Business Manager

80 Reed in Partnership Ltd; Harlow; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 43,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days leave

Pension scheme

Leadership training

Personal development funds

Bi-annual pay reviews

Job summary

Reed in Partnership is seeking a Business Manager to lead a team of Employment Advisers and drive successful job outcomes. You will oversee daily operations, manage performance against KPIs, and build strong stakeholder relationships to maximise restart referrals and employment opportunities.

With a generous base salary and flexible working options, the role offers training, development, and progression opportunities across the Employability Division.

Qualifications

• Previous direct line management of a team.
• Experience in sales, customer service or recruitment.
• Track record of achieving targets personally as well as managing team targets.
• Experience in people management including training, coaching, performance management and recruitment.
• Strong administration and IT skills.
• A minimum of 2 A-Levels or an equivalent Level 3 Diploma.
• GCSE English Language at a minimum of Grade B (or equivalent Level 2).
• OR achievement of a Level 2 in Literacy Assessment at interview stage OR International Equivalents.

Responsibilities

• Taking Ownership implementing strategies aimed at upskilling local community members and overcoming barriers to employment; monitor and manage office and individual performance against KPIs.
• Working Together managing, motivating, and directing staff to meet and exceed performance targets and KPIs; oversee staff development and coaching.
• Being Fair, Open, and Honest managing Profit and Loss reports and monthly financial forecasting.

Skills

Line management

Staff development

KPIs

Stakeholder management

Administration & IT

Education

A-Levels or Level 3 Diploma

GCSE English (Grade B)

Tools

Microsoft Office

CRM systems

Job description

Reed in Partnership has been delivering public services since 1998. We are a British, family-owned company, whose mission has always been to positively transform people and their communities. This is reflected in our services, which we deliver to help people from all backgrounds and circumstances to change their lives for the better.

Pay Range £34,750 - £43,000. Working Hours/Pattern: Full-time, although we would be happy to consider applicants who are looking to work on a part time basis. Please note our ability to accommodate flexible working arrangements will vary from role to role, dependent on business requirements.

Internal applications for this role close on 23/09/2026

Who we are:

Reed's Employability Division aims to positively transform lives by helping individuals who are unemployed, economically inactive, or facing challenges such as health conditions, disabilities, or caring responsibilities to find sustainable employment. Through a wide range of tailored support services including one-to-one careers guidance, CV writing, interview preparation, and skills training, we have supported over 250,000 people on their journey into work. Our Restart Scheme, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), focuses specifically on supporting the long-term unemployed who are referred by their local Job Centre Plus. We provide them with up to 12 months of personalised support to enter or re-enter the workforce.

What is the role about?

The Business Manager is responsible for leading and motivating a team of Employment Advisers to support caseloads of unemployed jobseekers into employment, ensuring high-quality service delivery and adherence to performance targets. This role will require you to oversee daily operations, manage team development, and build strong relationships with stakeholders to maximise employment opportunities.

Just some of your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Taking Ownership Implementing strategies aimed at upskilling your local community members and overcoming barriers to employment Monitor and manage office and individual performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Working Together Managing, motivating, and directing staff, ensuring they meet and exceed performance targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Overseeing staff development, including performance management, identifying skills gaps, and coaching/mentoring Maintaining productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders to maximise Restart referrals and participant employment opportunities
• Being Fair, Open, and Honest Managing Profit and Loss reports and monthly financial forecasting

What’s in it for you?

A generous base salary (pro-rata for part time), and great flexibility with your working schedule, we offer training, development and progression opportunities. You will have access to the range of Reed in Partnership benefits, which include:

• 25 days annual leave (pro-rata for part time) plus statutory bank holidays
• Reed Pension Scheme
• Award Winning Management & Leadership training
• Professional & Personal Development Funds
• Bi-annual pay reviews
• Plus much more that can be foundHere

The Business Manager role offers immense satisfaction of leading a team that helps people overcome barriers and secure lasting employment, making a real difference in your community every day. At Reed in Partnership, our values—Fair, Open & Honest, Take Ownership, and Work Together—guide everything we do. Join us in delivering services that make a real difference.

To be successful in this role, we are looking for someone with:

• Previous direct line management of a team
• Experience in a sales, customer service or recruitment industry
• Track record of working and achieving targets personally as well as managing team targets
• Experience in people management including training, coaching, performance management and recruitment.
• Strong administration and IT skills
• Assertiveness, Resilience and good Decision-making skills
• A minimum of 2 A-Levels or an equivalent Level 3 Diploma.
• GCSE English Language at a minimum of a Grade B (or equivalent Level 2 qualification).
• OR achievement of a Level 2 in Literacy Assessment at interview stage OR International Equivalents.

Desirable Criteria:

• Interest in people and willingness to learn.
• Knowledge of welfare/benefits system.
• Degree or relevant qualification.
• Degree topics may include; psychology, sociology, social care/science.
• Relevant qualifications would include Information Advice and Guidance NVQs, Brokerage Standard, Social Work qualifications or qualifications relating to welfare to work.
• Fluency in more than one language

We aim to ensure that no candidate or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity.

We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria.

Whilst some roles are advertised as Full-Time, we may be able to consider applicants who are looking to work on a Part-Time basis. Please note our ability to accommodate flexible working arrangements will vary from role to role, dependent on business requirements.

We have an on-going strategic priority to make this a great place to work. We are a family-owned company. We think this makes us unique compared to a lot of other companies. It is fundamental to the way our workplaces operate, the decisions we make and how we treat each other. Our workplaces have been recognised for multiple awards. Most recently we were really proud to be presented with three UK Employee Experience Awards in 2022: Gold for Best Talent Management Programme, Silver for Diversity and Inclusion and Bronze for Best Large Company to Work For. Our Work Experience is the combination of everything that's unique about us: our culture, our core values, our company meetings, our commitment to sustainability, our recognition programs, but most importantly, it's our people. Our employees are self-disciplined, hard working, curious, trustworthy, humble, and truthful. They make choices according to what is best for the team, they live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference, and they make us the #1 Top Workplace in the area.

Phone: [phone] Email: [e-mail]