Business Development Lead (Careers & Employability) in Reading

Location: England (Hybrid)

This is a full-time permanent role (35 hours per week).

About the role

We’re looking for an experienced and commercially focused Business Development Lead (Careers & Employability) to drive the growth of our Careers and Employability work in the UK and internationally. This is a senior business development role with responsibility for identifying, developing and securing high-value, profitable and strategically important opportunities. Working closely with our Head of Careers, Employability & Progression, operational teams and Business Development colleagues, you’ll take ownership of opportunities throughout the full business development lifecycle. From market analysis and early positioning through to solution design, partnership development, bid writing and mobilisation, you’ll play a key role in ensuring Education Development Trust is well positioned for future growth.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading the development of our Careers and Employability growth strategy across the UK and globally.
• Identifying and qualifying new business opportunities and future funding opportunities.
• Undertaking market analysis to understand clients, competitors, markets and potential partners.
• Leading opportunities and bids from end to end, including solution design, stakeholder engagement, partnership development, bid writing and commercial considerations.
• Ensuring submissions meet or exceed client requirements and represent high-quality, commercially viable solutions.
• Building effective relationships with external organisations, clients and partners, including leading partnership discussions and negotiations.
• Representing EDT externally and supporting our positioning within the Careers and Employability sectors.
• Working collaboratively across Business Development, Careers and Employability and operational teams.
• Supporting the effective handover and mobilisation of successful new contracts.
• Line managing and developing the Business Development Manager, as well as supporting junior colleagues across the wider team.
• Contributing to wider Business Development opportunities and improvement projects where required.

What we’re looking for

You’ll be an experienced Business Development professional with a proven track record of securing high-value Careers and Employability contracts. You’ll bring:

• Excellent knowledge and political and strategic awareness of the Careers and Employability sector in at least one of EDT’s core regions and/or markets.
• Demonstrable success within a Business Development environment.
• Significant experience of bid development, strategy development, market analysis, client positioning and partnership development.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of the full bid development process.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to use complex data to inform commercial and programme design decisions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including high-quality bid writing.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to design solutions around client requirements.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, including experience working with senior leaders, clients and external partners.
• Proven people management and leadership experience, including developing others.
• Experience of designing successful programmes or projects to meet client requirements.
• The ability to work confidently under pressure, manage tight deadlines and make difficult decisions independently.

Experience of working directly within the Careers and/or Employability sectors, international Business Development experience, knowledge of mobilisation approaches or additional language skills would be advantageous.

A full list of job objectives can be found in the job description.

Deadline for applications: midnight Sunday 15th November (Please note, we reserve the right to close our vacancies early if sufficient applications are received).

How to apply: To be considered for this vacancy, applicants are required to complete and submit a fully completed application form through our website. Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this position. Candidates must already have the right to work in the UK at the time of application. This role will require the successful candidate to go through a basic DBS check.

Salary & Benefits

Circa £60,000 per annum FTE. Benefits include:

• 30 days holiday plus bank holidays (pro rata)
• 2 days of paid volunteering per year (pro rata)
• Matched Pension Scheme
• Life Assurance
• Discounted gym memberships
• Health care cash plan
• Retail discounts
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Wellbeing App
• Access to training portal to help support your own CPD

EDT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults whom we work with and come into contact with around the world. All applicants are subject to thorough screening and successful candidates are subject to the relevant level of criminal record checks with national police authorities or the UK’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). This will be at minimum a basic DBS check.

EDT is a proud Disability Confident Leader. We take practical steps to ensure that disability inclusion is not only part of our values but part of our everyday actions. We are committed to creating a working environment where disabled employees are supported, valued, and empowered to thrive in their role.

If you are disabled or require specific adjustments during the application process, please do let us know how we can support you.

We understand that artificial intelligence (AI) tools (such as ChatGPT) can be helpful when applying for jobs – especially for those who require additional support during the recruitment process. However, while you may decide to use AI tools for ideas or pointers, we request that you do not rely heavily on them when answering questions. We are looking for responses that are personal to you, including details and examples of your abilities and work experience to date, and we consider copying and pasting AI-generated responses to be a misuse of AI tools. Likewise, we do not use AI-driven recruitment screening software, because we value authenticity and prefer to make personal connections with our candidates. If you have used AI to support your application – including in emails and responses to questions – please disclose this on your application form. If you would like clarification on how AI can be used in your application to EDT, please contact the Recruitment team via the EDT website.