Head of Business Development

Head of Business Development
Hours; Full time (37 hours each week, all year-round)
Duration; Permanent
Salary; £47,712 a year + benefits
Location; Cross College role (Rotherham College & Dearne Valley College, Rotherham and North Notts College, Worksop)
About the Role
RNN Group is seeking an ambitious, strategic, and results-oriented Head of Business Development to join our Employer Partnerships team. In this pivotal senior commercial leadership role, you will shape regional workforce strategy, drive commercial growth, and secure high-value employer partnerships across South Yorkshire and North Nottinghamshire.
Blending strategic commercial vision with hands-on operational sales delivery, you will lead market intelligence analysis, sector alignment, and strategic account acquisition. You will directly drive sales activity and pipeline conversion with key regional employers and SMEs while managing a high-performing team of Skills Consultants. Your team will ensure robust CRM governance, strategic sales planning, and performance accountability to achieve ambitious revenue targets aligned with the RNN Group Stakeholder Engagement Strategy and Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs).
Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Commercial Planning & Pipeline Management: Lead regional sales strategy and operational market planning, driving end-to-end pipeline governance, account expansion, conversion tracking, and high-value revenue performance across regional employer accounts, SMEs, non-academy levy clients, and inbound commercial leads.
• Team Leadership & Performance Management: Direct, inspire, and performance-manage a team of sector-focused Skills Consultants, establishing strategic sales targets, rigorous KPIs, and coaching frameworks across apprenticeships, commercial short courses, adult skills provision, and work placements.
• Direct Sales Delivery & Employer Engagement: Maintain direct operational sales activity and strategic relationship management with key regional employers, holding personal accountability for securing major apprenticeship accounts and driving high-impact commercial training delivery.
• Market Intelligence & Sector Growth: Analyse macroeconomic trends, regional labour market intelligence, and skills requirements including DTEC employer engagement to formulate targeted market penetration strategies across construction, engineering, health, social care, and emerging green/technical industries.
• Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Partner strategically with senior internal stakeholders, including the Head of Future Ready and the Employer Academy Lead, to align strategic workforce planning, rationalize employer intelligence, prevent client duplication, and ensure a seamless employer journey.
• Compliance & Quality Governance: Oversee the operational and compliance output of Recruitment and Enrolment Officers, ensuring all sales documentation, apprenticeship contracts, levy reservations, and onboarding lifecycles adhere strictly to ESFA compliance, funding regulations, and internal quality frameworks.
• CRM Analytics & Executive Reporting: Drive CRM optimization, employer segmentation, and predictive pipeline reporting, providing executive-level dashboards and commercial analytics to the Director of Business Development and Apprenticeships.
• Quality Standards & Regulatory Compliance: Embed Group quality standards, data protection protocols, and safeguarding regulations across all employer engagement, account management, and student placement operations.

What will you need?
Qualifications

• Degree or Higher-Level Qualification: Required in a relevant subject area.
• Literacy & Numeracy: Level 2 Literacy and Numeracy (or equivalent, e.g., GCSE C/4 or above).

Experience

• Commercial Leadership: Proven track record in strategic business development, commercial leadership, and regional workforce planning within Further Education, training providers, or corporate B2B environments.
• Strategic & Operational Balance: Demonstrated ability to balance strategic commercial planning with direct operational sales execution and key employer relationship management.
• Team Management: Proven track record of managing and coaching target-driven sales teams to consistently exceed commercial revenue, levy acquisition, and recruitment KPIs.
• Market Penetration & Compliance: Experience in SME market penetration, strategic account management, commercial pipeline governance, and ESFA/onboarding compliance.

Knowledge, Skills & Attributes

• Funding & Sector Acumen: Deep understanding of FE funding, apprenticeship levy rules, adult funding streams, and commercial training markets.
• Negotiation & Analytics: High-level strategic negotiation, executive stakeholder management, consultative closing skills, CRM analytics, pipeline modelling, and executive performance reporting.
• Cross-College Collaboration: Ability to work flexibly, collaboratively, and constructively across cross-college departments.
• Professional Integrity: Professional, confidential, and highly ethical approach with a high degree of integrity and flexibility.

We understand that not all candidates will perfectly match every qualification or criterion listed. If your experience differs from what we've outlined but you believe you can contribute to this role, we encourage you to apply!
Department Info
As the Head of Business Development, you serve as a senior commercial manager within the Employer Partnerships Team, reporting directly to the Director of Business Development and Apprenticeships.

• Proactive Outbound Sales Leadership: You lead the proactive outbound sales channel, directly managing the team of sector-focused Skills Consultants as well as the Recruitment and Enrolment Officers.
• Collaborative Partnership: You operate in complementary partnership with the Employer Academy Lead to cover the full spectrum of SME and strategic employer engagement.
• Cross-Departmental Alignment: You partner strategically with senior internal stakeholders including the Head of Future Ready and the Employer Academy Lead to align workforce planning, rationalize employer intelligence, eliminate client duplication, and deliver a seamless employer journey.

Our excellent benefits and rewards package:
- Access to local government pensions scheme (with employer contributions from 15.6%)
- Up to 44 days annual leave per year including closure during Christmas period
- Access to our gyms, restaurants and salons
- Staff health & wellbeing and benefits schemes including in-house Occupational Health service
- Extensive wellbeing support through a digital Wellbeing Hub that offers a broad range of support for physical, mental, and financial wellbeing.
- Full, part time and flexible working hours available in many roles
- Free Parking available at all of our sites
- Fantastic career development opportunities including funding for teacher training, apprenticeships and various other industry recognised qualifications
- New FE teachers can also apply for grants of up to £6,000 in STEM subjects (conditions apply) through the teacher retention initiative
- Recruitment Referral Scheme for all employees, worth £200 per referral made
What is the RNN Group?
RNN Group s main goal is to be an outstanding education and training provider and this is at the heart of everything that we do. To help us achieve this we are looking to recruit highly motivated, innovative and dynamic individuals to join our existing teams. To be a part of the team at RNN Group we will expect you to be committed to our values too;

• We are Inclusive,
• We have Integrity,
• We Deliver,
• We are One Team.

We celebrate diversity and are proud to be recognised as Investors in Diversity for our commitment to the FREDIE (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement) model, fostering a supportive environment for all. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of background, proudly participating in the Disability Confident Scheme, and provide reasonable adjustments.
The RNN Group is proud to be part of the South Yorkshire Institute of Technology (SYIoT).
As a newly designated Defence Technical Excellence College, RNN Group is proud to support the UK s defence sector by developing the next generation of highly skilled technical talent.
RNN Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. In line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), all appointments are subject to rigorous safer recruitment checks. Successful candidates will undergo pre-employment screening, including an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (with Barred List check where applicable), online background checks, satisfactory references, and verification of identity, qualifications, and right to work in the UK.
The Group s core operating hours are 8.30am-5.00pm (9pm on a Tuesday and Thursday during term time). You may be expected to work at any time during these hours to ensure business needs are met.
All candidates must have the legal right to work in the UK.
Closing date: Monday 30 November 2026 if you are shortlisted for this post, you will be contacted within a week of the closing date.