Employability services manager jobs in Birmingham

The Head of Commercial Partnerships is a pivotal leadership role responsible for developing and delivering Jericho's corporate engagement and partnership strategy.

The postholder will build and maintain relationships with employers, businesses, funders and strategic partners to create employment pathways for participants, generate income for Jericho's social enterprises and unlock wider support through corporate fundraising, social value partnerships, volunteering and advocacy.

Working across multiple areas of the organisation, the role will act as a bridge between Jericho's employability, enterprise and income generation functions, ensuring partnerships deliver meaningful social impact while strengthening the organisation's long-term sustainability.

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of Jericho's corporate engagement strategy and become a key external ambassador for one of Birmingham's leading employment-focused charities.

We would consider 0.8 FTE for the right candidate. The successful applicant must have the Right to Work in the UK as we are unable to offer sponsorship.

What you’ll be doing:

Strategic Leadership

• With support from the Director of Income Generation, develop and deliver Jericho's Commercial Partnerships Strategy.
• Identify opportunities to increase income, employment outcomes and social impact through external partnerships.
• Contribute to organisational strategy, business planning and growth objectives.
• Monitor partnership performance and provide regular reporting on outcomes, income generation and impact.
• Act as a senior ambassador for Jericho across Birmingham and the wider region.

Employer Engagement and Employment Pathways

• Build and maintain relationships with employers across a range of sectors.
• Create opportunities for work placements, work experience, internships and employment pathways for participants.
• Develop employer partnerships that support individuals facing significant barriers to employment.
• Work closely with People Support and Employability teams to understand participant needs and identify suitable opportunities.
• Promote inclusive employment practices and encourage employers to recruit from underrepresented groups.

Corporate Partnerships and Business Development

• Identify and secure new business opportunities for Jericho's social enterprises.
• Develop relationships with procurement teams, HR leaders, CSR teams and senior decision-makers.
• Promote the commercial services offered by Jericho's enterprises and identify opportunities for growth.
• Create strategic partnerships that deliver both commercial value and social impact.
• Support the development of new enterprise opportunities and routes to market.
• Identify opportunities arising from corporate social responsibility and social value commitments.

External Representation

• Represent Jericho at networking events, conferences, business forums and partnership meetings.
• Build Jericho's profile within Birmingham's business community.
• Deliver presentations and pitches to senior stakeholders.
• Develop relationships with key influencers, business leaders and strategic partners.

Who are we looking for?

Essential

• Significant experience in corporate partnerships, business development, employer engagement, relationship management.
• Proven ability to build and maintain high-value strategic relationships.
• Experience developing partnerships that deliver measurable outcomes.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of how businesses operate.
• Excellent communication, networking and presentation skills.
• Experience influencing and engaging senior stakeholders.
• Ability to identify opportunities and convert them into tangible results.
• Strong planning, organisational and project management skills.
• An appreciation of and sympathy with The Jericho Foundation's Christian roots and values, and a commitment to its mission of supporting people facing barriers to employment into sustainable work.

Desirable

• Experience within the charity, social enterprise, employability or recruitment sectors.
• Knowledge of Birmingham's business landscape and key employers.
• Experience securing corporate funding, sponsorship or social value partnerships.
• Understanding of supported employment and employability programmes.
• Experience managing budgets, income targets or commercial contracts.

About JERICHO 

JERICHO is an award-winning Birmingham-based charity and family of six social enterprises. We provide supported work opportunities for people facing extreme challenges in getting a job and have been helping people across Birmingham into employment for over 30 years. We primarily support marginalised young people and survivors of modern slavery. What makes our model so effective is the way we combine work placements with individualised wrap-around support, training and a range of targeted activities. Our approach is focused on helping people address the issues that are affecting their life chances, build skills and confidence and ultimately become more employable.

INTERVIEWS ARE PLANNED IN PERSON ON TUESDAY 11th AUGUST 2026. 

About us

The Mason Foundation is a national charity that supports neurodivergent young people and communities to thrive. (Neurodivergent means people whose brains work differently, for example autistic people or people with ADHD.) We run three main programmes: Propel, which is employment support for neurodivergent young people aged 14 to 25; Community Mile, locally led physical activity run by trained Champions; and wider community programmes. We work across England and Scotland.

