Senior Client Relationship Manager in Manchester

About The Role

Senior Customer Relationship Manager – Public Sector Growth

Join a business selling into one of the biggest priorities facing organisations today

AI, technology and digital capability are changing how organisations operate, compete, and grow. But transformation only works if organisations have the people and skills to deliver it.

That is where QA comes in.

QA is the UK’s largest technology training provider, working with 96% of the FTSE and most Fortune 500 companies to help organisations build the AI, technology, digital and human skills they need for the future.

In the last three years alone, QA has supported 4,000+ organisations and more than one million learners. And as organisations continue to invest in AI, data, cloud, cyber security and digital transformation, the need to develop those skills is only becoming more important.

That creates a significant opportunity for experienced sales professionals who know how to open doors, develop strategic relationships, and create growth from accounts with significant untapped potential.

Where you come in

As a Senior Customer Relationship Manager within our Public Sector Growth team, you’ll take ownership of developing and growing a portfolio of public sector organisations.

Your portfolio will include a combination of cold, dormant, lapsed, underdeveloped, and existing customers.

Your job is to understand where the potential sits, build the relationships required to unlock it and develop those organisations into active, high-value customers.

That means creating opportunities where there may be little or no current relationship.

You’ll identify the right stakeholders, understand organisational priorities, navigate complex buying environments and create credible conversations around how QA can support workforce, skills and transformation challenges.

As relationships develop, you’ll be expected to broaden QA’s footprint, increase customer engagement, and identify opportunities across the wider portfolio.

You’ll be taking solutions to market in areas public sector organisations are already actively investing in, including:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Data
• Cloud
• Cyber Security
• Digital Transformation
• Technology skills
• Apprenticeships and workforce development

This is a senior, target-driven B2B sales role.

You’ll be accountable for creating pipelines, winning new business, activating dormant accounts, increasing account value, and developing customers into longer-term strategic relationships.

You’ll have the autonomy to shape how you approach your market, but with that comes a high level of ownership for the commercial outcomes you deliver.

What you’ll be doing

• You’ll take ownership of creating and growing commercially valuable public sector relationships by:
• Developing cold, dormant and underdeveloped accounts into active customers
• Creating new opportunities through proactive prospecting, networking and stakeholder engagement
• Building credible relationships with senior decision-makers across complex organisations
• Leading consultative conversations to uncover workforce, skills and transformation priorities
• Identifying opportunities across QA’s wider portfolio and growing customer value over time
• Navigating complex sales cycles, stakeholder groups and procurement environments
• Building and managing account plans, pipeline and opportunities through to close
• Collaborating with internal teams to develop strong customer solutions and deliver sustainable revenue growth
• The strongest Senior CRMs create momentum. They identify where the potential sits, open the right doors, and turn new relationships into long-term commercial growth.

The strongest CRMs do more than manage existing relationships. They understand their customers, ask the right questions, connect business priorities to solutions, and consistently find new ways to add value.

A market with genuine momentum

Public sector organisations are facing significant workforce and capability challenges.

AI adoption, digital transformation, cyber security, cloud, data and wider technology change are increasing the demand for new skills across government and public services.

At the same time, organisations need to improve productivity, develop existing employees, and build sustainable pipelines of future talent.

QA helps them do that.

That gives you the opportunity to have conversations that go beyond individual training requirements.

You’ll be discussing wider organisational challenges, understanding transformation priorities, and identifying where skills and workforce development can support them.

And with QA already supporting major organisations across the UK, you’ll have a strong proposition behind you as you build new relationships and develop existing ones.

We’ll invest in your development too

QA is a learning business, so development is not just something we sell to customers.

You’ll have access to:

• Ongoing coaching and development from experienced sales leaders
• QA-authored technology and business learning
• Dedicated development days
• Exposure to emerging areas including AI, data, cloud and cyber
• Opportunities to deepen your strategic, consultative and enterprise selling capability
• Further learning opportunities including Degree and Master’s programmes

At this level, you’ll be expected to bring experience, commercial judgement, and the confidence to take ownership of your market.

QA will give you the platform, expertise, and portfolio to build on that.

Who tends to do well here?

We’re looking for people who are:

• Commercially driven with a strong record of delivering against sales targets
• Experienced in creating new business rather than relying solely on inherited accounts
• Comfortable working with cold, dormant and underdeveloped customer portfolios
• Confident building relationships with senior stakeholders and decision-makers
• Skilled at navigating complex organisations and buying environments
• Strong at consultative selling and uncovering customer challenges
• Able to identify opportunity across a broad portfolio rather than focusing on a single product
• Comfortable managing longer and more complex sales cycles
• Proactive in building their own pipeline and creating opportunities
• Resilient and persistent when developing relationships from a cold start
• Commercially curious and able to understand the wider context behind customer needs
• Comfortable taking ownership and operating with a high level of autonomy
• Focused on developing accounts into sustainable, long-term commercial relationships

You’ll already have strong B2B sales, business development, or account growth experience, with evidence of creating and converting new opportunities.

You should be able to demonstrate how you have taken cold or underdeveloped relationships, built credibility with customers, and grown those relationships commercially over time.

Experience selling into the public sector or apprenticeships would be valuable, but it is not essential if you can demonstrate the ability to understand complex customers, navigate procurement environments, and develop strategic relationships.

More important is your ability to create opportunities.

The opportunity

If you enjoy opening doors, developing relationships from the ground up and turning untapped accounts into significant customers, this is an opportunity to do that at scale.

You’ll have the autonomy to shape your portfolio, access to a broad range of solutions and the backing of one of the UK’s most established learning and skills organisations.

You’ll be joining a team where performance matters, development is taken seriously, and experienced salespeople are trusted to take ownership of creating growth.

About Us

Wellbeing & benefits

Your wellbeing matters to us. That’s why we offer benefits designed to help you recharge and thrive, including:

• 27 days Annual Leave(4 days used for the festive closure) plus Bank Holidays
• Holiday Buying scheme
• Medicash plan, Wellhub, Cycle to Work scheme
• Private Medical Insurance at corporate rates
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee Discounts Benefit Hub
• 3 Development days
• 2 Charity days per year
• Pension Scheme
• Early Friday Finishat 4pm

Personal growth

Learning and opportunity are at the core of what we do - and that applies to you too!

You’'ll have the unique opportunity to develop your skills on our QA authored courses in the latest tech (you’'ll get3 training days/year to do this). You can also delve deep into our world-class digital learning content on a variety of tech and business topics. Or perhaps you’d like to enrol on a Degree or Masters programme to enhance your skillset or learn new things.

Our people

We are an equal opportunity employer, focused on promoting a welcoming and inclusive environment. We embrace diversity, welcome applications from all candidates and aim to support the career growth of everyone.

This means no matter what your gender, age, ethnicity, beliefs, or sexual orientation, or if you are disabled or a carer, we welcome you and the different perspectives you bring to our diverse family. We’re proud of the progress we’ve achieved over the last few years to build an inclusive culture and celebrate our diversity.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we guarantee that all applicants with a disability who meet the role criteria will progress to the next stage of the process. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments.

Our Mission

We teach the critical AI, technology, digital and Human skills needed to transform and succeed in a changing world. We do this through tailored learning programmes that connect learning across an organisation, create continuity for learners, and feature collaborative, cohort-based modalities to apply skills at pace and at scale.

Our unique end-to-end learning solutions draw from deep expertise across Apprenticeships, Instructor-led training, Self-paced Learning and Blended Learning.

You can find out more about us at https://www.qa.com/about/careers/