Employer Partnerships Manager (Business Development) at Generation UK & Ireland

This role covers our partnerships work in the North of England. It is a remote role, but with a preference for candidates based in Manchester or Leeds.

ABOUT GENERATION

Generation is a charity founded by McKinsey and Company with a mission to support people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. We are delivering skills bootcamps to train and place unemployed people into work.

Generation launched globally in 2015, and has grown quickly to become the world’s largest demand-led employment initiative. We have placed over 50,000 people into roles (all of whom have suffered some form of barrier to work), working with over 5,000 employer partners to date across 17 countries and 30 professions. In the UK we run a range of tech bootcamps with partners including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google and Accenture, as well as programmes supporting people into healthcare and the green sector. Find out more at www.generation.org

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are in search of a proactive business development manager with a clear passion for supporting underrepresented groups into opportunities, and who is able to inspire the same passion in our employer and funder partners. You will work closely with the North Partnerships Director to support and lead business development across West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. This will involve sourcing employers for our programmes, and managing and growing those relationships at scale. Reporting to the North Partnerships Director, the Employer Partnerships Manager (Business Development) will be responsible for researching and identifying key employers across the region to engage with, the business development cycle, including lead generation, pitching, contracting and income generation, and the ongoing account management of these partners.

This role will particularly suit someone with a background in business development, sales, recruitment or corporate fundraising, who also has a passion for social good and supporting people.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Sourcing employers & securing vacancies at a high volume

Build a large pipeline of local employers and key contacts – predominantly within the technology sector, but also supporting our other core sectors : healthcare and the green sector.

Meet with prospective employers, securing their commitment to recruit graduates from Generation programmes on a “fee per hire” basis or via subscription packages.

Ensure there are sufficient vacancies to support upcoming graduation of each cohort in line with targets.

Build promotional and marketing collateral that will highlight the value of Generation to employers.

Organise and run events, meetings and presentations that will inform and inspire prospective employers, both in person and virtually.

Track and report on progress regularly, escalating issues and risks as they are identified, using our Business Intelligence and CRM systems.

Securing income from partners & funders

All programmes at Generation are free of charge to our learners, in order for us to reduce any potential barriers they may face. We therefore rely on funding from the Public Sector and contributions from our employer partners.

The Employer Partnerships Manager will have income targets to meet, through a hire on demand fee from our employers, subscription and partnership packages and large-volume hiring.

Support the Partnerships Director to ensure funding contract requirements are met, evidenced and reported effectively.

Account Management & Growth

Develop a portfolio of key accounts and raise sponsorship income via employer partners.

Secure ongoing commitment from existing employers for future programmes and partnership opportunities, in line with targets.

Be the point of escalation for any issues the employer raises

Design and implement employer engagement activities that will keep employers updated and enthusiastic about the programmes pre / during / post placements.

Upon graduation of each cohort, manage employers to ensure there is a robust interview and feedback mechanism in place for our learners, working closely with internal staff and employers.

Organise and collect employer feedback, case studies and interviews.

Contribute to the wider success and growth of Generation in the UK & globally

Contribute to the ongoing development of employer sourcing, onboarding, and account management processes. This may be through project work, or cross team collaboration.

Help develop Generation’s understanding of the needs and attributes of employers, feeding this back to internal teams as appropriate.

Contribute to the development of ROI frameworks, tools and data collection processes for existing and new job roles and oversee any necessary data collection process involving employers.

Inputting into regional strategy and deputising duties for Partnerships Director

Supporting senior management by taking leadership responsibility to support the ongoing operational management of a region when required.

Requirements

EXPERIENCE

As a business development professional, we think you’ll need the following experience in order to succeed in the role:

Experience in a sales or business development role, including demonstrable experience of lead generation, achieving sales targets and meeting KPIs in a performance driven environment, and closing deals.

The ability to communicate to a broad mix of stakeholders, inspire confidence in them and develop long term relationships and partnerships.

Managing senior stakeholder relationships and negotiation skills with key individuals.

Exposure to working in a fast paced environment (ideally a start up environment), as well as some evidence of having worked remotely and independently.

Knowledge of UK businesses hiring tech roles and a high volume of connections in the local tech sector would be advantageous.

ATTRIBUTES

Here are the core attributes we think you’ll need to succeed in the role:

Resilient – you aren’t put off by challenges, tough questions from partners and are able to offer creative and positive solutions to challenges, as well as working well in a fast paced, variable sales environment.

Self-motivated and proactive – you will have targets to reach and a mission to achieve. You will generate ideas and look to make business improvements. You will organise your workflows to get the best results, collaborating with others and leading projects where necessary.

Commercial – you can work to targets and close deals, and track your progress along the way.

Passionate about the cause and enthusiastic when it comes to selling – you have a demonstrated interest and motivation to support those from a disadvantaged background.

Resourceful – you think creatively when it comes to sourcing employers, you know how to get your foot in the door and drive positive conversations.

Methodical – you can build a sales pipeline across multiple programmes / cohorts / industries. You know how to structure your time across outreach and account management.

Benefits

At Generation, we’re changing the lives of many individuals, and that in itself gets us out of bed! Here are a few other benefits you’ll experience working with the UK team:

A competitive salary of £35-45K per annum

Performance-related bonus to reward output achievement;

Flexible and remote working to accommodate everyone’s preferred working pattern/preferences and unique needs.;

WFH set up offer of support of £300 to help you make your working-from-home setup comfortable and efficient;

Professional Development is a priority for Generation and you can access up to £1,000 towards your learning & development per year. This support is accompanied by up to 5 days of training days/ study leave per year to enable your development activities.

Purpose and social impact in the heart of your work;

Opportunity to make your mark – you’ll have a lot of autonomy to bring the Generation blueprint to life in a way that makes sense for your region;

Opportunity to get involved with a range of activities and varied projects – we’re a small team, so there are lots of opportunities to get involved in projects across the whole organisation