Partnership Manager (Schools) in Stafford

Location: Homebased Department: Sales and Marketing – Schools, Academies and Local Authorities Contract: Full-time, Permanent Converge is growing, and we're looking for a driven and customer-focused Partnership Manager to join our Education Division. If you're passionate about building lasting relationships with schools, academies and local authorities, confident managing your own pipeline, and enjoy the challenge of winning new business alongside growing existing accounts, this role offers the perfect blend of relationship management, business development and strategic growth. About the Role You'll work alongside our Account Management team within the Education Division, introducing Stone's Education portfolio – Hardware, Infrastructure, AV and Licensing – to new prospects, while developing and growing our existing customer base. You'll be responsible for managing existing customer accounts and contract business, advising and assisting customers with their needs, and identifying new opportunities to support and deliver growth in line with Stone's targets – through On Site and Virtual meetings What You'll Be Doing Support the Account Management team with customer-facing site visits, working to achievable targets to drive Stone's education portfolio. Maintain a pipeline and forecast for Stone's core Education products and services, reporting to the Head of Partnerships and Director of Partnerships for Schools. Develop and expand the existing customer base through email campaigns, calling existing and prospective customers, postal campaigns, campaign follow-up and site visits. Deliver revenue and profit targets from your segment, proactively adding new clients monthly in line with KPIs and targets. Identify, manage and grow new business opportunities through effective prospect management and negotiation. Contribute to the development of strategies that enable Stone Group to achieve short, medium and long-term business plans. Oversee relationships with key customers and build a strong network of contacts across schools, academies and local authorities. Gather, maintain and record in-depth customer and competitor information. Handle customer queries and complaints professionally and effectively. Participate in customer events, conferences and hospitality where appropriate. Collate reporting and management information, contributing to daily, weekly and monthly sales reporting to monitor performance against targets. Act as a proactive member of the sales team, supporting and sharing information with colleagues. What You Bring We're looking for someone with a strong track record in business development or external sales, and a genuine passion for building customer relationships. You'll bring: Confident use of the Microsoft Office suite. At least 2 years' experience in a Business Development or External Sales role. Proven experience building and growing a customer database. Proven track record of sales performance against targets. Proven experience winning new customers through proactive prospecting. Ability to create and analyse data sets (desirable). Proven track record of customer liaison and relationship-building skills (desirable). Experience of, or an understanding of, the Education-Technology sector – Schools, Academies, Local Authorities and Frameworks (desirable). Experience of Presentations to customers at Schools & Multi Academy Trust Level Qualifications & Desirable Skills Essential: GCSE English and GCSE Maths (or equivalent). Full UK driving licence. Desirable: NVQ in Business and Communications. NVQ in Selling Skills. Who You Are You're a confident communicator with great attention to detail and a genuine customer focus. You're a strong team player with a growth mindset, driven to build and improve your own performance, and passionate about representing the Stone brand across the education sector.