Employer Partnerships Manager

Best Practice Network; West of England; Sur place; GBP 40 000 - 64 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Holiday allowance

Health plan

Life cover

Pension contribution

Flexible benefits

Learning & development

Volunteer days

Résumé du poste

Best Practice Network is seeking an experienced Employer Partner Manager to lead employer, procurement and referral partner activity, ensuring a scalable and high-quality partner experience across programmes.

You will coordinate governance, manage relationships with employer partners, and support growth alongside sales teams while maintaining accurate partner records and reporting.

Qualifications

• Experience in account management, partnership management or stakeholder engagement.
• Experience working within apprenticeship, skills or training sector with knowledge of apprenticeship funding and employer levy arrangements.
• Experience managing procurement frameworks, public sector contracts or tender-related partnerships.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a range of stakeholders, including senior leaders.
• Strong communication, presentation and influencing skills.
• Experience managing partner performance and identifying opportunities to strengthen and grow strategic relationships.
• Experience producing reports, analysing data and using insights to support decision-making.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• Experience using CRM systems and maintaining accurate records.
• A proactive and collaborative approach, with strong attention to detail.

Responsabilités

• Develop and maintain productive relationships with employer partners and act as a trusted contact for strategic and operational matters.
• Coordinate partnership governance, procurement frameworks and reporting to ensure a high-quality partner experience.
• Monitor partnership performance, identify opportunities and support learners and programme outcomes.
• Support growth across employer, procurement and referral partner channels with insights and stakeholder engagement.
• Work with sales and business development to identify and progress partnership opportunities.

Connaissances

Account management

Partnership management

Stakeholder engagement

Communication skills

CRM software

Data analysis

Organisational skills

Reporting

Outils

CRM software

Description du poste

We at Best Practice Network share the belief that every child, regardless of their background, should benefit from an excellent education. To achieve that, we support and train the educational professionals who work alongside them to be the best they can be, so in turn, they can transform the lives of children and young people.

We're a friendly, DfE accredited, Ofsted outstanding training company providing apprenticeships, professional development and the DfE's 'Golden Thread' (trainee teachers to school Executive Leaders). We are adaptable, collaborative, and genuinely value the work we do to support the education sector, as much as our trainees do.

Our people are at the heart of our business and our passion and commitment to education is what drives us. As a result, we have seen incredible growth over the last few years both nationally and internationally.

We aim to be an employer where everyone can be themselves, do their best in an inclusive working environment and where all colleagues can thrive and reach their full potential. We want to attract, develop and retain individuals with different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives.

Role Purpose

To lead and coordinate Best Practice Network's employer partner, procurement and apprenticeship referral partner activity, ensuring a high-quality, consistent and scalable partner experience. This role is responsible for ensuring our partner operating model runs effectively at scale. That includes bringing together teams, systems, processes and reporting to create a consistent experience for employer partners, procurement stakeholders and referral organisations whilst supporting sustainable growth. Whilst account managers focus on the day-to-day management of relationships, this role owns the operational framework behind those relationships. This includes partner governance, procurement management, partner performance oversight, reporting and cross-functional coordination, ensuring teams can work efficiently and partners receive a high-quality and consistent experience. The Employer Partner Manager will support growth across employer, procurement and referral partner channels, providing the operational oversight, insight and stakeholder engagement needed to maximise partner performance, strengthen strategic relationships and identify opportunities for future partnership development alongside sales and business development teams.

Key Responsibilities

Employer Partnerships

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with employer partners, acting as a trusted point of contact for strategic and operational matters.
• Conduct regular partnership reviews to monitor performance, identify opportunities and ensure mutual objectives are being achieved.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams to deliver an excellent employer experience and support learner recruitment and programme performance.
• Promote apprenticeship opportunities and wider workforce development solutions to partner organisations.

Procurement & Framework Management

• Manage relationships with procurement bodies, framework providers and public sector stakeholders.
• Coordinate procurement and framework activities, ensuring contractual requirements, reporting obligations and service commitments are met.
• Monitor procurement opportunities, framework performance and renewal timelines, providing insight and recommendations to support organisational growth.
• Act as a liaison between procurement stakeholders and internal teams to ensure effective delivery against framework commitments.

Apprenticeship Referral Partners

• Develop and maintain productive relationships with apprenticeship referral partners and intermediary organisations.
• Work collaboratively with referral partners to maximise learner and employer referrals into apprenticeship programmes.
• Monitor referral partner performance and identify opportunities to strengthen engagement and increase impact.
• Ensure referral partners are kept informed of programme developments, eligibility requirements and apprenticeship opportunities.

Growth & Partnership Development

• Support sales and business development teams by contributing insight, market intelligence and relationship knowledge to help identify prospective partnership opportunities.
• Participate in partnership development activity where appropriate, supporting the progression of opportunities from initial engagement through to implementation.
• Identify opportunities to expand existing partner relationships and increase the value delivered to partners and learners.

Performance, Reporting & Compliance

• Maintain accurate partner records, activity tracking and performance reporting through relevant systems.
• Produce regular reports and insights on partnership performance, referrals, employer engagement and procurement activity.
• Ensure all partnership activity is delivered in line with funding, compliance and organisational requirements.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives that enhance partner experience, operational efficiency and programme outcomes.

Key Measures of Success

• Achievement of apprenticeship recruitment and growth targets through employer, procurement and referral partner channels.
• Strong partner retention and satisfaction levels across the partnership portfolio.
• Effective management and renewal of procurement frameworks and strategic partnerships.
• Growth in referrals, engagement and partnership value delivered through referral organisations.
• Accurate reporting, forecasting and performance monitoring.
• Positive collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
• Full compliance with contractual, funding and organisational requirements.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Experience in account management, partnership management or stakeholder engagement.
• Experience working within the apprenticeship, skills or training sector, with a strong understanding of apprenticeship funding and employer levy arrangements.
• Experience managing procurement frameworks, public sector contracts or tender-related partnerships.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a range of stakeholders, including senior leaders.
• Strong communication, presentation and influencing skills.
• Experience managing partner performance and identifying opportunities to strengthen and grow strategic relationships.
• Experience producing reports, analysing data and using insights to support decision-making.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• Experience using CRM systems and maintaining accurate records.
• A proactive and collaborative approach, with strong attention to detail.

Desirable

• Experience working with employer partners, apprenticeship referral partners or other strategic partnership networks.
• Understanding of public sector organisations, including schools, trusts, local authorities and early years settings.
• Experience supporting apprenticeship growth through employer engagement and partnership activity.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholder groups across a national partnership portfolio.

Our Benefits:

• 28 days holiday and get an extra day for each year you stay with us, up to max 33 days PLUS bank holidays
• Health Cash 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 both 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 and give as you earn
• Learning and development opportunities
• Volunteer days - 3 paid volunteer days a year, with 2 dedicated to Education

By joining us, you will become part of a community that is dedicated to transforming lives and sustaining communities, where your voice is heard, your ideas are valued, and your individuality is celebrated. Together, we will continue to advance our passion for education and build brighter futures for all.

Employment offers are subject to satisfactory vetting checks. These checks will be run in line with the latest guidance and legislation. You will need to already have the right to work in the UK, as we are not able to offer any sponsorship(s) for visa applicants.