Sector Development Lead- Primary

The Role 

We are looking for a Sector Development Lead to drive growth and impact in the primary education sector at a pivotal moment for the Leadership Skills Foundation. 

This newly created role comes at an exciting time: we’re expanding our  programmes, deepening partnerships, and rolling out a refreshed brand. You’ll play a key role in helping us reach more young people and maximise our impact. 

As Sector Development Lead, you’ll lead income generation and customer growth in the primary sector. From designing integrated sales and marketing strategies to delivering outreach and events, you’ll champion our offer and act as a trusted sector voice – shaping offers that meet the needs of schools, empower learners, and delight our customers. 

We’re seeking someone with experience in sales, sector development, or programme growth, with a proven ability to achieve ambitious targets. You’ll bring creativity and confidence in delivering outreach campaigns across both digital and in-person channels, underpinned by a strong understanding of the UK education system, particularly with insight into the primary sector. 

Thriving on building relationships and influencing stakeholders, you’ll use data and insights to inform decisions and adapt approaches. Alongside these skills, you’ll be a collaborative team player and a compelling storyteller, able to balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery as well as passion for creating meaningful opportunities for young people. 

If you’re an experienced development professional who thrives on spotting opportunities and delivering results, we’d love to hear from you. 

Please note: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. The Leadership Skills Foundation cannot offer visa sponsorship. 

Role purpose: 

• Drive the growth of the primary education sector, leading on centre acquisition, income generation, and customer experience.
• Develop and deliver integrated sales and marketing strategies, including digital lead generation, network development, key segment outreach, and data-led campaign planning.
• Act as the sector lead, using insight to shape positioning, monitor market maturity, and influence internal and external strategy for long-term impact. 

Key responsibilities: 

• Planning 
• Shape and deliver the Primary Sector Development Plan. 
• Sales & growth delivery 
• Drive income and centre growth targets across all relevant programmes.
• Develop tailored acquisition and conversion strategies by segment, including cold outreach, warm lead nurture, events, and campaigns. 
• Track and report against sector income targets, centre growth metrics, lead conversions, and ROI using dashboards and data analysis. 
• Marketing and lead generation 
• Design and test sector-wide digital campaigns in collaboration with marketing teams and, where relevant, external agencies. 
• Manage audience segmentation, personalised journeys, email marketing, and paid social media campaigns targeting school leaders, MATs, and parents. 
• Plan and deliver events related to the Primary sector and represent the organisation externally when required. 
• Contribute towards content strategy across case studies, impact stories, webinars, and sector PR/editorial opportunities as required. 
• Customer Experience (CX) & retention 
• Lead on sector-specific centre onboarding, retention strategies, and cross-sell pathways. 
• Be responsible for mapping and reviewing the customer journey, reducing friction for customers, and removing internal barriers.  
• Develop Customer Experience led comms plans to ensure consistent, high-quality touchpoints that support relationship building and long-term value. 
• Collaborate across teams and support innovation 
• Contribute to team planning meetings, training sessions, and department-wide initiatives. 
• Support the induction of new team members and contribute to a collaborative, learning-focused team culture. 
• Be an engaged member of the Engagement and Marketing Directorate and carry out any other reasonable duties as requested by the Head of Business Development. 

Skills, experience, and knowledge

Essential 

·        Proven experience leading sales, sector development, or programme growth.

·        Experience in designing and delivering multi-channel marketing or outreach plans, ideally across digital and in-person formats.

·        Demonstrable success in achieving income and acquisition targets within a complex stakeholder environment.

·        An understanding of education systems in the UK, particularly the primary sector.

·        Experience of working on your own initiative, taking a pro-active approach to your work.

·        Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

·        High level of presentation skills to external stakeholders.

·        Experience of data management and analysing insight to inform decision making.

·        An ability to network, influence and build relationships with key stakeholders and customers.

·        Collaborative mindset with the ability to build strong working relationships across teams

·        Ability to use Microsoft Office programmes comprehensively to support customer interaction and information presentation.

·        An ability to prioritise your workload and focus on importance of tasks.

Desired

·        Experience with campaign management tools and marketing platforms (e.g., HubSpot, Mailchimp, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager).

·        Experience working directly with or selling into primary schools, MATs, or local authorities.

·        Strong understanding of the UK primary education landscape, including MATs, independent schools, and local authority priorities.

·        Understanding of education inspectorate frameworks, and how they impact school decision-making.

·        An understanding of awarding body function and responsibilities.