Shaw Trust
Apprenticeship Business Development and Sales Manager – West Midlands & North of England
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“Shaw Trust promotes team spirit, inclusiveness and it is an organisation where everybody is somebody. I am proud to be part of this great organisation.”
At Shaw Trust we believe everyone has the right to live a decent and dignified life and an opportunity for rewarding work. We are a social purpose organisation challenging inequality and breaking down barriers to enable social mobility.
For us being part of the solution is about creating the conditions for this to happen, advocating and delivering services that make a real difference. Working in partnership not competition, we are part of an eco-system of purpose-led organisations, striving for a fairer, more equal society centred on opportunity for all.
Are you passionate about creating positive change and supporting communities? Join our administrative team and work alongside our dedicated operational teams to drive the success of the WLA programme.
12-month fixed-term contract
Home based, covering the West Midlands and North of England
About The Role
We have ambitious plans to grow our apprenticeship provision over the next year, and we are looking for someone who wants to play an important part in making that happen.
You will help us grow across the West Midlands and North of England by finding new employers, understanding what they need and showing them how apprenticeships can support their people and their business.
You will be building your portfolio from the ground up, so you will need to be confident approaching employers, making connections and creating opportunities. However, this is not a role where you make the sale and then hand the employer over. You will continue to look after the relationships you build, helping employers make the most of their apprenticeship programmes and identifying opportunities to work together more widely.
Put simply, you will win new employers, build strong relationships with them and grow those accounts over time.
You will have the freedom to develop your territory and approach the market in a way that delivers results. You might connect with an employer directly, meet them through a regional network or be introduced through one of our partners. However the conversation begins, you will take the time to understand the employer’s priorities and turn those discussions into apprenticeship opportunities.
You will work closely with colleagues across recruitment, delivery, compliance and operations to help employers move smoothly from their first conversation with us through to successful apprenticeship starts.
This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys the energy of new business but also takes pride in building relationships that last.
You Will
What You’ll Be Doing
- Find and engage new employers across the West Midlands and North of England.
- Build your own network and portfolio through prospecting, referrals, events, partnerships and regional connections.
- Speak with employers about their workforce plans, skills gaps and people-development priorities.
- Recommend apprenticeship and training solutions that genuinely meet their needs.
- Turn employer conversations into vacancies, learner referrals and apprenticeship starts.
- Continue to manage the employers you bring in, building trust and providing a consistent point of contact.
- Look for opportunities to grow each account by working with additional teams, sites or areas of the business.
- Develop relationships with Combined Authorities, Chambers of Commerce, Local Skills Improvement Plans and other regional partners.
- Make the most of levy and levy-transfer opportunities where appropriate.
- Maintain a strong and realistic sales pipeline and keep your forecasts and CRM records up to date.
- Work towards clear targets for employer engagement, sales, apprenticeship starts and income.
- Work closely with internal teams to make sure employers receive a responsive, high-quality service.
- Represent Shaw Trust and Ixion at employer meetings, networking events and regional forums.
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About You
You will enjoy meeting employers, starting conversations and turning ideas into real opportunities. You will also care about what happens after an employer says yes and be motivated by seeing that relationship develop.
We would love to hear from you if you have:
- Experience in apprenticeship sales, employer engagement, business development or account growth.
- A track record of finding new business and turning opportunities into results.
- Experience of looking after and growing the employer relationships you have developed.
- A good understanding of apprenticeships and how they can support workforce development.
- Knowledge of the employer market across the West Midlands and/or North of England.
- The confidence to speak with senior decision-makers and ask the right questions.
- A natural ability to build trust while remaining focused on achieving results.
- A proactive and organised approach to managing your pipeline and accounts.
- The resilience to create opportunities in a territory that you will be helping us to grow.
- The ability to work independently from home and travel regularly across the region.
Existing employer and stakeholder relationships in the West Midlands or North of England would be particularly valuable.
Experience of business, customer service, HR, people development or other professional apprenticeship standards would be helpful, but it is not essential. What matters most is that you understand apprenticeships, know how to develop employer business and share our ambition for growth.
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If you are excited by the opportunity to build your own employer portfolio, see the results of your work and help shape our next phase of growth, we would love to hear from you.
Download The Job Description For Full Details.
Location and Contract
This is a home-based, 12-month fixed-term role covering the West Midlands and North of England. travel across the territory may be required.
Employee Benefits
As an employee of Shaw Trust as well as positively impacting people’s lives, you will have access to the following benefits:
- 25 days annual leave per year (plus bank holidays), with incremental increases post 3 years’ service up to 28 days, and the option to purchase additional holiday
- 2 days paid volunteering leave each year
- An enhanced pension scheme after 6 months
- Life Assurance at 3 times your annual salary rate
- Access to a suite of learning and development opportunities including paid for apprenticeship and masters’ levels qualifications, and management development programmes
- Opportunities to connect with our employee diversity networks (LGBTQ+ Support Network, Racial Equality Network, Disability Equality Network, Neurodiversity Peer Support Network, Women’s Network, MANaging Network, Menopause Network Group)
- Health and Wellbeing initiatives including internal support, employee assistance programme and health cash plan
- Opportunity to request flexible working from day one
Our Strategy
To find out more about Shaw Trusts aims in our 2030 Strategic Directive available here: Vision-2030-Strategic-Directive-5-9.pdf
Join a diverse and inclusive organisation
Shaw Trust is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment, where every employee, regardless of their background or lived experience, feels that they belong and can progress in their career.
In addition;
- We are proud to be certified as an employer who meets the National Equality Standard, the accepted standard for inclusiveness in business across the UK.
- We are Disability Confident Leaders, support the guaranteed interview scheme and use of the government’s Access to Work scheme.
- Living our values, we are keen to reflect the diversity of UK society at every level within our organisation.
We welcome applications from all sections of the community including from people with lived experience and/or knowledge of disability or social exclusion.
If you have accessibility requirements and/or would like further information about the role, please contact: Resourcing@shaw-trust.org.uk
Shaw Trust reserve the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient applications are received.
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