Business Development Manager - Uecs

University of Essex; Colchester; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Essex Campus Services (UECS) commercial department within the University of Essex is seeking a Business Development Manager to drive revenue growth across Wivenhoe House Hotel and the UECS portfolio. You will craft sales plans, build pipelines, and identify new markets while maintaining strong relationships with clients and stakeholders.

You will work with Hotel, Operations, Marketing and UECS teams to deliver objectives, develop compelling offers, generate leads, and

Qualifications

• An undergraduate degree or equivalent experience is required.
• Experience in generating revenue and meeting targets is desirable.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Identify and develop new business opportunities to grow revenue and profitability across UECS portfolio.
• Develop sales plans and pipelines, identify new markets and revenue opportunities.
• Build strong client and stakeholder relationships with hotels, meetings and events.
• Collaborate with Hotel, Operations, Marketing and UECS teams to deliver on business objectives.

Skills

Revenue generation

Sales

Negotiation

Client relationships

Education

Undergraduate degree

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

Department

The University of Essex Campus Services - UECS commercial department brings together a range of commercial services, including Wivenhoe House Hotel and Event Essex. Our focus is on delivering excellent customer experiences while growing sustainable commercial income across the commercial portfolio of the University. The Business Development team plays an important role in driving this growth by identifying new opportunities, developing client relationships, and tuning opportunities into revenue. Working across the portfolio, the team connects the right clients, markets, and commercial opportunities with the services we offer.

Wivenhoe House Hotel is a four-star country house hotel set within the Colchester Campus and forms an integral part of that portfolio. It also has a close association with the Edge Hotel School.

Duties of the Role

As the Business Development Manager, you will identify and develop new business opportunities to grow revenue and profitability across Wivenhoe House Hotel and the wider UECS portfolio. You will develop sales plans and pipelines, identify new markets and revenue opportunities, build strong client and stakeholder relationships, while taking opportunities from initial enquiry through to conversion. You will be working closely with the Hotel, Operations, Marketing and wider UECS teams to deliver on business objectives and projects .You will also support the delivery of business objectives and projects, while developing compelling offers, generating leads and contributing to commercial targets.

Skills and qualifications required

We are looking for an experienced commercial professional with a proven track record of generating revenue, exceeding targets, managing budgets and identifying new business opportunities, ideally with knowledge of the hotel, meetings, and events market.

You will be a confident relationship builder and communicator, with strong negotiation, persuasion, and sales skills. You will also be commercially creative, organised, and self-motivated, with the ability to spot opportunities, solve problems and work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.

An undergraduate degree or equivalent experience is required, alongside strong IT skills and the flexibility to attend networking events, conferences, and trade shows, including some early mornings, evenings, and weekends.

At the University of Essex, internationalism and diversity is central to who we are and what we do. We are committed to being a cosmopolitan, internationally oriented university that is welcoming to staff and students from all countries, faiths and backgrounds, where you can find the world in one place.

To support this commitment we have our , a staff-led network that promotes and celebrates the rich cultural diversity among Essex staff, and our Colchester campus based , which hosts regular services, meetings and events organised by our chaplains and faith representatives.