Development Director

Culture: Work for an organization that will take your career to the next level, working with amazing people around the world

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Be remarkable: Work for an organization that will give you a platform to do amazing things

Location: Home-based with client meetings in Leeds & Yorkshire

Salary: £38,000 - £42,000 per annum pro rata depending on level of experience

Flexible working: We offer a fully flexible working environment

Annual leave: 25 days of annual leave per annum, plus 3 additional days over Christmas

Are you our next Leeds and Yorkshire Development Director? We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced individual to join our non-profit organization in Leeds and Yorkshire.

Common Purpose is a global not-for-profit devoted to good leadership. We believe in a world with the potential to be more equitable and inclusive. Where people can navigate and challenge cultural, institutional, and social divides, at work and in society. Where the power of diversity and difference unlocks new thinking on common problems. Where people are having the real, purpose-driven conversations, the types of conversations we need to be having to bring about real change.

We are an organization founded on strong social purpose and we live this continuously through our work. An important part of our social purpose is to support diverse talent and as part of that, we commit to ensuring that people from under-represented backgrounds have places on our programmes and to delivering Legacy programmes for young people.

We are looking for a dynamic and ambitious professional who shares our organizational values and who is passionate about leadership. The role will suit someone who wants a career in the leadership development space but one where there is also the opportunity to create wider social impact alongside the focus on delivering to sales and business development targets.

The context - Common Purpose in Leeds & Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a key strategic area for Common Purpose. We are well-established here with a good reputation; over 9,000 people across the region have participated in Common Purpose programmes.

Our local portfolio includes our open programmes for senior and high potential leaders, Legacy for 18-25 year-olds and university student programmes. We also run customized programmes tailored to client needs.

The role

This is a sales and business development role. The Development Director will be responsible for delivering to an annual income target and for maintaining and growing our well-established relationships in Leeds and Yorkshire as well as developing new ones. Some of these will be self-generated and some through referrals by our alumni network, Advisory Group, and existing customers.

The Development Director will be an ambassador for Common Purpose across a wide range of networks and sectors. The right person will have a strong understanding of the regional context and its core cities – in particular Leeds.

The role may also require some facilitation of our leadership programmes. Candidates may come with those skills or will be willing to develop them through training and experience within the first twelve months in the role.

This is a full-time permanent role in the UK Business Unit, reporting to the UK Partnerships Director, who is also based in Yorkshire and has led on our work there for many years. It is home-based and the successful candidate will be expected to have a full schedule of in-person meetings, particularly in Leeds. We are willing to consider part-time employment for a suitable candidate.

Responsibilities

You will

• Develop and execute a business development plan to achieve regional growth and sustainability goals.
• Deliver to sales targets in Yorkshire.
• Maintain strong relationships with existing stakeholders, buyers and identify & invest in new relationships with potential buyers.
• Collaborate with the wider UK team to identify, prioritize and act upon business development opportunities.
• Produce high quality proposals for customers.
• Participate in networking events, conferences and other outreach opportunities, and use social media to promote Common Purpose and its mission.
• Work collaboratively with programme staff to ensure alignment between sales priorities and programme activities.
• Ensure that the Common Purpose image locally is high profile, independent and professional - promoting our Common Purpose programmes and campaign through a range of communication channels including social media.
• Ahead you might facilitate some of our leadership programmes.

You are:

• Enterprising, entrepreneurial, energetic, resilient, and curious
• A strong communicator and relationship builder
• Driven by the need to make a difference in society as much as by business development.
• Able to manage and prioritize a demanding workload in a fast-paced environment.
• Able to work cross-culturally and be able to engage with people from different backgrounds and perspectives.
• Have a good knowledge of, and connections across Leeds & Yorkshire.
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office

What we offer in return

• A salary of between £38,000 - £42,000 per annum pro rata, depending on level of experience
• 25 days of annual leave per annum, plus 3 additional days over Christmas
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) supporting you in your work and life
• A best in-class Flex(at)CP flexible working policy, enabling you to work in the ways that suit you best.
• A fast-paced environment – which will continue to test and develop you
• Plentiful opportunities for growth – you will be continually developing key skills and capabilities for your future through the role and our internal training and development programmes.
• A chance to have a real impact – you will see the impact of your work as you develop content across the organization.
• A strong connection to purpose – the chance to work with a diverse range of colleagues across the world driven by the same mission.
• Responsibility from day one – you will be given real accountability and ownership in your role.

If you have a passion for making a difference and are looking for an exciting opportunity to contribute to the growth and success of a dynamic non-profit organization, we encourage you to apply for this position. Please send us your CV and cover letter - we will not consider any applications that don’t contain a cover letter. Your cover letter must clearly outline why you think you’re a good fit for this role.

As a purpose-led not-for-profit committed to access and equity, we welcome applications from different and diverse backgrounds; attitude, mindset and energy are the critical currency for this role. Our ambitions are big, yours need to be too.

Common Purpose is an equal opportunities employer. If you have any access requirements that you would like us to be aware of to support your application, please get in touch with us.