Head of Education Reform at Cambridge University

JOB PURPOSE

To lead on the identification and development of new opportunities in a specified region(s), supporting the Cambridge based sales teams to win new business and maximise the value from existing customers, delivering growth for Partnership for Education and a great experience and outcome for Cambridge customers and the societies that they represent

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

Generate Leads (Identify Target Customers):

•  Lead and design regional Partnership for Education strategy for development of opportunities
•  Manage local monitoring of RFPs and ITTs through tracking of key procurement and regional education intelligence websites / portals and actively seek funding opportunities
•  Qualify all identified opportunities for fit against the Partnership for Education proposition and for alignment with the Partnership for Education strategy and framework to ensure resources are allocated to greatest potential value
•  Identify and implement the most appropriate methods of promoting Partnership for
• Education services to target customers in a region by leveraging or commissioning research on national strategies and initiatives, local practice, cultural norms and competitor approaches
•  Work with Marketing & Communications to raise the profile and credibility of the Partnership for Education team across the region(s), internally and externally, to position Partnership for Education as partner of choice for education reform services by identifying local opportunities to support the development of an annual PR strategy and its implementation through customer interactions, events, conferences, publications and marketing content e.g. contract stories
•  Identify suitable local consultants to work with to support relationship building and profile raising activities as well as for delivery of the projects as required
•  Develop expert knowledge of changes in regional education policy, media commentary, trends in requests and competitor activity to inform business development approach
•  Build strong relationships and work with the Data Analyst to obtain insight and business intelligence on key markets and across regional teams (English and International Education) to obtain local intelligence to identify local needs that align to Partnership for Education reform proposition
•  Liaise at the highest level of officials, supporting UK teams in Cambridge to discuss requirements, to provide education advice and to present the Partnership for Education proposition and demonstrate alignment to their needs
•  Develop initial business case, assess and validate opportunity and make proposal to qualify the opportunity to UK teams and leaders
•  Leverage data on CRM systems to enable the pipeline to be monitored and managed and to ensure visibility to potential workflow within the wider Partnership for Education team and with key internal partners

Solution Design and Proposal:

•  Support Cambridge teams to develop new markets and grow presence
•  Work with the customer to develop clear technical and service requirements and complete an effective handover to Bids and Proposals
•  Maintain the relationship with the customer during the bids and proposal process and act as a communication conduit to the UK teams to ensure that customer needs are understood by UK teams and the case/proposal is aligned to customer needs

Opportunity Approval:

•  Support UK teams by validating local opportunities, their alignment with Partnership for Education strategy, and propose / present to UK teams for review and approval
•  Identify resources required to support negotiation with customers, brief team on role and requirements and support the UK teams in preparing for meetings
•  Support and recommend strategy for the opportunity considering targets, contingency requirement, competition, type of opportunity and strategic importance
•  Maximise the chances of Partnership for Education reaching new opportunities through understanding of client context
• Ensure effective customer on-boarding and transition of project to Delivery team

Manage Customer Account:

• Manage new relationships throughout the end to end process and work closely with lead project manager during delivery phase to ensure services are delivered on time, to quality and to the satisfaction of external and internal stakeholders. Where applicable, ensure an effective transition of the customer to the account management team
• Support UK and regional teams to ensure that resources and knowledge are leveraged effectively and that the customer experience is coherent
•  Focused support on a great customer experience for portfolio of existing customers within a specified region(s). Maximise potential relationship value.

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Note: this information is not necessarily the same as the qualifications held by the current job holder.

• Qualifications Degree qualified or related experience (essential)
• Post Graduate qualification (desirable), education related (preferable)
• Project Management e.g. Prince2 (desirable)

Skills  

• Establishing relationships at the highest levels of government
•  High degree of commercial awareness
•  Achieving challenging targets
•  Excellent negotiator with track record of successful negotiation
•  Ability to work under pressure to achieve deadlines and meet requirements
•  Ability to influence and build relationships at a senior level with customers, internal and external suppliers and employees
•  Ability to understand a wide range of education services and projects that vary in complexity and timeframes
•  Strong communicator and ability to present PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATION at regional PR events and influence widely within a region(s)
•  Excellent networking and diplomatic skills, and the ability to follow up quickly
•  Agile thinker with the ability to adapt to changing circumstances through creative problem-solving
•  Excellent organisational and leadership skills
•  Legal understanding and acumen
•  Strong IT skills, able to operate MS Office and CRM software
•  Ability to leverage business intelligence to identify and deliver opportunities

Experience  

• Proven track record prospecting, developing contracts with ministries of education, organisations with government mandates, NGOs, etc.
•  Significant business development experience essential, experience in the field of education desirable
•  Proven ability to deliver targets
•  Extensive experience of dealing with government and other senior-level clients across a variety of cultures and locations
•  Experience of presenting proposals and negotiating
•  Experience of building and maintaining senior relationships

Behaviours  

• Sees and manages the bigger picture
•  Decisive
•  Results oriented
•  Builds trust
•  Acts with integrity
•  Inspires others
•  Innovative
•  Collaborative
•  Team player
•  Proactive with “can do” attitude
•  Creative approach to problem solving