Partnership Experience Manager (Maternity Cover)

Partnership Experience Manager (Maternity Cover)

Salary: £38,814 - £44,581 pro-rata (depending on experience and FTE)

Contract: 12 months fixed-term contract (Maternity Cover- might be potentially extended)

Start Date: Date to be agreed (potentially August)

Location: This is currently a blended-working role with two in-office days (Tuesday-Thursday) during term time and the flexibility to work from home during school holidays. Occasional travel to schools and events will be required.

We will consider reduced office days for a successful candidate based in one of our target regions across the North and Midlands. If this might be relevant for you we are happy to explore in a conversation with you before or during the recruitment process.

We are currently based at Resource for London near Holloway Road station, however, our office will be moving to another location in London in the coming months.

Working Pattern: 37.5 hours per week. Our core hours are 09:30 - 16:00 from Monday to Friday. This role can be either full-time or part-time (0.8 FTE minimum) and we are open to flexible working requests.

Benefits of working for Challenge Partners

• Work-life balance

• Annual leave

• Employer pension contributions

• Health and wellbeing support

• Training and development

• Family-friendly policies

• Connection and celebration

About the role

You will play a key role in driving the continuous improvement and growth of our national partnership through deepening the quality and impact of our local collaboration hubs. You will also oversee the day-to-day running of hubs of our schools and trusts, which includes holding responsibility for the operations of the Partnerships Team and working closely with the Partnership Lead to ensure that all hubs, schools and trusts have an excellent experience with Challenge Partners.

You will also oversee the implementation of the organisation s Account Management strategy, working closely with members of the Leadership Team to implement our strategy for effective partnership experience (our term for account management and customer service) for our partner schools and trusts. This includes holding some key strategic relationships, representing the organisation at external meetings and overseeing partner experience operations.

Key Responsibilities

The Partnership Experience Manager will have the following key areas of responsibility and will be expected to undertake other responsibilities commensurate with the role as requested:

Strategic Leadership and Management - Hub Quality and Impact

• Develop and lead our strategy to improve the quality and impact of Challenge Partners Hubs, continuing to develop high performing hubs and supporting rapid improvement in new and emerging hubs

• Deliver, grow and evaluate the impact of our hub-led programmes: Middle Leaders Quality Assurance Review and Leadership Residency Programme

• Oversee the continuous improvement of national Knowledge Exchange and Areas of Excellence

• Lead a Hub Quality and Impact team, including all central team hub owners and executive hub links, through providing clarity on the Hub Quality and Impact strategy and operations.

Strategic Leadership and Management - Partnership Experience and Communications

• Develop and lead the implementation of our Account Management strategy ensuring that accounts are given the attention needed to ensure a smooth experience and high satisfaction rates

• Oversee Customer Care processes across the organisation, guaranteeing that any issues are resolved in a professional and timely manner

• Oversee whole partnership communications, including half termly partnership newsletters

• Develop and maintain effective stakeholder relationships (Senior Partners, Hub Managers, trust CEOs) with your allocated key accounts to ensure that regular dialogue with them informs the strategy and continuous improvement in our support of hub quality and partner experience

• Act as an ambassador for Challenge Partners, representing the organisation externally where required

• Lead an Account Management approach through providing clarity on the account management strategy and operations.

Oversight of partner experience and hub management operations

• Line management of the Partnership Lead and one or two Partnership Co-ordinators

• Team leadership of the Hub Quality and Impact and Account Management teams, delegating tasks appropriately

• Work closely with the Partnership Lead to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of all hubs

• Act as a point of escalation for any issues across hubs

• Identify hubs at risk, and lead on creating sustainable solutions with team members

• Work closely with the Finance Team to facilitate our invoicing processes for each academic year

• Oversee hub funding processes across all hubs, proactively considering any changes needed in line with Hub Quality work

• Oversee Pricing Governance processes

Leadership Responsibilities for all Managers

• Foster a collaborative, high-performance team culture.

• Provide coaching and mentorship to develop team members potential.

• Drive innovation and professional development, aligning with Challenge Partners vision and growth strategy.

• Collaborate with Managers across teams to align efforts, ensuring a seamless experience for our school and trust partners.

• Contribute to organisational strategy, future planning, and priorities as part of the middle leadership team.

General Responsibilities

• Champion Challenge Partners vision, values, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Take ownership of personal development and actively contribute to team learning.

• Work flexibly, undertaking additional duties as required.

• Maintain high standards of health, safety, and welfare for yourself and others.

• Attend events and external meetings, which may require travel and occasional overnight stays.

Person Specification

• Strong commitment to Challenge Partners vision and mission.

• Proven track record in strategic leadership and managing key external relationships.

• Knowledge and experience of the education sector.

• Excellent interpersonal skills used to build positive relationships with diverse stakeholders.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience in leading teams and developing others (formal line management experience is not required if transferable people management skills can be demonstrated).

• Proactive in improving processes, identifying risks and solving problems.

• Exceptional organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise and adapt to changing needs

How to apply

Please submit your application on Applied by 10am on Monday 19th May 2025. You will be asked to upload your CV and answer five competency and scenario-based application questions.

• First round of interviews (remote)- wlc 26th May 2025 (Specific dates TBC)

• Second round of interviews (face-to-face)- wlc 2nd June 2025 (Specific dates TBC)

A note on AI

At Challenge Partners, we are committed to a fair and inclusive recruitment process. We don t use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for recruitment - applications are reviewed by members of the team and we use blind shortlisting to mitigate potential bias and ensure all candidates are considered on merit.

Whilst we recognise that AI can be a useful tool for tasks like proofreading, we encourage you to share genuine examples from your own experience so we can better understand your unique skills and perspective. Authenticity is important to us and we want to hear your voice throughout the application process.

DEI Statement

Challenge Partners is committed to further enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion within our team and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

Safeguarding Statement

Challenge Partners is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, beneficiaries and staff. We expect all employees, consultants and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment or contracts with us are subject to a satisfactory DBS check and references.

No agencies please.