Business Development Manager in London

At AAT it’s our mission to make it possible for more people to experience the opportunities a career in finance brings, through our accessible qualifications and supportive community.

We are the UK’s leading qualification and professional membership body for vocational accountants. We pride ourselves on providing practical qualifications that meet the needs of both employers and employees, as well as products and services to support our members and customers throughout their careers.

Term: Permanent

What exactly will you be doing?

As a Business Development Manager, you'll be responsible for generating new business opportunities and building relationships with organisations across the public sector.

You'll identify and engage decision-makers, manage opportunities from initial contact through to agreement and work closely with internal teams to deliver a positive customer experience. You'll combine strong relationship-building skills with commercial awareness to create growth opportunities for AAT while helping employers access high-quality learning and development solutions.

You'll also provide market and customer insight, helping colleagues understand emerging trends, customer challenges and opportunities to improve products, services and approaches.

Major objectives

Your major objectives will include:

• Develop and deliver business development activity that supports AAT's growth objectives and annual targets.
• Identify, engage and secure meetings with new public sector organisations and key decision-makers.
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of opportunities, ensuring consistent lead generation and conversion.
• Manage leads and enquiries effectively, turning opportunities into new business relationships.
• Prepare proposals, support tender activity, negotiate commercial arrangements and secure new business.
• Build strong relationships with prospective customers, partners and stakeholders to support long-term growth.
• Collaborate with marketing, product and account management teams to maximise opportunities and deliver a seamless customer experience.
• Share market intelligence, customer feedback and competitor insight to support business planning and product development.

What are we looking for?

We're looking for someone with a successful track record in business development who is confident building relationships, influencing senior stakeholders and identifying opportunities for growth.

• Experience in business development, sales or account acquisition within the education, training or skills sector.
• Proven success in winning new business and developing opportunities with large or complex organisations.
• Experience engaging and influencing senior decision-makers.
• Strong relationship management, negotiation and presentation skills.
• Experience managing opportunities through a CRM system and maintaining an accurate pipeline.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong commercial awareness and the ability to identify opportunities and manage risk.
• A proactive, self-motivated approach with the ability to manage priorities and work independently.
• Experience working collaboratively across teams to deliver successful outcomes.

It would also be beneficial if you have:

• Experience selling education solutions to public sector organisations.
• Knowledge of apprenticeships, qualifications or the wider education and skills landscape.
• Understanding of the accounting profession.
• Knowledge of AAT products and services.
• Experience of tender or bid management.
• Experience contributing to business development or market growth strategies.

What are the benefits?

At AAT we believe in treating our staff well and this is reflected in our wide-ranging benefits, which include:

• Hybrid working (1-2 days per week in our London office) and opportunities for further flexible working.
• 25 days’ annual leave, increasing one day per year up to a maximum of 30 days plus bank holidays.
• Great pension scheme, life assurance and critical illness cover.
• Health cash plan.
• Enhanced maternity and shared parental leave contributions of up to 6 months’ full pay depending on the length of service.
• Regular wellbeing initiatives.
• Cycle2Work scheme and much more.

Closing Date: The planned closing date for this role is 27 November 2026, however, we reserve the right to close the role earlier than planned.

We are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming place to work. We encourage applications from diverse candidates and make recruitment decisions based on skill and experience. We have a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Champions group, which leads on our D&I strategy and organise events to celebrate and raise awareness. We are a disability-confident committed employer and have signed up to the Race at Work Charter. We have also signed up for the Women in Finance Charter and in 2022 we exceeded our target for appointing females into senior positions.

Come and help us to make AAT an even better place to work!

Interested?

To apply please upload a copy of your CV and fill your application online.