Business Engagement Officer

Wokingham-Borough-Council; Wokingham; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 41,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 28 days

Pension scheme

Wellbeing helpline

Discounts

Onsite gym

Car & cycle to work

Job summary

Wokingham Borough Council is recruiting a Business Engagement Officer to join the Economic Development team on a full-time, 2-year fixed term contract. The role engages directly with businesses, partners and stakeholders to strengthen the borough's business base and support growth.

You will promote the Enterprise Support Initiative and the Business, Skills and Employment Charter, building strong employer relationships, identifying needs, and connecting firms to support, investment and council

Qualifications

• Degree level or equivalent required.
• Experience in business development.
• Understanding of SME challenges and local economies.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience with target setting, monitoring and evaluation.
• Excellent organisational and workload management.
• Ability to collaborate with senior officers, elected members, and partners.
• Knowledge of local government structures and processes.
• Self-starter, highly organised with negotiation skills.
• Commitment to excellent customer care standards.

Responsibilities

• Be primary contact for borough businesses, handling enquiries promptly and resolving issues.
• Support the economic development team and council relationships with employers, identifying needs and growth opportunities.
• Collaborate with external bodies (Berkshire Growth Hub, TV Chamber of Commerce) to support local business growth.
• Collect and analyse business intelligence to inform policy, strategy, and funding bids.
• Promote investment opportunities and inward investment activity.
• Support deployment of upgraded CRM system.
• Monitor and report outcomes and impact of engagement activity.

Skills

Business development

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Relationship building

Monitoring & evaluation

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

Employer: Wokingham Borough Council
Salary: £37,563 - £41,178 Per Annum, Plus Benefits
Location: Shute End, Wokingham
Contract: Contract
Working Pattern: Full Time
Hours: 37 hours per week.
DBS Check: Yes
Closing Date: 13/11/2026 at 23:00
Reference: 711285

We have a fantastic opportunity available for a Business Engagement Officer to join our proactive Economic Development team at Wokingham Borough Council, on a full time, 2-year fixed term contract.

This is an exciting role in which you will work at the heart of the local economy—engaging directly with businesses, partners, and stakeholders to strengthen our business base, support growth, and shape the future of Wokingham as a great place to do business.

You will be central in promoting the support offered through our Enterprise Support Initiative and proposed Business, Skills and Employment Charter. You will build strong relationships with local employers, understand their needs, and connect them to relevant support, investment opportunities, and council services. We are seeking an experienced and dynamic individual to help shape the future of the borough through innovation and collaboration!

Key Responsibilities

• To be one of the primary points of contact for businesses in the borough, dealing with enquiries raised by businesses promptly, providing advice and resolving issues when needed.
• Support the economic development team and members of the wider council with engaging and maintaining close working relationships with local employers, identifying needs, challenges, and growth opportunities. Assist with the delivery of a coordinated business offer and a programme of business engagement events.
• Proactively work with external stakeholders in the business support space e.g., the Berkshire Growth Hub, Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce and other local business networks to help contribute towards the growth and sustainability of our local businesses.
• Collect and analyse business intelligence to inform policy, strategy, and funding bids.
• Promote investment opportunities and support inward investment activity.
• Support deployment of our upgraded CRM system.
• Monitor and report on outcomes and impact of engagement activity.

Candidate Requirements

• Educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant subject.
• Business development experience or experience in developing or managing a BID.
• Understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing SMEs and local economies.
• Strong communication and relationship building skills, with demonstrable experience of stakeholder engagement.
• Demonstrable experience of target setting, monitoring and evaluation.
• Excellent organisational skills and workload management skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with senior officers, Elected Members, managers, staff, colleagues, and partners.
• Knowledge of local government structures, process, and issues.
• Self-starter, highly organised and driven individual, with a strong ability to negotiate and achieve results.
• Keen practitioner of excellent customer care standards in all service delivery.

Not only is this an excellent opportunity, but it’s a fantastic time to join our team. You will receive an extensive range of employee benefits including:

A generous annual leave entitlement of 28 days (rising to 33 days after 5 years continued local government service), plus Bank Holidays (Pro-Rata for Part Time)

An excellent local government pension scheme

An employee assistance programme including 24/7 wellbeing helpline

A range of local & lifestyle discounts

Use of a free onsite gym (located at Shute End office)

Salary sacrifice car & cycle to work schemes

And much more!

Our Area

Wokingham Borough is set in the heart of Berkshire with excellent transport links to Reading and central London. Our area comprises of a vibrant and historical market town, attractive villages, and miles of beautiful countryside.

We’re home to a range of high performing schools, a host of international businesses and an incredible community. The borough has a strong local economy with accelerated growth, a range of excellent public facilities and low levels of crime, offering an exceptional quality of life.

We recognise that candidates may choose to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support the preparation of their job applications. When used appropriately, AI can be a helpful aid in structuring responses, checking clarity, and improving presentation.

However, applications must reflect your own skills, experience and understanding. If an application appears to rely excessively on AI-generated content, it may not meet the required standard and could be rejected.

We encourage all applicants to ensure their submissions are authentic, tailored to the role, and clearly demonstrate their own knowledge, experience and suitability.

Whilst this is a fixed term contract appointment, for anyone already employed by Wokingham Borough Council this would be classed as a secondment if successful. Therefore, the usual permission requests for secondments apply and you must speak to your line manager in the first instance before applying.

If your application is shortlisted for an interview, you will be required to provide proof of your right to work in the UK at that stage. Additionally, successful candidates must present proof upon receiving a job offer.

Please note that all offers are conditional and subject to the satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks.

Please be aware that we will be reviewing the applications we receive on a daily basis, and we reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified.

Wokingham Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff, other workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we regret that we are unable to respond to every applicant individually.

If you do not hear from us within 4 weeks of the application closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion.

We appreciate your interest in joining Wokingham Borough Council and thank you for taking the time to apply.

Wokingham is an equal opportunities employer.