commutes with an NS Business Card.
- A reputation for doing good. DEPT® has been a Certified B Corp® since 2021, has been named a Great Place To Work since 2022 in the Netherlands and named ‘Agency of the Year’ at both The Lovies and The Webby Awards.
- Awesome clients. Whether big, small, local or global — at DEPT® you’ll get the opportunity to work with all of them. And we celebrate all of our successes together!
- The opportunity for possibility. We want to enable you to do what you do best and help you develop your skills further with training, development and certifications.
- Global annual DEPT® Cares Month in which employees come together and donate their skills to support local charities.
- You can discover even more employee benefits here.
WHY DEPT®?
We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA.
We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter.
At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives.
Not sure you meet all qualifications? Apply, and let us decide! Research shows that women and members of underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs when they think they may not meet every requirement, when in fact they do. We believe in giving everyone a fair chance to shine.
We also encourage you to reach out to us and discuss any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you throughout the recruitment process and your time with us.
Want to know more about our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Check out our efforts here.
