R&D Executive Advisor — Strategic Advisor to Heads of R&D

About the Role:

What makes Gartner a GREAT fit for you? When you join Gartner, you’ll be part of a fast-growing team that helps the world become smarter and more connected. We’re the world’s leading Business and Technology Insights company, steering clients toward the right decisions with insights they can’t find anywhere else. Here you’ll enjoy a collaborative work environment supporting some of the best organizations in the world. If you like working with a curious, supportive, high-performing team, then Gartner is the place for you.

The role of an Executive Partner (EP) is to be the senior advisor to Heads of R&D at leading organizations. As an EP, your primary responsibility is to deliver value that directly results in client retention by connecting clients with Gartner’s world-class insights, analyst expertise, and the broader community. You will help clients identify and achieve their most critical priorities by leveraging all available Gartner resources, ensuring Gartner is seen as indispensable to their success.

This is a brand new product and a very exciting time to join the organization.

What You Will Do:

• Manage a portfolio of senior executive client relationships, acting as a trusted advisor and primary point of contact for Heads of R&D.

• Drive client retention by proactively connecting clients with the most relevant Gartner insights, analysts, and peer communities to address their mission-critical priorities.

• Define and deliver innovative, tailored service solutions by assessing each client’s business context, priorities, and goals, and developing a customized value plan.

• Lead and participate in Gartner Executive Series webinars, peer networking sessions, and community-building activities for Heads of R&D.

• Collaborate closely with internal Gartner teams including Sales, Business and Technology Insights (BTI), and Client Service to ensure seamless service delivery, high engagement, and successful renewals.

• Support BTI Analyst activities by facilitating client participation in studies and panels, and by providing client feedback to Gartner’s BTI organization.

• Contribute to account planning and value demonstration activities in partnership with Sales to drive both retention and growth.

• There will be a considerable focus on sales enablement in this role. You are responsible for member retention and also for contributing to account growth through direct support of Gartner Sales Associates:

• Working with the sales teams to help them understand the true value of the Guided Product to the member.

• Building their confidence and ability to effectively engage with and sell to this level of C-suite prospect. 

• Through the creation of Value Stories, enable the sales associates to bring the service to life.

• You will be partnering with sales on account planning / development activities as well as being present in proof-of-concept (POC) engagements with prospective clients.

What Success Looks Like:

• Supporting sales to achieve strong new business growth of a new offering in the market. 

• High client retention rates driven by clear, measurable value delivered through Gartner insights, analyst connections, and community engagement.

• Clients consistently view Gartner as a critical partner in achieving their business outcomes.

• Strong, collaborative relationships with the Sales and BTI teams, resulting in successful renewals and new business growth.

What You Will Need:

• 10+ years’ experience in a senior leadership role e.g. Head of R&D, SVP R&D, VP, R&D, CTO (R&D), ideally coming from an Industrial Manufacturing background with experience of managing front-end innovation, product and technology roadmaps and new product development that require a high bill of materials. 

• Experience engaging with and influencing C-level executives, with strong executive presence and interpersonal skills.

• Proven ability to leverage external research and expert networks to deliver client value.

• Experience building and facilitating executive peer communities and delivering high-impact presentations.

• Bachelor’s and / or Master’s degree preferred.

Key Competencies:

• High emotional intelligence and reflective listening skills, with the ability to adapt to client needs and cues.

• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills to assess client situations and provide actionable guidance.

• Resourceful and proven experience leveraging AI to scale capacity to deliver objectives.

• Commitment to continuous learning and knowledge sharing within Gartner and the broader R&D community.

#LI- Hybrid