Business Development Manager - Remote

Location: Remote Based

Hours: 36.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday)

Salary: Up to £40,000 DOE + Monthly Bonus

Shape Futures. Drive Growth. Make a Difference.

At Shaping Lives , we're passionate about transforming careers, supporting employers, and creating meaningful opportunities through apprenticeships. With an outstanding learner satisfaction rate and a commitment to delivering real impact, we're looking for an ambitious and commercially driven Business Development Manager to join our growing Commercial Team.

This is an excellent opportunity for a proven apprenticeship sales professional who is passionate about winning new business, exceeding targets, and building long-term employer partnerships.

We are seeking a commercially driven and ambitious sales professional with a proven track record of building new business pipelines and sales desks from scratch, consistently exceeding sales targets and delivering sustainable growth. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate tangible examples of generating new business, developing strategic employer partnerships, and creating opportunities in a competitive market. As a collaborative team player, you will be committed to continuous learning, personal development, and professional growth, whilst actively contributing to team success through the sharing of best practice, market insights, and sales strategies. Above all, you will bring a strong determination to succeed, a passion for sales, and the resilience required to deliver exceptional results in a fully remote environment.

The Opportunity

The successful candidate will have a demonstrable track record of building and developing a sales pipeline, territory, or business area from scratch, consistently exceeding targets and driving sustainable growth.

You will combine apprenticeship sector expertise with strong commercial acumen, developing new business opportunities and building strategic partnerships across Schools, Academies, and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs). Using a consultative approach, you'll help education providers address workforce development challenges through high-quality apprenticeship programmes, with particular focus on Teaching Assistant, Specialist Teaching Assistant Level 5 and Safeguarding qualifications. Experience engaging senior leaders, school business managers, trust executives, and key decision-makers within the education sector would be highly advantageous.

• Achieve and exceed apprenticeship enrolment, revenue, and sales targets through a proactive new business development approach.
• Build and develop a sustainable pipeline of opportunities from scratch, generating new business within Schools, Academies, and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs).
• Identify, engage, and secure partnerships with senior decision-makers, including Headteachers, Trust Leaders, School Business Managers, HR Leaders, and Directors.
• Promote and sell apprenticeship programmes including Teaching Assistant, Specialist Teaching Assistant Level 5, and Safeguarding solutions, demonstrating their value in addressing workforce development and skills challenges.
• Develop tailored apprenticeship and workforce development solutions aligned to organisational objectives, recruitment challenges, and staff development priorities.
• Provide expert guidance on apprenticeship funding, levy and non-levy opportunities, programme suitability, and return on investment.
• Deliver compelling presentations, proposals, and consultative sales discussions that position Shaping Lives as a trusted apprenticeship partner.
• Build long-term relationships with employers, creating opportunities for repeat business and strategic partnerships.
• Maintain accurate CRM records, sales forecasts, pipeline management, and activity reporting.
• Share best practice, market intelligence, and successful sales strategies with colleagues, contributing positively to team performance and continuous improvement.
• Work collaboratively with internal stakeholders to ensure an excellent employer and learner experience from enquiry through to enrolment.

Essential Experience

• Proven success in apprenticeship sales, employer engagement, or business development, with a strong track record of securing and growing new business opportunities.
• Demonstrable experience building a new business sales desk, territory, or pipeline from the ground up and consistently exceeding sales targets and KPIs.
• Experience selling apprenticeship programmes to Schools, Academies, and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), with a strong understanding of the education sector landscape.
• Knowledge and experience of promoting apprenticeship programmes such as Teaching Assistant, Specialist Teaching Assistant Level 5, Safeguarding, or related education and workforce development programmes.
• Strong understanding of apprenticeship funding rules, levy and non-levy funding models, and workforce development solutions.
• Ability to engage, influence, and build credibility with senior stakeholders and decision-makers across the education sector.
• Excellent consultative selling, relationship-building, negotiation, and presentation skills.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to identify opportunities, overcome challenges, and create value-led solutions for employers.
• Experience using CRM systems to effectively manage sales activity, pipelines, forecasts, and customer relationships.
• A genuine passion for sales with the drive, energy, resilience, and determination to win new business and deliver exceptional results.

Personal Attributes

• A highly motivated self-starter with a proven determination to succeed in a target-driven environment.
• A collaborative team player who actively contributes to team success and is willing to share best practice and successful sales approaches.
• Open to continuous learning, professional development, and personal growth.
• Resilient, adaptable, and focused on achieving results whilst maintaining a customer-centric approach.
• Passionate about the positive impact apprenticeships can have on learners, educators, and employers.

Why Join Shaping Lives?

Joining Shaping Lives means becoming part of a purpose-driven organisation committed to changing lives through education and skills development. You will have the opportunity to make a genuine impact while building a rewarding and successful career within a growing business.

If you have a passion for apprenticeship sales, a proven ability to win new business, and the drive to exceed expectations, we would welcome your application.

We have a number of benefits available and all colleagues benefit from our standard benefits including;

• Generous Annual Leave: 20 days, increasing with length of service, plus a holiday purchase scheme
• Holiday Benefits: 3 Paragon Days for our operational December closure and 8 Public Bank Holidays
• Extra Day Off: Enjoy an additional day off to celebrate your birthday
• Paid Volunteering Leave: Up to 3 days of paid leave for volunteering opportunities and corporate conscience initiatives
• Perkbox: Access to a wide range of lifestyle benefits and wellness tools
• Recognition and Long Service Awards: Celebrating the milestones and contributions of our colleagues

The Knovia Group is committed to safeguarding, protecting and promoting the welfare of learners, children, young people and vulnerable adults. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

We expect all colleagues to share this commitment and to contribute to a culture where people feel safe, respected and able to achieve their potential. As part of our safer recruitment processes, appropriate pre-employment checks, including DBS, right to work, reference and social media checks where required, will be undertaken.

We’re a Disability Confident Employer and have a guaranteed interview scheme in place to ensure that nobody is overlooked or discriminated against because of their disability. If you meet the minimum criteria when you apply and you have informed us in your application that you have a disability, you will be guaranteed an interview for that role.

To promote and maintain an inclusive working environment, as part of your application process we will ask you to share data on certain characteristics. These answers will not form part of the selection and recruitment process and will not be shared with anyone outside of the People Team.

Shaping Lives is committed to the safeguarding and wellbeing of our learners and colleagues and we implement robust safer recruitment practices to support this. Dependant on the role you are applying for, we may undertake a number of necessary checks to confirm you are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults, which may include a Disclosure and Barring Service check. We are also committed to promoting equality and inclusion throughout our colleague and learner populations.