Business Development Manager in Leeds

Business Development Manager – Education Catering

Leeds, England, United Kingdom

We’re looking for an energetic and commercially minded Business Development Manager to help grow our education catering portfolio across the UK. This is a fantastic opportunity to work with passionate teams in operations, bids, and marketing, supporting schools and education settings with high-quality, values‑led food solutions.

As Business Development Manager, you’ll lead the full sales process — from identifying opportunities and managing tenders to securing new contracts and building long‑term partnerships with education clients.

What you’ll be doing

• Represent our values, educational approach, and commitment to quality, nutrition, and social impact
• Build and manage a strong pipeline of opportunities, including schools, MATs, and local authorities
• Lead the end‑to‑end tender and sales process, working closely with operations and bid teams on compliant, compelling submissions
• Oversee the creation of sales materials including PQQs, tenders, presentations, and promotional content
• Coordinate and attend school site visits, presentations, and stakeholder meetings
• Build trusted relationships with consultants, headteachers, business managers, and procurement leads
• Support and host education‑focused events for clients, prospects, and consultants

What we’re looking for

• Proven experience in education catering sales or contract catering sales within schools, MATs, or higher education
• Alternatively, strong education catering operations experience with exposure to tenders and bid processes
• Understanding of public sector procurement and education tendering frameworks
• Existing relationships with education consultants or procurement professionals (advantageous)
• A genuine passion for children’s food, nutrition, and positive social impact
• Confident communicator, able to engage effectively with school leaders, governors, and operational teams
• Resilient, organised, and comfortable working in a target‑driven environment
• Excellent written skills with strong attention to detail
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (experience with databases or Adobe Suite is a plus)

About you

• Self‑motivated, proactive, and collaborative
• Commercially aware with a structured, compliant approach to winning education contracts
• Comfortable managing multiple tenders and deadlines

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Sales, Project Management, and Product Management

Industries

Hospitality