About the role

You would be the person delivering our programmes on the ground across the South East. You would deliver all three programmes, Propel, Community Mile and our community programmes, by running training and sessions, building relationships, and championing neuroinclusion, which means helping everyday settings work better for neurodivergent people. You would also meet the wider team in person a few times a year.

What you would do

· Deliver Propel training in schools, colleges, community youth settings and workplaces.

· Deliver Community Mile training and help local communities set up lasting physical activity opportunities.

· Deliver our community programmes that support communities with less access to opportunities.

· Build and keep good relationships with partners across education, community and employer settings.

· Help organisations and communities put neuroinclusive practice in place.

· Capture engaging social media content that shows the impact of the work.

· Keep track of how delivery is going and report on it.

· Travel regularly across the South East to deliver in person.

What you need

Essential

· A genuine commitment to neurodivergent young people and communities, and to neuroinclusion.

· The ability to deliver engaging training and sessions. You do not need previous experience. What matters is that you can engage a room, and we will talk about this at interview.

· The ability to build good working relationships across education, community and employer settings.

· The ability to plan your own time and get things done while working independently.

· The ability to manage your workload within part time hours.

· A driving licence and access to a vehicle. Because the role covers a wide patch across the South East, with some places hard to reach by public transport, this is essential for the role. If this is a barrier for you because of a disability, please talk to us and we will look at what is possible.

Nice to have

· Experience delivering training to different groups of people.

· Experience in SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), employability support, community development, physical activity, or a similar area.

· Confidence using social media to share stories and engage people.

You do not need to tick every box. If you meet the essentials and are keen, please do apply.

How we recruit

We want this process to work for you. Adjustments are available at every stage, both when you apply and at interview, so please just ask.

Our interview has two stages. First, an informal conversation about the role over Teams or by phone, so we can get to know each other a little. Then a panel interview, which you can have in person or online, whichever you prefer.

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you tell us you have a disability and you meet the essential requirements, we will guarantee you an interview. 

Why join us

· Make a real difference in the lives of neurodivergent young people and communities.

· Flexible, home-based working with a supportive team.

· The chance to shape and grow our programmes in the South East.

· Work for an ambitious, values driven charity where 75 percent of our staff are neurodivergent.

We welcome applications from everyone, and we especially welcome applications from people currently underrepresented at The Mason Foundation, including LGBT+ people, disabled people, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Os ydych yn drefnydd sy’n canolbwyntio ar bobl ac yn mwynhau meithrin cysylltiadau a chreu effaith, byddem wrth ein bodd yn clywed gennych.

Volunteers are at the heart of our work. Each year, they support over 70,000 young people to build confidence, develop skills and explore their futures through insight talks, workshops and events. 

We’re looking for a Volunteer Coordinator to grow and support our network across Wales. This is a new role, created as we invest in strengthening how we recruit, prepare and engage our volunteers, with the opportunity to shape how this work develops. 

In this role, you’ll build relationships with employers, public sector organisations and community groups to recruit volunteers from a wide range of industries. You’ll manage onboarding, support volunteers to feel confident and well-prepared to work with young people, and work closely with our Volunteer Manager and Programme Team to match volunteers to opportunities across Wales. 

You’ll play a key part in ensuring volunteers have a positive, high-quality experience – providing ongoing support, responding to feedback, and helping us continuously improve how we engage and retain our network. Alongside this, you’ll track activity, maintain accurate records, and contribute to understanding our reach and impact. 

We’re looking for someone who is highly organised, proactive and great with people, confident building relationships, managing multiple priorities and communicating clearly. You’ll bring experience of working with volunteers, or in a coordination or partnership-focused role, and have a genuine motivation to support young people to achieve their potential. And, we'd love someone who is confident communicating in the medium of Welsh.

This role would suit someone who enjoys working collaboratively, is comfortable working across a wide geography, and is motivated by creating opportunities and delivering impact. 

If you’re motivated by purpose, confident bringing people together, and want to play a key role in expanding our impact across Wales, we’d love to hear from you. 

