Business Development Manager – Education Catering
Leeds, England, United Kingdom
We’re looking for an energetic and commercially minded Business Development Manager to help grow our education catering portfolio across the UK. This is a fantastic opportunity to work with passionate teams in operations, bids, and marketing, supporting schools and education settings with high-quality, values‑led food solutions.
As Business Development Manager, you’ll lead the full sales process — from identifying opportunities and managing tenders to securing new contracts and building long‑term partnerships with education clients.
What you’ll be doing
- Represent our values, educational approach, and commitment to quality, nutrition, and social impact
- Build and manage a strong pipeline of opportunities, including schools, MATs, and local authorities
- Lead the end‑to‑end tender and sales process, working closely with operations and bid teams on compliant, compelling submissions
- Oversee the creation of sales materials including PQQs, tenders, presentations, and promotional content
- Coordinate and attend school site visits, presentations, and stakeholder meetings
- Build trusted relationships with consultants, headteachers, business managers, and procurement leads
- Support and host education‑focused events for clients, prospects, and consultants
What we’re looking for
- Proven experience in education catering sales or contract catering sales within schools, MATs, or higher education
- Alternatively, strong education catering operations experience with exposure to tenders and bid processes
- Understanding of public sector procurement and education tendering frameworks
- Existing relationships with education consultants or procurement professionals (advantageous)
- A genuine passion for children’s food, nutrition, and positive social impact
- Confident communicator, able to engage effectively with school leaders, governors, and operational teams
- Resilient, organised, and comfortable working in a target‑driven environment
- Excellent written skills with strong attention to detail
- Proficient in Microsoft Office (experience with databases or Adobe Suite is a plus)
About you
- Self‑motivated, proactive, and collaborative
- Commercially aware with a structured, compliant approach to winning education contracts
- Comfortable managing multiple tenders and deadlines
Seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Sales, Project Management, and Product Management
Industries
Hospitality
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