At Hawk Training, we’re passionate about creating opportunities through apprenticeships and professional development. As our Business Development Manager – Early Years, you’ll play a key role in growing our employer network, helping organisations discover how apprenticeships and workforce development can transform their business.
This is a proactive, target-driven role where you’ll spend most of your time identifying and securing new employer partnerships, while also developing relationships with a portfolio of existing clients. If you’re an experienced business developer who enjoys building relationships, opening doors and achieving ambitious targets, we’d love to hear from you.
This is a remote position, but you will be required to spend a minimum of 2 days per month working in our offices based in Twickenham.
What you'll be doing:
Around 80% of your role will focus on winning new business and building a strong pipeline of employer partnerships, and 20% of your time will focus on maintaining and growing existing employer partnerships. You’ll represent Hawk Training both online and in person and work closely with colleagues across the organisation to ensure employers and learners receive an exceptional experience.
This is a high-activity, outreach-firstrole that combines disciplined daily prospecting, relationship building, and strategic thinking to deliver measurable business results.
Key Responsibilities
Driving New Business Growth:
- Generating new employer opportunities through outbound calls, email campaigns, LinkedIn and networking.
- Making a minimum of 50 outbound calls each day using HubSpot.
- Building targeted prospect lists using Lusha and other lead generation tools.
- Researching new geographical areas, sectors and employers to support business growth.
- Managing opportunities through the full sales cycle, from first contact to signed agreement.
- Delivering engaging presentations and tailored proposals that demonstrate the value of Hawk Training’s apprenticeship and Academy solutions.
- Identifying opportunities to expand into new markets and employer sectors.
- Ensuring a smooth handover of new clients to our Account Management team once partnerships are established.
Managing Employer Relationships:
- Building trusted relationships with an allocated portfolio of employers.
- Identifying opportunities to introduce additional apprenticeship programmes and Hawk Academy solutions.
- Supporting client retention by providing an excellent customer experience.
- Working alongside the Account Management team to support contract renewals and ongoing employer success.
Building the Hawk Training Brand:
- Attending networking events, exhibitions and employer engagement activities.
- Delivering presentations to prospective employers.
- Working with our Marketing team to support campaigns that generate employer engagement.
- Building your professional presence on LinkedIn and other appropriate platforms.
What success looks like:
You’ll be responsible for achieving ambitious but realistic business development targets, including:
- Securing 3-5 new employer accounts each month.
- Booking at least 10 qualified employer meetings each week.
- Achieving 20-25 apprenticeship learner starts each month (or agreed targets).
- Generating £10,000 of commercial sales each quarter.
- Maintaining a proposal-to-sale conversion rate of 75-80%.
- Completing daily outreach activity, including calls, emails and LinkedIn engagement.
- Achieving high employer satisfaction through regular feedback.
What we're looking for:
We’re looking for someone who is commercially driven, relationship-focused and passionate about helping employers develop their workforce.
- Passionate about Early Years and developing others in the profession
- Committed to delivering transformational learning experiences
- Professional, adaptable and solution-focused
- Confident using digital platforms for online delivery
- Organised and able to manage a varied caseload effectively
Qualifications & Experience
Essential:
- Proven success in business development or B2B sales.
- Experience managing the full sales cycle from prospecting through to closing.
- A track record of consistently achieving or exceeding sales targets.
- Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills.
- Experience using CRM systems such as HubSpot.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management skills.
- Analytical mindset with the ability to identify market opportunities and use data to support decision making.
- Good understanding of apprenticeship funding, standards and compliance.
Desirable:
- Experience selling apprenticeships or funded training.
- Experience selling commercial training solutions.
- Existing employer network.
- Knowledge of apprenticeship levy funding.
- Experience using Aptem, Lusha or similar systems.
- Level 5 qualification (or above) in a relevant subject.
What we offer:
Holiday
- 24 days annual leave (increasing with service) + all bank holidays
- Your birthday off every year – because it should be celebrated!
- Company shutdown between Christmas and New Year (in addition to your annual leave)
- A homebased role with approximately 75% of visits delivered remotely (approximately 1 in every 3 visits)
- The autonomy to manage your own diary through hybrid working
Career Development
- Fully funded qualifications to support you in your role
- Regular CPD opportunities to enhance your skills
- Ongoing professional development and genuine investment in your growth
Wellbeing & Support
- Access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
- Discounted gym membership to support your physical wellbeing
- Member of Vitality
Practical Perks
- All equipment provided (laptop, mobile, printer)
- All business expenses covered
