Description

Employer Engagement Manager

Organisation: GoodPeople
Reports to: Programme Lead
Location: Somerset House, London, hybrid, with a minimum of one day per week in our London office and regular in-person meetings with partners and employers
Contract: Permanent, full-time, 37.5 hours per week
Salary: £35,000 to £45,000 base depending on experience, plus target-based commission, with OTE of £50,000+

If you've built a desk, won clients and filled roles in recruitment, this is your chance to do it with real purpose behind it.

We're a fast-growing social enterprise connecting purposeful employers to diverse local talent at scale. Think of us as a recruitment agency with a mission: we combine tech-enabled support with in-person delivery to get local people into good work across the built environment, construction, green skills and infrastructure.

Our client base spans developers, utilities companies, housing associations and major contractors, through to SMEs.

The market opportunity is huge. The built environment, infrastructure and net zero sectors face some of the biggest skills shortages in the country, alongside a once-in-a-generation pipeline of work that needs local people to deliver it.

We're looking for an Employer Engagement Manager who knows how to win business. This is, at its heart, a business development role: prospecting, pitching, opening doors and converting employer relationships into fully qualified vacancies.

You'll recognise the fundamentals from recruitment, from building a client portfolio and understanding workforce needs to securing commitment and developing long-term accounts. Here, every vacancy you unlock creates an opportunity for someone in the local community.

You'll also be comfortable selling a modern, tech-enabled service, using our tools, data and networks to engage employers and build opportunity pipelines at scale.

The role

As an Employer Engagement Manager, you'll lead employer engagement across our programmes. Your core job is to secure employer vacancies at pace and volume and build the partnerships that keep the pipeline of opportunities flowing.

You'll work across sectors and programmes rather than a single one, so you'll be as comfortable talking to a retrofit contractor as a housing association, a developer's supply chain or an infrastructure employer.

What you'll bring from recruitment is your client development instinct, your ability to qualify and close, your resilience on the phones and in the room, and your knack for turning a first conversation into a lasting employer relationship.

You'll build a detailed understanding of each employer, including their structure, decision-makers, hiring processes, workforce needs and likely future demand. You'll fully qualify initial vacancies before handing them over to the Recruitment team, ensuring they have the information, contacts and employer commitment needed to begin delivery effectively.

You'll continue to support strategic employer relationships, help unlock wider opportunities across accounts and work closely with Recruitment Consultants to ensure vacancies move smoothly from employer engagement into delivery.

Key activities

Employer engagement and sales: Identify, pitch to and win over businesses of all sizes across our target sectors, securing commitment and unlocking vacancies.

Employer and vacancy qualification: Understand employers' requirements, key contacts, recruitment processes and workforce needs, and fully qualify initial vacancies before handover.

Prospecting and pipeline development: Use job adverts, tender notices, programme intelligence, referrals, partner networks and digital tools to build and manage a strong pipeline of target employers.

Selling our offer: Clearly explain how GoodPeople's platform, data and delivery model can help employers recruit local talent and support inclusive hiring.

Client relationship management: Build and maintain strong relationships with employers, understand their hiring needs, offer tailored solutions and market insight, and manage accounts for repeat business.

Partnerships: Build relationships with housing associations, councils, developers and other partners whose supply chains and assets create opportunities.

Handover and delivery support: Provide Recruitment Consultants with an employer brief and agreed next steps, and support with employer-side issues where required.

Process improvement and reporting: Improve employer research, outreach, qualification and handover processes, maintain accurate records and report clearly against agreed targets.

What we're looking for

• Demonstrated experience in business development, sales or employer engagement, ideally in recruitment or employment support
• A track record of winning new clients, employers or commercial relationships at pace
• Confidence prospecting, pitching, handling objections and securing roles against challenging targets
• Comfortable and credible selling a tech-enabled or data-led service, and confident that technology is part of how you win and deliver
• Experience understanding employer needs and translating them into clear recruitment opportunities
• The ability to establish, optimise and semi-automate processes
• Ability to distinguish genuine hiring demand from speculative interest
• Confidence speaking with senior decision-makers, hiring managers and operational contacts
• Strong organisation and attention to detail, particularly when qualifying vacancies and recording employer information
• Comfortable using data, digital tools and technology to manage activity and work at scale
• Evidence of performing strongly in a target-driven environment
• A collaborative approach and the ability to work closely with recruitment delivery colleagues and programme teams
• Comfortable working across different sectors and adapting quickly to new markets
• Able to attend our London office at least one day per week and meet employers and partners in person
• Purpose-driven, with a genuine interest in community, equality and impact

Desirable

• Experience of 360 recruitment or recruitment business development
• Experience working in construction, the built environment, infrastructure, green skills or similar sectors
• Experience developing relationships with housing associations, councils, developers, major contractors or supply-chain businesses
• Knowledge of, or interest in, inclusive recruitment, social value or local employment programmes
• Experience selling a funded, technology-enabled or data-led service
• Experience working across multiple programmes or employer sectors

What we offer

• A meaningful role at the intersection of business, technology and inclusive employment
• A collaborative, values-driven team
• A base salary of £35,000 to £45,000 depending on experience
• Target-based commission
• Hybrid working, with at least one day per week in our London office
• 25 days' holiday pro rata
• A yearly flexible training and development budget
• Private healthcare provision and 24/7 access to a GP

How to apply

Our work is focused on supporting diverse communities, and we believe we'll do our best work with that diversity represented. We especially want to hear from ethnic minority and global majority candidates, and those with lived experience of inequality.

Following our shortlisting process, which will involve a call with one of the team, we'll contact all candidates to let them know the outcome.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an in-person interview, including a 10 to 15-minute task we'll send you beforehand.