Location and working pattern:
Location: Based in the North West (e.g., Liverpool, Greater Manchester).
We will also consider candidates based in the West Midlands, West Yorkshire or the North East who closely meet the job description and are willing to travel.
Staff are expected to work from their nearest regional office once a week or once a month, depending on distance. Current offices are in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and London, with a further office planned for Liverpool.
Travel: Regular travel across the North West and our operating regions (West Midlands, West Yorkshire, North East, Greater London), with occasional travel across wider England as we expand.
Working pattern: Hybrid model combining c.2 days per week working from home with c.3 days per week travelling to partner and funder meetings.
Salary: £46,000 commensurate with experience + 10% bonus
Contract: Permanent, 80% to 100% FTE.
Standard working hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM (with 1 hour unpaid lunch break)
We offer flexibility to employees to balance their commitments, including medical appointments, parental or caregiving responsibilities, and personal goals.
Responsibilities: College partnerships (c.50%); Public sector fundraising (c.50%)
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Key relationships
Internal: Director of Funding & Grant Management; Head of Finance & Grant Management; Regional Programme Leads for FE Colleges
External: FE colleges; combined authorities and local government; central government departments (e.g., DWP, DfE)
Closing date: 17 November 2026, 11.59pm
ABOUT THE ROLE
We are looking for a diligent, highly organised self-starter who can (i) lead on FE college business development and (ii) build Generation's public sector funding pipeline and win new bids:
This role secures new FE college partners for Generation across the UK, pitching Generation's shared-delivery model, tailoring it to each college's context and building genuine buy-in. It then works through the practical detail of how the partnership would run with the college, negotiating terms through to a signed agreement, before handing over to the delivery team for implementation.
Accessing public sector funding is crucial to Generation UK’s growth and sustainability. Colleges part-fund Generation programmes from their budgets (e.g., Adult Skills Fund, SWAPs etc). Alongside this, the role leads Generation's applications for direct contracts with combined authorities (GLA, WMCA, LCRCA, WYCA, GMCA, etc) and government departments (e.g., Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Education). It also leads the coordination of joint proposals with college partners.
It's a strong fit for someone who enjoys new business development and excels at managing relationships with FE college leaders and public sector stakeholders. This person can engage stakeholders leading up to and throughout commissioning rounds, including writing compelling propositions and bids.
ABOUT GENERATION
Generation is a charity with the vision of a meaningful career for every person. Our aim is to support people facing significant and multiple barriers to employment into life-changing careers they otherwise could not access.
We achieve this with a unique methodology of profession-specific skills bootcamp training, focussed on in-demand careers (specifically in the tech, healthcare and green sectors), with extensive, ongoing pastoral support and matchmaking to employer partners.
Generation launched globally in 2015, and has grown quickly to become the world’s largest demand-led employment initiative. We have placed >100,000 people into roles, working with over 4,000 employer partners to date across 16 countries and 26 professions.
Since launching in the UK in 2019 have now trained more than 3500 people. Our work focuses on supporting those from diverse groups facing barriers to desirable employment. For these learners, we have achieved an industry leading c. 70% job placement rate with learners now placed at >800…