About the Role

The Open University is the UK's largest university, and a successful leader in flexible part-time education, combining a mission to expand access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education. The Business Development Unit is committed to delivering innovative and profitable learning solutions for students, businesses and partners and is a key contributor to The Open University’s strategy in reaching more diverse groups of learners through various channels and partnerships for income generation / diversification. The Unit plays a vital role in delivering growth in existing markets and in establishing the University in new markets, including apprenticeships.

This is a key post for the B2B employer engagement portfolio supporting income generation through developing commercial partnerships with corporate employers. The position requires a highly motivated, target-driven Business Development Manager who can represent The Open University at a senior level. 
 
The successful candidate will have a demonstrable business development track record. The role requires strong communication, influencing and negotiation skills, with the ability to manage both internal and external stakeholders. You will have strong commercial acumen, be a creative thinker and have an entrepreneurial spirit. 

Operating as part of a national team, you will be expected to be proactive in planning your portfolio. You will develop and execute a strategic sales plan for your portfolio of clients and research and develop new income generation / diversification opportunities.

You will be a mission-driven individual who identifies with the ethos of The Open University and recognise that the income that you generate helps sustain the ability for us to continue to make our wider societal impact. Key internal relationships will include working with wider Business Development Unit colleagues (bids and contracts, marketing, employer insight etc), professional services, faculties, and nations across the university as relevant. 

Key Responsibilities

• To build strategic relationships across a priority led sector-based portfolio to enable the promotion and positioning of The Open University as a strategic workforce development partner.
• To create and execute a business development strategy to support our overall goals to meet ambitious targets to increase income generation / diversification.
• To pro-actively identify, build and grow a strategic sales pipeline; generating leads and opportunities for revenue with existing and new clients.
• To create and deliver persuasive business proposals and presentations leading to the development of long-term relationships and income generation. 
• Ability to develop/manage large scale projects with key internal/external stakeholders to meet specified outcomes i.e., are timely, within budget and to client satisfaction.
• Analyse market trends, competitor activities, and client feedback to identify areas for growth and development.
• To prioritise activities and work to maximise opportunities and manage expectations of internal colleagues including sharing best practice with colleagues and partners.
• To represent the university at external events.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• A degree or equivalent qualification in a business-related subject and proof of professional development or equivalent relevant experience.
• Excellent senior relationship management and business development skills.
• Demonstrated experience in sales / business development and generating new income.
• A team worker who is goal-orientated to achieve ambitions targets aligned with strategic objectives.
• Experience of working effectively across teams in a cross functional structure with the ability to influence multiple stakeholders (internal and external) autonomously.
• Strong collaborative and team-working ethos, with an articulate and confident manner to develop good relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong client management skills with the ability to meet project outcomes within time and budget.
• The ability to combine market and competitor information to inform our future work activity.
•  Manage competing priorities, own workload to hit deadlines.
• The ability to take a creative approach to problem solving.
• Strong analytical, IT and administrative skills including experience in database management to build sales success.

Desirable:

• Understanding of Government priorities as they relate to Higher Education in England. 
• Experience of working within an educational setting in a business development role.
• Knowledge of higher education, learning and development, training and/or the apprenticeship sector. 
• Evidence of being forward thinking and bringing innovation to how we engage with clients.
• A passion and commitment to continuous improvement and lifelong learning.

Essential Requirements

Terms & Conditions: Open University Worldwide Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Open University which sits within the Business Development Unit (BDU).  This role attracts OUW Terms and Conditions.

Flexible working: We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Work location: It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where you can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be up to 2 times per week. 

Planned assessments: The selection process is expected to consist of two stages, with interviews taking place at our Milton Keynes campus (Walton Hall). 

How to apply:  To apply for this role please submit the following as separate documents;

• CV 
• Supporting statement, up to 1,000 words, you should set out in your statement why you’re interested in this role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the required competencies for this role as detailed in the job and person specification.

We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications.