New Business & Growth Manager

You are commercially sharp and naturally curious. You know that new business in branding is not about pitching harder, it is about understanding a client's world before anyone else does. You turn a first conversation into a clear scope, a warm lead into the right kind of work, and client trust into long-term growth. You bring structure to opportunity and keep the pipeline honest.

Verve is a strategic digital branding agency for tech companies. We build brands for companies with international ambition. Around 70% of our clients are based outside the Netherlands.

We are a team of 35+ people and a clear ambition: to become one of the top rebranding agencies in the world. Verve is part of United Playgrounds, a group of independent boutique agencies.

As our New Business & Growth Manager, you turn promising conversations into the right kind of work for Verve.

You lead early-stage client conversations, find the real business challenge behind a brief, and work with our strategists, designers and digital specialists to shape the proposal. You also grow existing client relationships: spotting follow-on opportunities and keeping the pipeline focused, current and actionable.

This is a hands-on, consultative role. You move easily between a client's commercial ambitions and the practical work of scope, proposal and pitch.

Win new work

• Build relationships with prospective clients and take opportunities from first conversation to signed proposal.

• Lead discovery conversations that get to the real question: context, stakeholders, budget, timing.

• Qualify opportunities. Focus effort where Verve can create the most value, and say no to the rest.

• Shape proposals, scopes, pricing options and pitch materials with the wider team.

• Present Verve's strategic, brand and digital capabilities in a way that lands commercially.

• Follow up and keep momentum in active conversations.

Grow existing accounts

• Stay close to selected clients and spot follow-on work in strategy, brand, digital or motion.

• Work with strategists and project teams to turn client trust into growth.

• Recognise scope changes and emerging needs early, while keeping expectations and project boundaries clean.

• Make the handover from sales into delivery smooth.

Strengthen the commercial engine

• Keep the pipeline accurate and up to date in HubSpot: status, next steps, values, probability.

• Bring opportunities, blockers and decisions to pipeline and account-growth meetings.

• Improve how Verve approaches referrals, warm outreach, events and partnerships.

• Work with marketing on case studies, content and events that start new-business conversations.

You are commercial and curious. You know that new business in branding is consultative: you understand a client's world, ask the right questions and bring the right people together. You move easily from a first discovery call to a clear scope to a reliable pipeline.

• 3+ years in business development, client services or account management at a branding, design or digital agency.

• Experience leading client conversations and building proposals, scopes and pitch presentations.

• A strong understanding of brand strategy, identity, digital design and website delivery.

• Confidence discussing budgets, scope, timelines and trade-offs.

• The ability to turn a vague brief into a structured next step.

• Trust with senior clients and internal specialists alike.

• Fluent English, written and spoken.

• Comfort running multiple active conversations at once.

• A proactive, pragmatic way of working.

• Experience with HubSpot or another CRM.

• Experience selling strategy, branding or digital projects.

• A network in the Dutch or international scale-up, tech or creative sectors.

• Dutch language skills.

• A key commercial role in a growing, internationally minded brand and digital agency.

• Room to shape both new-business activity and long-term client growth.

• Close collaboration with senior strategists, designers and leadership.

• Hybrid working across The Hague and Amsterdam.

• An annual personal budget for learning, sportswear and team trips.

• A senior team, a high bar and direct communication.

We choose depth over noise, clarity over cleverness, and momentum over perfectionism. We say no to the wrong briefs. We push hard on the right ones. Our values are Love, Sense and Challenge.

We work in-person at least four days a week, Amsterdam or The Hague, with up to six weeks a year from anywhere in the world.

Salary based on experience.