Manchester | £35,000–£45,000 basic salary

The Opportunity

Are you a natural new-business winner who enjoys opening doors, building relationships and turning conversations into commercial opportunities?

My client is one of the UK’s strongest players in the apprenticeship sector and is looking to strengthen its business development team in Manchester.

This is an opportunity to join an established provider with a strong technology apprenticeship offer, helping employers access the skills they need while building a healthy pipeline of new business.

We’re looking for someone with energy, commercial instinct and the determination to create opportunities rather than wait for them to arrive. You’ll have the opportunity to develop relationships with employers, understand their technology skills requirements and introduce apprenticeship solutions that deliver real value.

The Role

You’ll be responsible for developing new employer relationships and generating apprenticeship business across your target market.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Proactively identifying and approaching new employer prospects.
• Generating leads through telephone outreach, LinkedIn, networking, referrals and other sales channels.
• Building relationships with decision-makers across technology, HR, L&D and senior management.
• Identifying opportunities to support employers through technology apprenticeship standards.
• Qualifying prospects, arranging meetings and delivering persuasive sales conversations.
• Managing opportunities from initial contact through to conversion.
• Building and maintaining a consistent sales pipeline.
• Working towards agreed new-business and apprenticeship-start targets.
• Keeping CRM records and forecasts up to date.

This is a role for someone who enjoys the challenge of winning new clients and wants to see a direct link between their activity, results and commercial success.

What We’re Looking For

You’ll be a proactive, self-starting salesperson who is comfortable picking up the phone, approaching new organisations and developing relationships from scratch.

Ideally, you’ll have:

• Experience in B2B business development or new-business sales.
• A track record of generating leads, winning clients and delivering against targets.
• Strong communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills.
• The resilience to handle rejection and maintain consistent sales activity.
• The organisation to manage a pipeline and prioritise opportunities effectively.
• A commercial mindset and a genuine desire to develop new business.

Experience in recruitment, technology sales, apprenticeships or the wider B2B services market would be particularly relevant. Recruitment experience can be a strong foundation for this role, given the importance of prospecting, client engagement and winning new accounts.

You don’t need to be a technical expert, but you must be able to understand the employer’s requirements and communicate the value of apprenticeship training.

Why Consider This Role?

• Join one of the UK’s strongest apprenticeship providers.
• Develop new employer relationships in the technology skills market.
• Work in a commercially focused role with clear business development objectives.
• Build on experience gained in recruitment, B2B sales or a similar target-driven environment.
• Play a part in growing a significant apprenticeship business.

Interested?

If you’re a self-starter who enjoys winning new business and wants to work with an established name in technology apprenticeships, get in touch for a confidential conversation.

We’re particularly interested in people who can demonstrate what they’ve won, how they’ve built their pipeline and how they turn prospects into clients.