£40,000 basic salary | UK-wide business development

The Opportunity

Do you have a strong network across the early years sector? Understand the challenges facing nurseries, childcare organisations and children’s services providers? Know how to turn those relationships into new business?

My client is looking for a Business Development Manager to grow its apprenticeship provision across the early years and children and young people’s sectors.

This is a specialist opportunity to work with organisations that play an important role in supporting children, young people and families. The apprenticeship curriculum has been specifically designed around the sector, giving you a relevant proposition to take to employers and the opportunity to develop partnerships that support both workforce development and business growth.

We’re looking for someone who understands the market, can engage employers in meaningful conversations and has the commercial drive to turn opportunities into lasting relationships.

The Role

You’ll take responsibility for developing new business across the UK, building relationships with early years organisations and identifying opportunities to grow apprenticeship delivery.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Identifying and targeting nurseries, childcare groups, early years providers and relevant children’s services organisations.
• Developing relationships with owners, directors, senior managers and workforce development leads.
• Understanding the recruitment, retention, qualification and workforce challenges facing employers.
• Promoting specialist apprenticeship programmes aligned with the needs of the early years and children’s services workforce.
• Generating leads and managing the sales process from initial contact through to agreement.
• Developing partnerships with multi-site operators and organisations with significant workforce development needs.
• Building a sustainable pipeline of new employer accounts and apprenticeship opportunities.
• Working closely with internal delivery and curriculum teams to ensure employer needs are understood.
• Maintaining accurate pipeline information, forecasts and sales activity records.
• Contributing to the provider’s wider growth strategy within this specialist market.

What We’re Looking For

You’ll be a commercially focused business development professional who understands the early years or children’s services market and knows how to build employer relationships.

Ideally, you’ll bring:

• Experience in B2B sales, business development or employer partnerships.
• Knowledge of the early years, childcare or children’s services sectors.
• An understanding of the workforce challenges faced by nurseries and childcare organisations.
• Experience developing relationships with decision-makers and converting opportunities into business.
• Strong presentation, negotiation and communication skills.
• The ability to work independently, manage a UK-wide territory and prioritise opportunities.
• A genuine interest in supporting workforce development through vocational learning.

Experience selling apprenticeships, funded training or qualifications into the early years sector would be particularly valuable.

What’s on Offer?

• £40,000 basic salary.
• A UK-wide remit with the opportunity to develop a specialist market.
• A curriculum designed specifically around the needs of the sector.
• The opportunity to build long-term partnerships with early years organisations.
• The chance to contribute to workforce development in a sector where qualified staff are essential.

Interested?

If you have the sector knowledge, commercial ability and relationships to help grow a specialist apprenticeship offer, I’d welcome a confidential conversation.

This is an opportunity to combine business development with a market you understand, building partnerships that create commercial value while supporting the development of the early years workforce.