Head Of Partnerships

Head of Partnerships

Children's Social Care & Education | Growth, New Business & Strategic Partnerships

Salary: Up to £70,000 per annum

Location: Hybrid / Office-Based with Extensive Travel

The Opportunity

Diamond Search Recruitment is delighted to be supporting a leading organisation operating across children's social care and education in the appointment of a Head of Partnerships.

This is a high-profile, strategic role for an experienced business development, partnerships or commercial professional who can identify new opportunities, build influential senior-level relationships and create new routes to sustainable growth.

This is not simply a traditional business development or placement-led role. The successful candidate will be responsible for opening doors, developing strategic relationships, identifying emerging markets and helping shape the organisation's future growth strategy.

You will operate as a senior ambassador externally, developing relationships with Local Authorities, senior commissioners, Mayors, Combined Authorities, education leaders, charities, health partners, families and other key stakeholders.

Working closely with the Commercial Director and Head of Business Development, you will help turn strategic relationships and market intelligence into tangible commercial opportunities.

Strategic Growth & Market Development

• Identify and develop strategic growth opportunities across children's social care and education.
• Identify emerging markets, services, commissioning models and revenue opportunities.
• Monitor changes across social care, education, health and wider public services and translate these into potential growth opportunities.
• Identify opportunities arising from government policy, funding changes, legislation and regional commissioning developments.
• Develop strategies for entering new geographical markets.
• Identify opportunities before they develop into conventional placement or commissioning activity.
• Develop innovative propositions and new routes to market.

Strategic Partnerships

• Build and maintain long-term strategic partnerships with Local Authorities, schools, colleges, charities, parent groups, forums and other relevant organisations.
• Identify organisations and stakeholders where strategic relationships could create mutual value.
• Develop partnership models that support sustainable growth and positive outcomes for children, young people and families.
• Build relationships beyond traditional commissioning contacts to understand wider local and regional priorities.
• Explore collaborative working, strategic alliances, joint ventures and innovative service delivery models.
• Ensure partnerships align with strategic, commercial and organisational objectives.

Senior External Relationships

• Local Authority senior leaders and Directors
• Senior commissioners and decision-makers
• Mayors and Combined Authorities
• Regional and emerging commissioning bodies
• Education leaders
• Schools, colleges and education providers
• Charities and voluntary sector organisations
• Advocacy and community organisations
• Parents and families where appropriate
• Other strategic stakeholders

You will act as a senior relationship owner and ambassador, representing the organisation at strategic meetings, conferences, forums, events and partnership discussions.

New Business Development

• Lead new business development at a strategic level.
• Identify where the organisation should grow, why it should grow and who it should partner with.
• Generate opportunities through strategic relationships rather than relying solely on existing demand.
• Identify new services, geographical markets and customer groups.
• Develop and manage a strategic pipeline of growth opportunities.
• Work alongside the Head of Business Development to progress opportunities.
• Contribute to business cases, proposals and commercial propositions.
• Assess opportunities against strategic fit, commercial potential, risk and organisational capacity.

Policy & Commissioning Intelligence

• Maintain a strong understanding of government policy and developments affecting children's social care and education.
• Monitor legislation, funding, commissioning structures and regional strategies.
• Identify opportunities before they become established markets.
• Develop relationships with emerging commissioning structures and regional bodies.
• Provide market intelligence and strategic insight to the senior leadership team.
• Use external intelligence to influence business development and organisational strategy.

Commercial Development

• Work closely with the Commercial Director and Head of Business Development to convert relationships into commercial opportunities.
• Support the development of commercially viable partnership propositions.
• Contribute to pricing, proposition development and wider commercial strategy where appropriate.
• Develop sustainable, long-term revenue opportunities rather than purely transactional growth.
• Support negotiations and strategic commercial discussions with key partners.

External Profile & Reputation

• Increase the organisation's profile and influence across children's social care and education.
• Position the organisation as a credible, innovative and trusted strategic partner.
• Develop relationships with influential stakeholders and sector leaders.
• Attend and contribute to conferences, sector events, forums and networks.
• Identify opportunities to contribute to consultations, sector discussions and strategic initiatives.
• Act as a strong and professional ambassador for the organisation.

About You

We are looking for a commercially minded and highly credible senior professional with a strong understanding of children's social care and/or education.

You will be confident operating at senior level and comfortable engaging with senior decision-makers across the public, education, voluntary and wider stakeholder landscape.

Essential Experience

• Significant experience in business development, partnerships, strategic relationships or commercial growth.
• Strong knowledge of children's social care and/or education.
• Proven track record of developing relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Experience working with Local Authorities and/or public sector organisations.
• Strong understanding of commissioning and public sector decision-making.
• Demonstrable success identifying and developing new business opportunities.
• Excellent communication, influencing and negotiation skills.
• Strong commercial awareness.
• Ability to build and maintain a substantial external network.
• Ability to think strategically while delivering measurable commercial outcomes.
• Highly credible, confident and professional in external environments.

Desirable Experience

• Experience working with Mayors, Combined Authorities or regional commissioning structures.
• Experience across multiple areas of children's social care.
• Background spanning education, health or the voluntary/community sector.
• Experience developing innovative partnerships or new service models.
• Experience operating within changing regulatory, policy or commissioning environments.
• An established senior-level network across children's social care and/or education.

What Success Looks Like

In this role, you will be expected to:

• Create new strategic routes to market.
• Build a strong and influential external network.
• Identify and unlock new markets and growth opportunities.
• Develop sustainable strategic partnerships.
• Increase organisational visibility and influence.
• Build relationships with senior decision-makers and emerging commissioning structures.
• Develop a strong pipeline of strategic opportunities.
• Convert relationships into tangible commercial outcomes.
• Anticipate market changes and identify opportunities ahead of competitors.
• Make a significant contribution to the organisation's long-term growth strategy.

Package & Benefits

• Salary: up to £70,000 per annum
• Hybrid working
• Office-based working combined with extensive travel
• Senior strategic position with significant external influence
• Opportunity to shape future growth and market development
• High-profile role working closely with senior leadership

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