Partnership Development Manager in Birmingham

School of Coding & AI is one of the UK’s fastest growing education providers, delivering high quality, career focused programmes across Business, Coding, Computer Science & AI, STEM, Health and Social Care. We work with schools, universities, employers and local partners to provide education that leads to real outcomes. Our focus is simple, student first, always.

As we continue to grow across the UK and internationally, we are building strong, meaningful partnerships that support student recruitment, course growth, employer engagement and wider organisational development.

About the role: School of Coding & AI is continuing to grow, and partnerships will play an important role in that next stage. We are looking for a Partnership Development Manager who can help us build new relationships with organisations that share our ambition to create better education, skills and career opportunities.

You will identify potential partners, start conversations and develop opportunities across education, employer engagement, community, public sector and commercial channels. This could include working with schools, colleges, universities, employers, local authorities, skills organisations and other groups where there is potential to collaborate.

The focus of the role is simple: build the right relationships, spot opportunities and help turn promising conversations into clear next steps. This role would suit someone with experience in business development, partnerships, employer engagement or education sales who enjoys being out in the market, building trust and creating opportunities from scratch.

What you’ll be doing:

• Identify and approach new partnership opportunities across education, employer engagement, community, commercial and public sector channels.
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of prospective partners aligned to School of Coding & AI’s growth plans.
• Develop relationships with key contacts and decision makers, understanding their needs, priorities and potential areas for collaboration.
• Present School of Coding & AI’s offer clearly and professionally to external organisations.
• Progress early stage conversations into clear next steps, meetings, proposals, agreement discussions or internal handover.
• Support partnership opportunities linked to student recruitment, course growth, employer engagement, funded programmes and wider commercial value.
• Research new markets, sectors and organisations where partnership opportunities may exist.
• Attend meetings, networking events, open days and external engagement activities where required.
• Maintain clear records of partnership leads, conversations, actions, progress and outcomes.
• Prepare proposals, presentations and briefing notes to support partnership discussions.
• Track pipeline activity, potential value, risks and opportunities, providing regular updates to senior leadership.
• Work closely with academic, admissions, marketing, operations and senior leadership teams to ensure new opportunities are realistic and deliverable.
• Share market insight, feedback and competitor activity with relevant teams.
• Support wider growth projects linked to partnerships and business development.

What we’re looking for:

• Experience in business development, partnerships, employer engagement, education sales, account management or a similar external facing role.
• Confident building relationships with external stakeholders and decision makers.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to present ideas clearly and professionally.
• Able to identify opportunities and turn conversations into clear next steps.
• Good organisational skills, with the ability to manage a pipeline of activity and follow ups.
• Commercially aware, proactive and comfortable working towards growth focused objectives.
• Able to work independently while collaborating with internal teams.
• Confident using Microsoft Office, CRM systems or similar tools to track activity and report progress.
• Professional, credible and comfortable representing the organisation externally.
• Experience working in education, higher education, training, apprenticeships or skills.
• Existing knowledge of partnerships with schools, colleges, universities, employers or local authorities.
• Experience preparing proposals, presentations or partnership documents.
• Understanding of student recruitment, funded programmes, employer engagement or course growth.
• Experience attending networking events, open days or stakeholder meetings.

This is an exciting time to join School of Coding & AI as we continue to grow our education provision and strengthen our external partnerships. You will have the opportunity to play a key role in building relationships that support the organisation’s next stage of growth. This is a visible role where your work can directly contribute to new opportunities, stronger partnerships and better outcomes for students.

We are looking for someone who is ambitious, proactive and confident opening doors. In return, you will join a growing organisation where new ideas are encouraged and where you can make a real impact.

Salary and benefits:

• Competitive salary depending on experience.
• Generous annual leave entitlement.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• CPD and development opportunities.
• Company and social events.
• Retail discounts through Bright Exchange.