Manager (Business Development & Commercial)

Job Purpose:

To lead end-to-end business development and commercial activities, including client acquisition, proposal development, pricing coordination, and partnership management, while ensuring alignment with client needs and organisational priorities. It plays a key role in strengthening industry relationships, expanding market reach, and contributing to revenue generation through responsive, value-driven, and client-centric executive education offerings. The Manager also supports the effective execution of commercial strategies and ensures seamless coordination between clients and internal stakeholders to deliver impactful learning solutions.

Key Accountabilities:

Benchmarking and Market Analysis

• Conduct ongoing market research and competitive benchmarking to identify industry trends, client needs, and emerging opportunities in executive and professional education.

• Analyse market intelligence, pricing structures, and competitor offerings to support informed business development and positioning decisions.

• Support the identification of high-potential sectors, clients, and programme areas aligned with CAPE’s growth strategy.

• Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to enhance portfolio relevance, market responsiveness, and commercial effectiveness.

Business Development & Sales Execution

• Execute business development activities to identify, pursue, and convert new opportunities across corporate, government, and industry sectors.

• Develop tailored proposals, quotations, and value-driven solutions aligned with client requirements and organisational capabilities.

• Manage the end-to-end sales process, including lead generation, opportunity tracking, negotiation support, and deal closure.

• Support achievement of revenue targets through effective pipeline management and conversion of strategic opportunities.

Commercial Conduct and Financial Stewardship

• Manage the development of commercial packages, programme proposals and customised solutions in collaboration with Learning Innovation and Development teams.

• Establish pricing strategy, costing and commercial evaluations to ensure competitiveness and financial viability.

• Coordinate contract documentation, renewals and commercial negotiations within approved authority limits.

• Promote financial discipline and practices across the team to safeguard financial performance.

Strategic Alliances & Partnerships

• Manage strategic partnerships with industry, government agencies, professional bodies, and academic institutions to enhance CAPE’s ecosystem and market reach.

• Participate in negotiating and managing partnership frameworks, collaboration agreements, and strategic engagement models to support organisational objectives.

• Maintain long-term stakeholder relationships that strengthen CAPE’s reputation, industry relevance, and strategic positioning.

Client Engagement & Account Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients to understand their learning needs, workforce priorities, and strategic objectives.

• Manage assigned accounts to ensure client satisfaction, repeat business, and long-term partnership development.

• Coordinate closely with internal teams to ensure successful delivery of client solutions and seamless customer experience.

• Act as a key liaison between clients and internal stakeholders to support effective communication and issue resolution.

Sales Performance & Pipeline Management

• Manage overall sales performance and business development pipelines conversion to ensure achievement of revenue targets and growth objectives.

• Maintain performance tracking mechanisms and reporting frameworks to track commercial outcomes and market traction and support data-driven commercial decision-making.

• Monitor and report overall business development and commercial performance including sales performance and pipeline conversion supported by the marketing implementation for management reviews and decision making.

Governance, Quality and Compliance

• Ensure all commercial activities, proposals, and agreements comply with institutional policies, governance frameworks, and approval processes.

• Support accurate documentation and maintenance of contracts, pricing records, and client agreements in accordance with organisational standards.

• Uphold integrity and quality standards in all client-facing materials and business development outputs to ensure professionalism and consistency.

• Ensure adherence to ethical business practices and risk management requirements in all commercial engagements.

Qualification & Experience:

• Recognised Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, Management, Economics or related fields.

• Minimum 7-10 years of relevant experience in business development, sales, commercial or account management, preferably in executive education, professional services, training or B2B environments.

• Experience in proposal development, client engagement and revenue generation.

• Good communication, presentation and interpersonal skills.

• Strong coordination, analytical and commercial support capabilities.