Senior Business Development Lead - Maternity Cover

Senior Business Development Lead (maternity cover)

Salary: £40,964 to £44,094 (dependent on experience)

About Voice 21

Voice 21 is the national oracy education charity. We exist to empower every child to use their voice for success in school and life. Our work transforms learning and life chances through talk by increasing access to a high-quality oracy education for those that need it most. Follow the links to find out more about why oracy is so vital and the impact Voice 21 has.

Your opportunity

Tackle a vital challenge, with great people.  Voice 21 exists to transform children' s learning and life chances through talk and we are aiming to be working with 2,000 schools a year by 2025. To reach this goal we recruit great people and give them real responsibility, training and support.

Output focused culture, with flexible working opportunities. We have an agile and flexible approach – our team can work when and wherever works best to deliver the requirements of their role. For staff working at home, we support them to create a workspace and provide technology that enables them to work effectively.

Real development opportunities. We believe in supporting people to develop the skills they need to be excellent – whether this means funding external training, finding a mentor to support them or giving them the time to learn from others in the organisations through our regular CPD sessions. We also offer paid study leave for team members taking part in formal studies outside of work.

Great benefits. 33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) and additional Christmas closure period. Holiday entitlement increases linked to length of service, 5% employer contribution to pension, interest-free season ticket, cycle and technology loans, employee assistance scheme.

Remuneration. Our pay is a band and spine point approach where there is up to 7 years progression available (depending on starting point). 

Your purpose

To lead Voice 21's conversations with schools and trusts from first contact through to signed membership, helping more schools, especially those serving disadvantaged communities, give their pupils a high-quality oracy education. The Senior Business Development Lead will manage a portfolio of opportunities using MEDDPICC and HubSpot, build strong regional relationships, and help shape how we grow in the years ahead. The core competencies we are looking for are ability to ethically sell the value proposition in a short window at high volume and to be a completer-finisher in terms of your workload. 

Your responsibilities

• Close Sales Qualified Leads and Opportunities into customer schools through online meetings with school, trust and sector leaders
• Manage a portfolio of schools and trusts from first conversation through to signed membership contract
• Qualify and progress opportunities using the MEDDPICC framework, keeping deal records accurate and up to date in HubSpot - training will be provided on MEDDPIC and HubSpot
• Lead consultative conversations with headteachers, senior leaders and trust leaders to understand their priorities and show how oracy supports them
• Prioritise schools serving the most disadvantaged communities, contributing to our organisational reach targets
• Develop group opportunities with multi-academy trusts, local authorities and school networks
• Build local relationships and school champions in your region, supporting our regional Oracy Showcases
• Deliver presentations, webinars and calls to prospective schools, and represent Voice 21 at sector events
• Partner with Marketing to convert leads into opportunities, sharing insight from schools to sharpen campaigns and messaging
• Forecast accurately and contribute to regular pipeline and deal reviews
• Contribute to the end-of-cycle review and the development of next year's growth strategy

Your progression (link these to measurables that can be considered during the probation period and used as a measure of ‘passing’ probation)

Within 1 month, you'll have:

• Familiarised yourself with Voice 21's membership offer, our MEDDPICC approach and the HubSpot sales pipeline
• Completed a handover with the current Senior BD Lead and taken ownership of live opportunities
• Met key colleagues from across the organisation
• Begun building relationships with schools and trusts in your region

Within 3 months, you'll have:

• Been independently managing a full pipeline through our spring recruitment peak
• Closed your first memberships and kept all deal records accurate in HubSpot
• Contributed to planning and delivery of at least one regional Oracy Showcase

Within 6 months, you'll have:

• Consistently converted opportunities in line with agreed targets
• Established a network of school champions and local partners in your region
• Shared insight from school conversations that has shaped our marketing and messaging

From 6 months onwards, we expect you to be:

• Leading complex group deals with trusts and networks
• Playing an active role in the end-of-cycle review and shaping next year's growth strategy

This job is for you if...

• You have a strong track record in consultative or relationship-led sales, ideally in education
• You're confident talking with headteachers and trust leaders, and you understand the pressures schools face (experience working in or with schools is a real plus)
• You're comfortable with a structured qualification approach such as MEDDPICC, and with using a CRM like HubSpot
• You're organised, self-motivated and enjoy owning targets
• You're proactive, collaborative and motivated by Voice 21's mission to transform education through oracy
• You enjoy both the trust of autonomous working and the dynamism of working in a small and collaborative mission-driven team
• You want to develop your expertise in MEDDPIC sales methodology

Who you’ll work with: 

• As part of our Operations Directorate, you'll work in the Growth team with our Head of Growth and colleagues across Business Development and Marketing
• You'll work closely with our Member Success, Events, Comms and Programmes teams as well as the wider Ops Directorate

Where you’ll work: 

Remote, ideally based in the South West, North East or Yorkshire (not essential), with sporadic regional and national travel to visit schools and attend Development Days/meetings, including some overnight stays. 

Contract: temporary position, linked to maternity cover.

Terms: Full Time 

Application details 

To apply: 

Please send your CV and a short cover letter including;

Your cover letter should briefly:

1. Tell us why you want to work at Voice 21 and what it is about our mission that excites you (max. 400 words).
2. Making direct reference to the job description, outline the three main reasons why you would make an excellent Senior Business Development Lead (max. 600 words).

We welcome applications from candidates based anywhere in the UK.

Closing date: Midnight, 27th October but we will be actively interviewing and may close the advert early if we find the right candidate. This is particularly important if you are a teacher who may need to resign before the 31st October for a January start.

Interview date: TBC but beginning as soon as suitable candidates are found. 

Start date: From December and ideally before mid January.

Questions: If you have any questions about the role, or would like to discuss it before submitting an application, please contact John Stabler-Wright, Head of Growth (john.stabler-wright@voice21.org)

Valuing every voice

Voice 21 believes that every voice should be heard and valued. We are committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and do not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join Voice 21.