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We carry out social media checks on shortlisted candidates as part of our recruitment process, using only publicly available information and in line with our data protection responsibilities.

While we don’t specify this in our person specification, we are particularly interested to hear from applicants who have experienced some of the challenges that young people across Wales face today.

Location: Any of our King's Trust office's (flexible working - minimum of 2 days in the office)

Interviews: 3rd & 4th August 2026

This is a high-impact leadership role at the centre of building large-scale corporate employment partnerships that directly change young people’s futures. As Head of Business Development – Employment Partnerships, you will lead the strategy and delivery of new, high-value partnerships that create sustainable job opportunities, working across sectors and in close collaboration with design, delivery and fundraising teams. You will own a significant income target (£600k+), shape a 24-month pipeline, and play a key role in positioning the organisation as a leader in employment-focused partnerships.

We are looking for a commercially minded, relationship-driven leader who understands the challenges employers face in attracting and developing entry-level talent. You'll have a proven track record of securing six-figure partnerships through a consultative approach, working with senior decision-makers to design solutions that create value for both employers and young people. With extensive experience across the entry-level employment landscape, you'll bring a deep understanding of apprenticeships, early careers, recruitment and workforce trends, alongside the credibility to influence senior stakeholders and translate insight into compelling partnership propositions.

This role will suit someone who thrives on building something meaningful at scale,  combining strategic thinking with hands-on delivery, and leadership with collaboration. You will be motivated by creating real opportunities for young people, and comfortable leading a team while navigating a matrix environment to drive results.

You will stand out if you bring:

• Significant experience helping employers solve recruitment, workforce or early careers challenges through strategic partnerships.
• A consultative business development approach, with experience engaging senior leaders including CHROs, Talent Directors, Recruitment Leaders, Early Careers teams and DE&I leaders.
• A strong track record of winning complex, high-value partnerships by understanding organisational needs and designing impactful solutions.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing multiple stakeholders within complex organisations.
• A background in recruitment, workforce solutions, HR services, SaaS, apprenticeships, consulting or a related commercial environment where you've sold strategic solutions rather than products.

This is an opportunity to redefine how employers engage with young talent, bringing together commercial expertise, strategic partnerships and social impact to create sustainable employment opportunities at a national scale. You'll be engaging with senior HR and talent leaders from some of the UK's largest employers, helping them tackle real workforce challenges while creating life-changing opportunities for young people.

What happens next?  

Please submit a CV, and Cover Letter that includes your experience, transferrable skills and motivation to work for The King's Trust! The Team will be in touch about the next steps shortly after the closing date. 

Why do we need Head of Business Development - Employment Partnershipss? 

Last year, we helped more than 40,000 Young People, with three in four young people on our programmes moving into a positive outcome in work, education or training. The young people we help face a range of challenges, such as unemployment, mental health issues or some who have been in trouble with the law. We believe all young people should have the chance to succeed, and that young people are the key to a positive and prosperous future for all of us. We want to continue having a positive impact on young people’s lives and we couldn’t do this without the important work of Head of Business Development - Employment Partnershipss! 

Perks for working at The Trust! 

• Great holiday package! 30 days annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays. Office closure on the days between Christmas and New Year 
• Flexible working! Where operationally possible, our roles require a combination of office days and working from home (please speak to the hiring manager about this particular role)
• You can volunteer for and/or attend events – The King's Trust Awards, Pride, active events etc. 
• In-house learning platform! Develop your skills for your career and your role 
• Benefits platform! Everything from health and financial well-being support to discounts on your favourite restaurants, shops and cinemas. 
• Personal development opportunities through our Networks – KT CAN (Cultural Awareness Network), KT GEN (Gender Equality Network), KT DAWN (Disability & Wellbeing Network), and PULSE (LGBTQIA+ Network). 
• Fantastic Family leave! Receive 13 weeks of full pay and 13 weeks of half pay for maternity and adoption leave. Receive 8 weeks of full pay for paternity leave. 
• Interest-free season ticket loans 
• The Trust will contribute 5% of your salary to the Trust Pension Scheme 
• Generous life assurance cover (4 x annual salary)