How to apply
To apply, please send your CV (no more than four pages, including two references who can be contacted if successful) and either:
· A covering letter of no more than two sides of A4 (Arial, size 12)
· Or a video of no more than four minutes.
Please explain why you want this role and how your experience meets the person specification.
Send your application to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Job Application - Business Development Manager’.
Applications must be received by Midnight, Sunday 06 September. For an informal conversation about the role, please email [email protected].
Shortlisting: 07 September. Interviews week beginning 14 September.
NEYDL is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and particularly encourage applications from people with lived experience relevant to the communities we serve.
The Role
This is a new post and a significant one. As Business Development Manager, you will be the first dedicated commercial function in NEYDL, the only person in the organisation with responsibility for sales and income generation from commissioned services and traded products. You will report directly to the CEO and sit on the senior management team.
Your core mission is to grow NEYDL's earned income across two distinct strands: securing commissioned services and contracts with local authorities and other organisations in the North East; and developing a national market for NEYDL's training products and DigiDAD platform, enabling professionals and organisations across the UK to improve the support available to young dads in their communities.
There is no pipeline to inherit. You will need to identify the right routes to market, build relationships from scratch with commissioners and buyers, and develop the BD function as you go. The CEO will provide strategic direction and support, but you will need to be confident operating with autonomy, exercising commercial judgement independently, and getting on with it.
What you will do
- Identify and pursue opportunities for commissioned services and contracts in the North East with local authorities, NHS commissioners, family hubs, children’s services and other public and voluntary sector organisations
- Develop a national market for NEYDL's training products and, in time, licensing offer, working across both statutory and voluntary sector audiences. This will include selling training directly to local authorities, NHS bodies and VCSE organisations; testing demand from VCSE organisations for a licensing model that enables them to deliver NEYDL's approach locally; and exploring whether local authorities would fund or commission a local VCSE partner to do so. A key part of this role in year one/two is testing assumptions about which funding and delivery models have most traction.
- Promote DigiDAD as a free resource to professional audiences, growing registrations and building relationships with organisations that can champion it with young dads
- Develop and manage a BD pipeline, setting targets and reporting progress to the CEO and board
- Represent NEYDL at sector events, networks and conferences nationally to build profile and relationships
- Develop proposals, tenders and partnership bids, working closely with the CEO and programme team
- Work closely with the DigiDAD Engagement Officer to share leads and coordinate activity via an agreed tracker, and with the DigiDAD Programme Manager to ensure BD and digital growth strategies remain aligned
- Contribute to marketing and communications activity that supports commercial growth, including supporting the launch of our new national brand
- Play an active role as a member of the senior management team, contributing to strategy, planning and organisational leadership.
What we are looking for
We need someone with commercial experience in winning commissioned services, contracts or selling products and services to public and voluntary sector organisations. You will be relationship-focused, self-directed, and comfortable building a function without established infrastructure or a team behind you.
You will need to understand the professional landscape in which NEYDL operates: family support, early help, children’s services, family hubs. You don’t need to be an expert in young dads, but you will need to speak credibly to the people who commission and deliver family support, and to understand what drives their decisions.
What we offer
NEYDL is a close, inclusive and supportive team that actively invests in the development of its staff. We are a non-judgmental organisation built on mutual trust, respect and honesty. We listen to young dads and respond to what they actually need, working with them voluntarily to find long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes. If you join us, you will be part of a team that genuinely believes in what it does, and that belief comes through in everything we produce and every relationship we build.
In addition, we offer:
- 7.2 weeks’ annual leave per year, inclusive of statutory and public holidays
- 5% employer pension contribution
- A flexible hybrid working arrangement
- Funded professional development and training
- Mileage paid at 55p per mile for business travel
- The opportunity to shape a new function in a growing, mission-driven organisation at a pivotal moment in its development
- A supportive and values-led senior team
Job purposeTo grow NEYDL's earned income across two distinct strands: securing commissioned services and contracts with local authorities and other organisations in the North East; and developing a national market for NEYDL's training products and DigiDAD platform, enabling professionals and organisations across the UK to improve the support available to young dads in their communities.Key responsibilities
Income generation and business development
- Identify and develop opportunities to secure commissioned services and contracts with local authorities, NHS bodies, family hubs, children’s services, early help teams and voluntary sector organisations
- Lead on the sale of NEYDL’s training products to professional audiences nationally, managing the full sales cycle from prospecting to close
- Where relevant to other business development activity, make professionals aware of DigiDAD as a free resource and refer interested contacts to the DigiDAD Engagement Officer for onboarding and follow-up
- Develop and maintain a BD pipeline, setting annual targets in conjunction with the CEO and reporting progress to the board
- Identify new markets, audiences and partnership opportunities and make evidence-based recommendations to the CEO on where to focus BD effort.
