Business Development Executive

Judicium; Exeter; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational services company in Exeter is looking for a Business Development Executive. This full-time role focuses on selling products and services to schools, driving revenue growth, and collaborating with teams to maximize opportunities. Competitive salary, hybrid working model, and excellent benefits are offered.

Benefits

Competitive salary

28 days holiday plus bank holidays

Healthcare Plan after probation

Free life insurance

Pension contributions after 3 months

Flexible benefits

Qualifications

• You love selling and are motivated by targets and commission.
• You’re hungry to succeed and grow within a fast-paced sales environment.
• You handle rejection with grace and keep pushing forward.

Responsibilities

• Proactively sell Thrive’s products and services to schools.
• Manage the full sales cycle from prospecting to closing.
• Collaborate with Marketing to convert campaign leads into customers.

Skills

Sales Passion

Resilience

Tenacity

Communication

Tools

Zoho

HubSpot

Job description

Job Details

Business Development Executive – Vacancy Number: VN2237 – Location: Exeter – Employment Type: Permanent

About us

The Thrive Approach has been proven to improve pupil attendance, behaviour, and mental health through our world‑class training courses and award‑winning web product Thrive Online. You will enthusiastically engage with customers to help sell our full suite of products, including commercial courses and funded apprenticeships.

About the job

Working closely with our Marketing, Bookings, and Regional Development Manager teams, you will support them to maximise every opportunity – identifying prospects, qualifying leads, and booking conversations with customers. Your primary focus will be on managing your pipeline and driving revenue growth through outbound sales.

We are a proud member of the Supporting Education Group, combining cutting‑edge technology with deep education expertise to create high‑impact, scalable solutions. We work in partnership with our sister companies to deliver outstanding value to the education sector. This role will benefit from collaboration with colleagues from other companies within the group.

Main Duties

• Proactively sell Thrive’s products and services to schools via phone, email, and digital channels.
• Manage the full sales cycle from prospecting to closing, with a focus on high‑volume outreach.
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of qualified opportunities.
• Collaborate with Marketing to convert campaign leads into paying customers.
• Work alongside Regional Development Managers to support larger opportunities and strategic accounts, including booking discovery calls.
• Consistently meet and exceed ambitious quarterly sales targets.
• Maintain accurate records in the CRM and report on sales performance.

Opportunity Generation

• Act as the interface between our marketing function and the sales team to turn marketing‑qualified leads into sales‑qualified leads.
• Manage the leads module within our CRM (knowledge of Zoho, HubSpot or any CRM is desirable but not a requirement for this role).
• Send prospecting emails/posts/tweets.
• Follow up with pre‑qualification calls (some of which could be cold).
• Make a prescribed number of discovery call appointments in your designated RDMs’ diaries.

Business Support

• Work in tandem with your designated RDMs to understand and assist with their strategic approach to developing sales to larger and multi‑sited settings.
• Work closely with other teams within Thrive, in particular Marketing and Bookings, to ensure outstanding customer experience.
• Collaborate with other Supporting Education Group sister companies, such as Best Practice Network, to promote Thrive more effectively, and to ensure smooth processing of apprenticeship sales administration.
• Identify possible weaknesses in current methodology to drive continuous improvement within the team and across the wider business.
• Build a database of local authority and MAT contacts to help promote our services regionally.
• Perform quarterly market analysis of your sales territory to identify new opportunities, competitors, trends or any big challenges.

About you

• Sales Passion: You love selling and are motivated by targets and commission.
• Ambition: You’re hungry to succeed and grow within a fast‑paced sales environment.
• Resilience: You handle rejection with grace and keep pushing forward.
• Tenacity: You’re persistent, proactive, and never afraid to follow up.
• Coachability: You’re eager to learn and open to feedback.
• Self‑Starter: You take initiative and thrive in a performance‑driven culture.
• Communication: You’re a natural communicator – excellent on customer calls, and you write in a concise, compelling way.
• Knowledge: You know, or are keen to learn, about the schools sector, education sales and/or apprenticeship programmes.

This is a full‑time role, and the successful candidate will need to be comfortable working shift patterns between 8am‑6pm, Monday‑Friday and based in our Exeter office for a minimum of 3 days per week – with work‑from‑home option on Monday and Friday.

What we Offer

• Competitive salary, hybrid working and commission for exceeding target.
• 28 days holiday and get an extra day for each year you stay with us, up to a maximum of 33 days PLUS bank holidays.
• We pay for a Healthcare Plan once you’ve passed probation, which includes access to a private GP.
• From day 1, free life insurance covering up to x4 your salary.
• We’ll add money into your pension pot after 3 months.
• Choose what flexible benefits you want after you’ve passed probation – this could be buying extra holiday, dental, topping up your healthcare plan, bikes, gym membership, electric cars.
• A clear progression path and ongoing professional development.
• A vibrant, supportive team environment in our brand‑new Exeter office.
• The opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of children and young people.