Company:

Marsh

Description:

Mercer is seeking an IMPACT Leader (Pacific) to lead our specialist pursuits and proposals function at a pivotal time of change. This is a senior, high-visibility leadership role combining strategic thinking, people leadership, project management and high-impact communication to help win and retain key clients across the region—with a particular focus on supporting Investments and Mercer Super pursuits.

You’ll lead a function undergoing significant transformation, including a hybrid delivery model across onshore, offshore (our delivery centre in India) and AI-enabled capability, and play a key role in uplifting standards, governance and capability across bids and pursuits. You’ll also help embed new bid enablement tools and ways of working—while influencing across a matrix of senior stakeholders to deliver consistent, compelling client outcomes.

What can you expect?

• A senior, high-visibility leadership role aligned to Mercer’s growth agenda across the Pacific.
• A role that sits across all Mercer business lines, partnering closely with client leaders, product and technical specialists.
• Exposure to major pursuits, competitive situations, and strategic client/prospect planning.
• A fast-paced environment with varied and concurrent opportunities—requiring strong prioritisation and execution.
• The opportunity to uplift bid management discipline, content quality, and pursuit innovation across the region.
• A leadership role in a function undergoing significant transformation, including a hybrid delivery model across onshore, offshore (India) and AI-enabled capability.
• Opportunity to help embed new tools and ways of working to improve quality, efficiency and consistency.

What is in it for you?

• Direct impact on winning and retaining key clients through best-practice pursuit leadership.
• Strong senior stakeholder exposure and the chance to influence how Mercer goes to market.
• A platform to lead, coach and develop a specialist team and elevate proposal and pitch standards.
• Variety and challenge—complex, high-value bids and strategic storytelling work.
• Flexible working options and a collaborative team culture (role-dependent).
• A chance to lead through change and shape the future operating model, standards and capability of the IMPACT function.

We will count on you to:

• Lead the Mercer IMPACT Team to support the Pacific growth plan, driving cross-business collaboration and sales strategy execution.
• Lead the team through transformation, including uplifting capability, redesigning ways of working, and delivering outcomes within a hybrid/matrix environment.
• Drive adoption and effective use of bid enablement technology ensuring governance, content quality and consistency.
• Effectively manage and influence across a matrix of stakeholders to align priorities, resources and responses across the business.
• Uplift content and knowledge management standards including efficiency improvement.
• Champion global standards across commercial governance, pricing models, sales life cycle, client engagement, opportunity qualification and bid management, embedding consistent, repeatable best practice.
• Lead team capability development and manage day-to-day performance, development and workflow.
• Take end-to-end ownership of pursuits and tenders, including planning, timelines, deliverables, resourcing and governance.
• Project manage, challenge and proof proposals and RFP responses to a high standard.
• Facilitate and contribute to internal pre-tender strategy sessions by building a clear understanding of client/prospect needs.
• Identify Mercer’s key differentiators and ensure messaging is clear, compelling, and consistently reflected in submissions.
• Coordinate and appropriately challenge technical inputs to strengthen relevance, clarity, and quality.
• Coach and rehearse pitch teams to improve structure, confidence, and delivery; support others to become effective pitch coaches.
• Maintain and improve content and graphic libraries, ensuring accuracy, currency and reusability—and introduce new ideas that showcase success.

What you need to have:

• University degree and/or professional qualification (Business, Marketing, Communications or related field preferred).
• 15+ years’ experience (ideally in professional services and/or financial services) across client service, sales, pursuits and/or bid management.
• Strong project management and organisational capability, with the ability to manage multiple bids simultaneously under tight deadlines.
• Advanced writing and editing skills, including experience developing custom strategic content aligned to value propositions.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the confidence to challenge constructively to lift quality and outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience leading change/transformation programs (or significant operating model uplift) in a bids/pursuits, sales enablement or adjacent environment.
• Experience leading hybrid teams (onshore/offshore) and delivering outcomes through ambiguity and evolving priorities.
• Proven ability to operate effectively within a matrix structure, influencing senior stakeholders without direct reporting lines.

What makes you stand out:

• A proven track record leading high-performing pursuit/proposal teams and improving win performance and ways of working.
• Exceptional strategic storytelling—able to turn complex material into clear, differentiated client value.
• Strong commercial instincts and competitor awareness, using insights to sharpen messaging and approach.
• A coaching mindset—calm under pressure, detail-driven, and able to lift the quality of pitches and proposals through structured practice.
• A continuous improvement orientation with a bias for action, innovation and measurable impact.
• Experience from consulting and/or investment/asset management environments running complex pursuits/bids teams.
• Confidence leading change with distributed teams and modern bid-tech/tooling to deliver measurable uplift in quality, speed and win outcomes.

Mercer is a business of Marsh (NYSE: MRSH), a global leader in risk, reinsurance and capital, people and investments, and management consulting, advising clients in 130 countries. With annual revenue of over $27 billion and more than 95,000 colleagues, Marsh helps build the confidence to thrive through the power of perspective. For more information about Mercer, visit mercer.com, or follow us on LinkedIn and X.

Marsh is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and flexible work environment. We aim to attract and retain the best people and embrace diversity of age, background, disability, ethnic origin, family duties, gender orientation or expression, marital status, nationality, parental status, personal or social status, political affiliation, race, religion and beliefs, sex/gender, sexual orientation or expression, skin color, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Applications will only be considered from candidates who have the appropriate approval to work in Australia. Successful applicants will be required to complete a Criminal & Bankruptcy check prior to commencing of employment.

Marsh is committed to hybrid work, which includes the flexibility of working remotely and the collaboration, connections and professional development benefits of working together in the office. All Marsh colleagues are expected to be in their local office or working onsite with clients at least three days per week. Office-based teams will identify at least one “anchor day” per week on which their full team will be together in person.