Learning Client Partnerships Manager

IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution); Watford; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Market leading pension

Bonus scheme

Buy/sell annual leave

Generous medical insurance

Job summary

IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution) is seeking a commercially minded Learning Client Partnerships Manager to grow participation in IGD’s learning portfolio. The role focuses on building strategic client relationships, driving revenue and converting opportunities into commitments.

You will translate growth objectives into targeted engagement plans and work with cross-functional teams to deliver a high-quality client experience.

Qualifications

• Proven experience growing client engagement within existing and prospective accounts.
• Strong commercial judgement with ability to identify needs and secure commitment.
• Ability to translate objectives into focused client activity.
• Excellent questioning, influencing, presentation and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Grow engagement and participation across IGD’s learning portfolio.
• Build and manage strategic client relationships with key accounts and stakeholders.
• Lead discovery conversations and tailor recommendations to client priorities.
• Develop priority account engagement plans to expand uptake of IGD learning.
• Provide messaging, proof points and success stories for promotions.
• Collaborate with events to activate learning opportunities and raise awareness.

Skills

Client engagement

Commercial judgement

Account management

Stakeholder influence

CRM experience

Cross-functional collaboration

Learning industry experience

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Champion IGD’s learning offer and drive strategic engagement.

We are looking for a commercially minded Learning Client Partnerships Manager to grow participation in IGD’s free and premium learning portfolio. The role focuses on building strategic client relationships, driving revenue and converting opportunities into clear commitments.

Reporting to the Director of Learning & Development Programmes, you will translate learning growth objectives into targeted engagement plans, compelling client propositions and coordinated activity across priority accounts, audiences and programmes.

You will line manage the Learning Engagement Manager and work closely with Programme, Client Success, New Business, Marketing and Data colleagues to deliver a consistent, high-quality client experience.

What you’ll do

Grow engagement and participation

• Develop and deliver targeted engagement plans aligned to learning growth, revenue and participation objectives.
• Translate portfolio priorities into focused activity for priority sectors, organisations, audiences and decision makers.
• Define clear audiences, opportunities, value propositions and desired actions for priority engagement activity.
• Partner with Marketing and the Programme Managers to develop communications and assets that generate new leads and increase participation.
• Build momentum around priority learning products, supporting launch, uptake and ongoing growth.
• Monitor reach, response, conversion and impact, adjusting activity based on results and feedback.

Build strategic client relationships

• Build trusted relationships with key clients, industry partners and senior stakeholders.
• Understand clients’ business priorities, capability gaps and learning needs.
• Lead high-quality discovery conversations and presentations, adapting recommendations to client priorities.
• Develop priority account engagement plans that expand clients’ use of IGD’s learning portfolio.
• Build awareness of IGD’s learning offer across priority sectors, organisations and industry networks.
• Position IGD as a trusted learning partner by clearly articulating the relevance, value and impact of its learning portfolio.

Manage opportunities and pipeline

• Maintain clear visibility of learning opportunities across priority accounts, programmes and audience segments.
• Work with Client Success and New Business colleagues to convert interest into participation or organisational commitment.
• Equip internal teams with clear messaging, proof points and success stories to support consistent promotion of IGD’s learning offer.
• Use CRM, pipeline and conversion data to prioritise effort, forecast participation and identify risks.
• Provide concise updates on client activity, emerging needs, opportunities, barriers and expected outcomes.
• Partner with the Events team to own the learning events activation plan, using key industry events to raise awareness, generate interest and drive engagement with IGD’s learning offer.

Lead the engagement function

• Line manage, coach and develop the Learning Engagement Manager, setting clear priorities and performance expectations.
• Build a proactive, commercially aware and client-focused approach across engagement activity.
• Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing within the Learning team and across IGD.

What you bring

• Proven experience growing client engagement within existing and prospective accounts.
• Strong commercial judgement, with the ability to identify needs, develop opportunities and secure commitment.
• Ability to translate organisational and portfolio objectives into focused client activity.
• Excellent questioning, influencing, presentation and relationship-building skills.
• Experience using CRM, client and performance data to prioritise activity and track progress.
• A proactive, collaborative and results-focused approach across multiple teams and priorities.
• Experience in the food or consumer goods industry.
• Experience in a learning, professional development, membership or client services environment.
• Understanding of organisational learning, engagement analytics or pipeline forecasting.

The rewards

• market leading pension
• bonus scheme
• the ability to buy and sell annual leave
• generous medical insurance package

You will have a great work-life balance, where you are empowered & trusted to manage your time.

The location

We are operating a hybrid approach to working with a mix of home and office-based working. We are based in a very accessible location within the M25, just 20 miles from Central London.

Our behaviours

We’re hungry for better

We solve it together

We make it happen

We say what needs to be said

More about our people

We’re looking for inspiring professionals; talented people who seek personal and career growth and are ambitious to develop their potential and unlock opportunities for society, for our clients and themselves.

We seek and attract the very best people and create an environment that supports and includes them. We aim to encourage a culture where people can be themselves and be valued for their contribution. We welcome applications from diverse candidates. Please discuss any adjustments that you may require throughout the selection and assessment process.

More about IGD

We are a strategic insight foresight and learning organisation. Here to unite the industry and benefit society. We invest all our profit into Social Impact.

We foster collaboration through a broad range of forums, bringing together businesses, policymakers, and thought leaders. By providing evidence-based insights, credible research, and strategic foresight, we help organisations make informed decisions that benefit their operations and contribute to the collective good of society.