Business Development Manager

Ahead Partnership; Leeds; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Ahead Partnership in Leeds is looking for a Commercial Manager to drive growth through partnerships that enhance outcomes for young people. This full-time position requires 2-3 years of B2B business development experience, strong relationships with stakeholders, and the ability to produce compelling proposals. The role involves collaboration with marketing, traveling across the UK, and some flexible working options. A Criminal Record Bureau/DBS check is mandatory.

Qualifications

• 2-3 years of experience in business development or account management.
• Excellent relationship building and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Strong written communication with an ability to produce compelling proposals.

Responsibilities

• Support growth plans by identifying new opportunities.
• Lead the creation of high-quality proposals.
• Collaborate with marketing to convert leads from campaigns.

Skills

Business development

Stakeholder engagement

Written communication

Negotiation

Problem-solving

Presentation skills

CRM familiarity

Understanding of social value/ESG

Tools

MS CRM Dynamics

HubSpot

Job description

The challenges we address are often too big for any one organisation. We build partnerships with purpose that deliver lasting impact. This role will be key to growing our impact with new partners and ultimately the impact we have on young people and the employers we work with.

The Commercial Manager will work closely with our broader growth and marketing teams to create new partnerships with like-minded organisations who are ambitious in their efforts to drive the social of young people.

Reporting to the Commercial Director, this role is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic and fast-paced team. Our ideal candidate will have experience in a B2B context, be proactive and commercially minded. Importantly, they will champion our vision of a society where a young person’s potential isn’t limited by their background.

The key responsibilities of this role will include

Business Development

• Supporting the wider growth plans of the business through identifying and developing growth opportunities and winning new work.
• Lead generation and qualification, scoping and converting new opportunities that arise from marketing campaigns, networking, events, tenders and partners.
• Identify emerging market opportunities across the private and public sector.
• Track trends and developments around social value to shape our propositions.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date CRM records. We use Dynamics and HubSpot.

Proposal and Bid Management

• Lead the creation of high-quality proposals.
• Co-ordinate the wider team to develop accurate scoping and pricing.
• Understand client challenges and translate them into bespoke solutions that develop strong and long-term partnerships.
• Identify, sign up to and manage opportunity identification through appropriate tender portals.
• Set up and maintain a bid/proposals filing system.
• Set up and lead the proposal debrief process with both successful and unsuccessful bids and proposals, ensuring learnings and trends are identified, communicated and acted upon going forwards.

Marketing and Reputation Support

• Collaborate closely with Marketing in the identification and conversion of leads generated from marketing campaigns.
• Work with the marketing team to create case studies and thought leadership content.
• Attend and represent the organisation at events and conferences, providing regular feedback to the wider team.

General

• Competitor benchmarking – contribute to the growth, marketing, creative and delivery teams’ knowledge of competitors and help with the competitive differentiation of our offer on a client‑by‑client basis.
• Champion and advocate for a holistic approach to the assessment and consideration of macro‑economic factors and market forces analysis.
• Work alongside growth and delivery teams to better understand targets, how to defend and build client programmes and better understand client relationship dynamics.
• Undertake any other duties as requested and commensurate with the post.

We are looking for the following skills and experience:

• Proven experience (around 2-3 years) in business development or account management.
• Excellent relationship building and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Strong written communication with an ability to produce compelling proposals and pitches.
• Commercially astute, with experience negotiating deals.
• Able to work independently, prioritise workload and drive results.
• Able to think outside the box, develop ideas and create clarity from ambiguity.
• Confident presenting to senior leaders and external audiences.
• Experience in a consultancy or client facing organisation.
• Experience in B2B Business development.
• Familiarity with CRM platforms (e.g. MS CRM Dynamics and HubSpot).
• Experience supporting marketing or thought leadership activities.
• Strong understanding of social value/ESG.

Working hours – a standard full-time week is 37.5 hours.

The role is based in Leeds, however, there could be travel across the UK. This could include overnight stays as required (with reasonable notice provided). Unsociable hours may be required.

There is a requirement to be in the office a minimum of 2-3 days per week. Beyond this, flexible working and other arrangements are happily considered.

As we work with young people, all staff are required to undertake a Criminal Record Bureau/DBS check upon joining, and the checks are repeated throughout your employment.

Our vision is a society where a young person’s potential isn’t limited by their background. That means we recognise the importance of our team reflecting the communities we serve, so we welcome and encourage candidates from all backgrounds for this role.