Senior partnerships manager at Jisc

, , United Kingdom -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

25 Jul, 26

Salary

42000.0

Posted On

26 Apr, 26

Experience

5 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Yes

Skills

Strategic partnerships, Vendor management, Business development, Software licensing, Content licensing, Stakeholder engagement, Negotiation, Relationship management, Customer success, Project management, Strategic planning, Data transformation, Communication, Presentation skills, Market analysis

Industry

Education

Description

Job Title: Senior Partnerships Manager Salary: Circa £42,000 per annum (negotiable based on experience) + comprehensive benefits package Jisc grade: PRS3 (internal use only) Job Type: Permanent Hours: 35 hours per week Reports into: Head of portfolio Working style: Hybrid - A blend of working from home and your nominated hub office. We have hubs located in London, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford. About Jisc: For 30 years Jisc has pioneered digital solutions for UK education and research, transforming how knowledge is created, shared and used. We are uniquely positioned to protect, promote and lead the sector in digital and data transformation, making a difference to students, communities and society. Together, we are working to build a better digital future for education and research. Raise your potential at Jisc through our culture of lifelong learning. At Jisc, we're all about growth, so embrace new challenges, sharpen your skills and shape a career that excites you. The role: As the Senior Partnerships Manager, you will lead the delivery of high-quality partnership activity for Jisc Licensing while supporting the Jisc wide strategic management of relationships with software and content vendors. You will shape the processes and frameworks that guide vendor evaluation and management, ensuring they are optimised, embedded, and aligned to Jisc’s strategic aims. You will coordinate licensing-related vendor engagement across Jisc so that activity is consistent and member‑focused. Working closely with licensing portfolio leadership and teams across Jisc, you will shape and steer the continuous enhancement of the processes, frameworks and documentation that underpin Jisc’s approach to vendor evaluation and management. Your role will ensure our partnership framework is embedded across our teams and remain strategically aligned, enabling Jisc to drive consistent, sector wide value from its global vendor relationships. What you’ll be doing: Lead partnership delivery and cross‑functional collaboration to ensure licensing‑related partnership activity aligns with strategic priorities and maximises value. Coordinate engagement with licensing vendors across Jisc, ensuring a coherent and aligned sector‑wide approach to organisations supplying software and content through Jisc’s licensing. Identify and coordinate licensing‑related vendor programmes. This includes identifying programmes, pilots and collaboration opportunities offered by licensing vendors, and coordinating access for members where appropriate to maximise sector benefit. Act as the senior professional lead for partnership practice, providing expertise and guidance across the licensing portfolio. Development of licensing vendor partnerships to include acquiring, establishing and optimising strategic relationships with software and content vendors, ensuring these relationships deliver value and strengthen Jisc’s strategic vendor management capability. Customer engagement and enablement including conducting regular reviews of licensing agreements, assessing their value and impact, and adjusting strategies to ensure sustained positive outcomes for both vendors and members. Optimise licensing outputs via partnership activity, regularly evaluating and optimising the delivery and outputs of the partnerships function. What we are looking for: Strong communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels and clearly articulate value propositions with a deep understanding of UK tertiary education or educational or research. Proven experience in managing strategic partnerships, vendor relations, or customer success in a similar role or industry. A track record in business development and/or sales with demonstrable success in driving the uptake and adoption of products or services, particularly in the context of software and content licensing. Confident presenter of reports, briefings and presentations to senior level stakeholders and groups. A degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field or a related discipline. This provides a solid foundation in understanding the business environment, strategic thinking, and sector-specific knowledge. Professional certifications relevant to customer success, marketing and/or project management. Don’t meet every single requirement? We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can’t tick every box, so we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but if you feel this role is perfect for you. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles! Hybrid working: Specific patterns for working in the office are not mandated, and the frequency of time worked in the office is agreed with your manager. Meeting in person is something we value, so you may need to travel on occasion to any of our hub offices. Why work for us? At Jisc, every role is meaningful, and every individual is valued. We foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth, offering opportunities to develop new skills and make a real impact in education and research. With a strong focus on work-life balance, we embrace flexible working that prioritises outcomes over hours, empowering you to create a rhythm that energises both your professional and personal life. Our Guiding Principles: Jisc’s culture is powered by our four guiding principles: putting customers first, driving innovation, creating impact, and championing inclusive collaboration to deliver sustainable outcomes and shape a better future. Discover the amazing benefits we provide! Here’s what you can look forward to: Flexible work pattern, which can adapt to suit your schedules and personal commitments 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) that includes three closure days over Christmas Buy up to an additional 5 days leave during the flexible benefits window Generous flexible pension schemes A range of wellbeing lifestyle benefits including company paid health care cash plan, mental health first aiders and support A company culture of continuous learning with access to thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses, and lots of resources and opportunities to support your development Allocated allowance of up to £250 to equip your home office Financial well-being support including access to preferential loan and savings plans, mortgage advice, will writing tools and support and resources to help you make the most of your money A wide range of discounts and cashback from retailers and big-name high-street stores Family friendly policies including enhanced parental, maternity and paternity and co-parental leave as well as opportunity for career breaks Support your volunteering with up to 3 days volunteer leave Equity, diversity and inclusion: Jisc believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging. We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status. Application process: Please let us know how we can best accommodate you throughout the recruitment process. We’re committed to making our process accessible and comfortable for everyone - just tell us what works best for you. Just so you know, we review CVs as soon as we can and aim to provide an update on your application within 4 weeks of receiving it. However, you may hear from us a lot sooner, so please keep an eye out for our emails or calls! We’re really looking forward to getting to know the real you. While we encourage the use of AI tools to help you get started on your CV or cover letter, we encourage you to review your application before submitting. Make sure it truly reflects your own voice, experiences, and personality. If you are currently a Jisc employee, please apply through your Dayforce Employee profile. We have a thorough background screening process that verifies the details you share with us in your CV and your application. Any inaccurate information supplied during the application stages can lead to a job offer being withdrawn. Sponsorship: Jisc has an active sponsor licence to recruit on a Skilled worker visa basis. Candidates wishing to apply who require sponsorship should determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant Home Office criteria. Jisc does not offer any financial re-imbursement towards the applicant costs, such as re-location, skilled worker visa and dependant costs or the immigration health charge. No agencies please.

Responsibilities

The Senior Partnerships Manager will lead the delivery of high-quality partnership activity and coordinate vendor engagement across Jisc to ensure strategic alignment. They will shape processes for vendor evaluation and management while driving consistent value from global software and content relationships.