[Hiring] Senior Business Development Executive @Capita

Role Description

Are you an experienced education professional with strong commercial instincts, a passion for sales and the confidence to build influential relationships? We’re looking for a Senior Business Development Executive who understands the needs of schools, multi-academy trusts and other education organisations, and can turn that insight into meaningful opportunities.

This is a home‑based role with travel to client sites, mainly across schools and trusts in the Midlands and the central regions. You can expect to visit customers around 2–3 times per month, with occasional trips to other areas as needed to maintain strong relationships and support their needs.

As part of our commitment to building an inclusive and diverse workforce, we would particularly welcome applications from people who are from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds.

What you’ll be doing

• Developing and progressing business development opportunities across the education sector, with a particular focus on schools, multi-academy trusts and other trust-led education organisations.
• Using your knowledge of education clients, their priorities and decision-making structures to identify needs, shape conversations and build credible relationships with key stakeholders.
• Identifying new opportunities through proactive market scanning, customer insight, referrals and targeted outreach across calls, email, Teams and face-to-face engagement.
• Leading engaging client conversations and showcasing CPS products and services, drawing on prepared collateral and working with subject matter experts to demonstrate clear value.
• Building and nurturing relationships with existing schools and trusts to uncover opportunities for growth, including upsell and cross-sell activity.
• Taking ownership of opportunities from initial qualification through to handover, coordinating internal stakeholders and ensuring clients receive a consistent, professional experience.
• Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of CPS products, propositions and the wider education landscape to position solutions effectively and respond confidently to client needs.
• Managing and progressing opportunities through Salesforce, maintaining an accurate pipeline, clear forecasts and full adherence to sales governance.

Qualifications

• Experience working within, or closely alongside, the education sector, with a strong understanding of schools, multi-academy trusts or other trust-led education organisations.
• A genuine passion for sales and business development, supported by evidence of building relationships, influencing stakeholders, identifying needs or creating commercial opportunities.
• The confidence and credibility to engage senior stakeholders across schools and trusts, ask effective questions and present solutions in a clear and compelling way.
• Excellent communication, relationship-building and negotiation skills, with the ability to adapt your approach to different education audiences.
• A data-driven approach, ensuring accuracy and attention to detail when managing pipelines, opportunities and forecasts.
• A self-starter mentality with strong time-management skills and the ability to prioritise, manage your diary and take ownership of workload independently.
• Resilience, curiosity and a growth mindset, with the ability to learn quickly and adapt in a fast-paced commercial environment.
• A collaborative, relationship-focused approach and the ability to work effectively with colleagues across Business Development, Client Engagement, Account Management and subject matter expert teams.
• Due to travel requirements to client sites, you must hold a valid driving licence.

Requirements

• Experience using Salesforce or a similar CRM system.

Benefits

• A salary of up to £40,000 aligned to your experience, plus access to the CPS quarterly bonus scheme based on won opportunities and total contract value.
• 23 days’ holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave.
• The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice.
• Auto-enrolment to our company pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two weeks and plenty more.
• Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle – from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology.
• Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform.