Join Kindred, a leading provider of cleaning services for schools and businesses across the UK. We are dedicated to creating positive, inclusive environments and pride ourselves on collaboration, connection, and community. As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.
In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for driving our growth by winning new cleaning and facilities service contracts, with a particular focus on the education sector. You will take full ownership of the sales process, from identifying and qualifying new leads to designing compelling solutions and closing deals. This is a hands-on, target-driven position that requires disciplined prospecting, exceptional stakeholder management, and strong commercial acumen.
Key Responsibilities:
-
Pipeline Ownership: Develop and maintain a robust pipeline with clear next steps, timelines and stakeholder maps; ensure opportunities progress with pace and purpose.
-
Discovery & Qualification: Attend site visits and client meetings to understand client needs, pain points, budgets, decision processes and buying timelines.
-
Solution & Proposal Development: Shape winning solutions with Operations and Finance, ensuring scope is clear, pricing is accurate and deliverability is robust.
-
Tenders & Negotiation: Lead responses to commercial tenders and proposals, manage clarifications, present confidently, negotiate terms and close profitably.
-
CRM, Reporting & Governance: Maintain excellent CRM discipline, produce accurate forecasts and pipeline reports, and ensure compliance with sales process and approval routes.
-
Market Intelligence: Track competitor activity, pricing norms and sector trends; feed insights into positioning and proposition development.
Key Competencies:
- Demonstrable success delivering new business revenue against targets.
-
Consultative selling skill: structured discovery, value articulation, objection handling and stakeholder mapping.
-
Commercial competence: understands pricing, cost drivers, margin protection and contract risk.
-
Experience producing or leading high-quality proposals/tenders and presenting to decision-making panels.
-
Excellent CRM discipline and forecasting accuracy; confident reporting pipeline health and next actions.
-
Strong collaboration with Operations and support teams to design deliverable solutions and smooth handover.
Minimum Criteria disclosure:
We give full and fair consideration to all applicants. We will interview everyone who has declared they have a disability, or has served or is serving in the armed forces, if they meet the minimum criteria for the position.
We will support candidates with any reasonable adjustments that will assist them in going through our recruitment process and fulfilling the role itself.
Minimum Criteria for this role:
-
Proven B2B new business sales experience, with responsibility for generating and converting your own pipeline.
-
Track record of winning contracts through a full sales cycle, from prospecting and qualification through to proposal, negotiation and close.
-
Experience selling a contracted service or solution, rather than purely transactional/product sales.
-
Experience preparing and presenting commercial proposals or tenders, including pricing and negotiation.
-
Strong commercial awareness, with the ability to understand contract value, margins, pricing and client requirements.
-
Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including confidence presenting to senior decision-makers.
-
Experience using a CRM system to manage opportunities, pipeline activity and forecasting.
-
Ability to travel to client meetings and site visits across the relevant territory, with a full UK driving licence where driving is required for the role.
Additional Information:
Kindred are proud to be a silver holder of the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.
Kindred is a disability-confident employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. We will support any reasonable adjustments to ensure a safe and inclusive working environment.
Contact Us:
If you wish to disclose confidentially that you have disability or are an armed forces veteran, please email: [email protected]
If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process, please also use the same email address.
About The Role
The Business Development Manager is responsible for winning new cleaning and facilities service contracts within the education sector. You will own the full sales cycle from target identification and first contact through qualification, solution design, pricing, proposal/tender submission and close. You will build and maintain a healthy pipeline, develop strategic relationships with decision makers, and work closely with Operations, Finance and Bid Support to create compelling, deliverable solutions. This role is hands‑on, target-driven and requires disciplined prospecting, excellent stakeholder management, and strong commercial judgement.
We are looking for a proven track record of winning new business in a B2B environment, ideally within outsourced services. Experienced running end-to-end sales cycles, including prospecting, consultative discovery, proposal writing/tendering, commercial modelling and negotiation.
Required Criteria
-
Proven track record of winning new business in a B2B environment.
-
Experience running end-to-end sales cycles, including prospecting, consultative discovery, proposal writing/tendering, commercial modelling and negotiation.
-
Demonstrable success in delivering new business revenue against targets.
-
Excellent CRM discipline and forecasting accuracy.
-
Experience producing or leading high-quality proposals/tenders and presenting to decision-making panels.
-
Strong commercial competence, with an understanding of pricing, cost drivers, margin protection, and contract risk.
Desired Criteria
-
Experience in the outsourced services industry.
-
A self-starter with strong personal drive and resilience.
-
Highly organised with the ability to manage a busy pipeline and multiple deadlines.
-
Collaborative mindset with experience building strong internal and external relationships.
-
A solutions-focused approach, remaining calm under pressure.
Skills Needed
About The Company
As a rapidly growing and award-winning facilities management company, we’re proud to employ more than 2,500 people across the UK. The size and scale of our organisation mean we offer a wide variety of roles to suit different skills and ambitions. These range from Cleaning Operatives, Supervisors and Regional Managers in our Operations teams to opportunities in Finance, Payroll, Sales, Marketing and more.
If Kindred sounds like the right place for you, explore our current vacancies below and start your journey with us today.
Company Culture
At Kindred, our people are the heart of our business. Guided by our core values of Making Connections, Being Bold, Behaving with Integrity, and Community Spirit, we’ve built a culture that thrives on respect, inclusivity, open communication and collaboration. We’re looking for individuals who want to be part of an ambitious and expanding business, who value teamwork, and who share our commitment to giving back to the communities we serve and protecting the planet. You’ll have access to tailored training, development opportunities, and recognition for going above and beyond. We celebrate our people and their achievements at every step.
Company Benefits
At Kindred, our employees are the heart of our business. We are dedicated to creating a work environment that is not only safe and supportive but also fosters your personal and professional growth.
Employee development programs, Competitive salary, Wellbeing Scheme, Work With Charities, Employee of the Month, Culture of recognition, On the job learning, Progression opportunities
Salary
Not disclosed
