Coyne Recruitment is working on behalf of a leading organisation operating across the government contracts, employability and public services sector, as they look to appoint a Head of Regional Partnerships & Development.

This is a strategic commercial role for someone who understands that winning government contracts is about far more than responding to a tender. It is about understanding what is happening locally, what commissioners are trying to achieve, how the market operates, who the key stakeholders are, what the supply chain needs to look like and, ultimately, whether the organisation can deliver a solution that makes commercial and operational sense.

The successful candidate will play a key role in developing the organisation’s regional footprint, identifying new opportunities, building strategic partnerships and translating market intelligence into commercially viable solutions.

What will you be doing?

You will take a localised, market-led approach to business development, working closely with senior leadership, operational teams, commissioners, partners and supply-chain organisations.

Your role will be to understand the market beyond the headline opportunity and bring that intelligence back into the business, helping shape where and how the organisation should grow.

You will be responsible for:

• Developing a strong understanding of regional commissioning environments, local markets and emerging government contract opportunities.
• Building and maintaining relationships with commissioners, local authorities, government stakeholders, strategic partners and key organisations within regional ecosystems.
• Identifying opportunities to develop the organisation’s regional footprint and establish new partnerships.
• Understanding local stakeholder priorities, community needs and supply-chain capability.
• Developing partnership and supply-chain models that strengthen the organisation’s proposition.
• Working with internal teams to assess whether opportunities are commercially and operationally viable before pursuing them.
• Translating market intelligence into business development strategies, propositions and bid opportunities.
• Leading or contributing to complex bids, tenders and commercial proposals.
• Challenging thinking internally around what the commissioner is actually trying to achieve and what solution will genuinely differentiate the organisation.
• Working closely with operational colleagues to ensure proposed solutions can be delivered effectively.
• Supporting the development of governance frameworks, partnership structures and performance arrangements.
• Maintaining oversight of contractual relationships and ensuring that commitments made during the sales and bidding process translate successfully into delivery.
• Providing senior leadership with insight into regional markets, commissioning trends, competitor activity, partnership opportunities and potential risks.
• Helping future-proof the organisation’s approach to growth as commissioning becomes increasingly localised and partnership-led.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone who can operate comfortably across commercial development, commissioning, procurement, partnerships and operational delivery.

You may currently be working in a senior business development, partnerships, commissioning, procurement, mobilisation or commercial role within employability, skills, welfare-to-work, health, justice, local government or another government-funded/public service environment.

What matters is your ability to connect the dots.

You will understand:

The market – how regional commissioning works, who influences decisions and what is changing.

The opportunity – how to identify genuine commercial opportunities rather than simply chasing every available contract.

The partnerships – how to build credible relationships and develop supply chains that strengthen delivery.

The proposition – how to turn market intelligence into a solution that meets commissioner requirements while remaining commercially viable.

The delivery – how to make sure what is proposed can actually be delivered and sustained.

You’ll ideally bring:

• Significant experience within government contracts, public services, employability, skills, welfare-to-work, health, justice or a related environment.
• Strong knowledge of regional commissioning and localised service delivery.
• A proven track record in business development, partnerships, bidding or commercial growth.
• Experience developing and managing complex supply chains and strategic partnerships.
• Strong understanding of public-sector procurement and commissioning.
• Established networks across relevant public-sector, commissioning and delivery environments.
• Experience contributing to or leading complex bids and tenders.
• Commercial acumen and the ability to assess opportunity, risk and deliverability.
• Experience working across both commercial and operational teams.
• The ability to turn market intelligence into clear commercial recommendations.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to engage from operational teams through to senior government and commissioner level.
• A practical approach — someone who understands that winning the contract is only the beginning.

Why this role?

This is an opportunity to take a genuinely strategic role in shaping where and how an established organisation grows.

With government contracting increasingly influenced by devolution, regional commissioning, partnership models and locally designed solutions, the ability to understand the market at a regional level is becoming increasingly important.

You’ll have the opportunity to influence the organisation’s regional growth strategy, partnership model, supply-chain approach and future pipeline, working directly with senior leadership and operational teams.

This isn’t simply about generating leads or filling a CRM.

It’s about understanding the market, building the right relationships, identifying the right opportunities and helping the organisation develop solutions that can genuinely be delivered.