Proposals, tenders and bids
- Lead on the development of proposals, tenders and commissioned service bids, working closely with the CEO and programme team to develop compelling cases
- Maintain awareness of relevant commissioning frameworks, procurement processes and funding opportunities that align with NEYDL’s offer
- Ensure all proposals and tenders accurately reflect NEYDL’s costs and margins and are consistent with the organisation’s financial requirements
Relationships and profile
- Build and manage relationships with commissioners, buyers, strategic partners and sector networks nationally
- Represent NEYDL at sector events, conferences and networks, raising our profile with the professional audiences we want to reach
- Work collaboratively with the DigiDAD Programme Manager to align BD activity with the growth of the DigiDAD platform
- Support the launch and positioning of NEYDL’s new national brand, contributing to marketing and communications activity that supports commercial growth
Organisational leadership and management
- Contribute to organisational strategy and annual planning as a member of the senior management team
- Report on BD performance and progress against targets to the CEO and board
- Work closely with the DigiDAD Engagement Officer (managed by the DigiDAD Programme Manager) to ensure a joined-up approach to professional audience engagement
- Comply with all NEYDL policies and procedures including safeguarding, data protection and equality, diversity and inclusion
Key relationships
- Chief Executive Officer: line manager and strategic lead
- DigiDAD Programme Manager: close working relationship on professional audience growth and platform promotion
- DigiDAD Engagement Officer: referral coordination on professional engagement and DigiDAD growth
- Programme Managers and frontline team: to inform BD activity and support proposal development
- External: commissioners, local authority leads, NHS contacts, training buyers, sector networks
Targets
Year 1 milestones
The following milestones have been agreed with our primary Year 1 funder and represent the BDM's near-term priorities:
By six months:
- Approaches made to at least 25 contacts, including commissioners in all Family Hub areas in the North East and warm VCSE collaborators
By twelve months:
- Marketing and outreach completed with at least 100 contacts (warm and cold)
- Training delivered at least 10 times
- Indicative conversion targets achieved: approximately 3% of cold contacts and 25% of warm contacts progressing to a training booking (these are assumptions to be tested and refined through year one)
- Evaluation and review of year one learning completed; year two targets developed
Longer-term targets (to April 2029)
The following targets relate to the areas of work this role will contribute to, alongside the DigiDAD Programme Manager and wider team:
- Professionals trained through NEYDL's training products: 50 by April 2027; 350 annually by April 2029
- New professional DigiDAD registrations: 750 by April 2027; 1,400 annually by April 2029
- New young dad DigiDAD registrations: 510 by April 2027; 1,000 annually by April 2029
The Business Development Manager will play a central role in building the relationships and income pipeline that drives the training targets. DigiDAD registration growth is led by the DigiDAD Engagement Officer and wider team, with the Business Development Manager contributing through referrals identified in the course of other work.
Alongside these targets, NEYDL currently holds commissioned service contracts with several local authorities: Durham, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Gateshead. A key priority for the Business Development Manager will be to maintain and strengthen these relationships, ensuring contracts are renewed and the value of our work to each commissioner is clearly evidenced. Beyond existing contracts, we are keen to secure commissioned funding in areas of the North East where we currently have limited or no presence.
Please note if you have not submitted a cover letter or a covering video along with your CV, your application will not be considered.
Pay: £39,000.00-£43,000.00 per year
Application question(s):
- Do you have a degree level qualification or equivalent professional experience?
- Please paste your cover letter below
Education:
- GCSE or equivalent (required)
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Durham DH1
