Economic Development Manager

1. Leadership and Management

• To develop and implement key strategic plans for each of the key programmes, projects and activities within the business development portfolio and oversee implementation.
• To increase the sphere of influence of the College through the project management of a range of business projects such as Employer Support Programme, Bring IT on, Assured Skills, Skills Focus, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, Connected, Innovation Vouchers, FUSION etc. 
• To ensure that the College meets all of its requirements with regard to compliance for these programmes.
• To generate leads and business opportunities for the College across all its full cost, bespoke, and project funding led provision by proactive sales activity.
• To generate income against targets and increase the penetration rate with employers and other external stakeholders.
• To manage customer accounts and provide the College with information relating to employer activity and training and development needs.
• To ensure the development of customised courses as determined by demand from local Businesses across the designated curriculum areas
• To research the needs of local employers to support new course development
• To communicate with and between internal services to enhance the provision to businesses and local employers.
• To carry out Company Training Needs analysis in order to identify wider business needs.
• To complete regular reports which identify the level of activity undertaken.

• To lead and manage the work of the assigned Business Development Executives.
• To implement individual performance management and staff development for the Business Development Executives including the establishment of income generation targets, KPI’s and production of results. 
• To develop and maintain a full understanding and awareness of the external environment, wider economic climate, employer requirements and educational developments impacting on the development of these sector areas and to use this knowledge in shaping College policy in this area.  
• To develop and implement annual operational plans for the Business Development Unit. 
• To identify and pro-actively pursue all income generation activities which may benefit the College. 
• To work with curriculum through integrated planning mechanisms and on-going engagement to increase revenue sources of income for the College across all its full cost, bespoke and project funding led provision. 
• To research and identify a range of business programme funding sources and to ensure the Belfast Met is positioned as a core recipient of these funds. 
• To prepare appropriate bids/tenders/funding applications for funding for the College and to draw in the necessary expertise from across the College.    
• To prepare budgets and business cases as necessary to ensure appropriate resources in place to secure and deliver business opportunities.    
• To prepare monitoring and evaluation procedures for business funded programmes and oversee implementation.    
• To work with employers and key organisations to develop project concepts and oversee the application process.   
• To prepare returns to funding agencies and ensure that all funded projects are audit compliant.    
• To achieve KPI’s and income generation targets as agreed with the Manager for the Centre for Business Development.  
• To develop and maintain key relationships with strategic partners to increase the sphere of influence for the College and to increase income sources for the College. 
• To develop and implement a range of programmes, projects and mentoring interventions at a local, national and international level. 
• To contribute to the development and management of an integrated CRM system which facilitates a co-ordinated approach to the communication and interaction with key customers.
• To initiate and organise key programmes, activities and events and ensure that Belfast Met is considered a Centre for Excellence in the delivery of activities to support business improvement, innovation and enterprise development. 
• To work on a collaborative basis with colleagues across the business development function and other sections of Belfast Met as required. 
• To ensure a high profile for Belfast Met in its Business Development activities and work with the Marketing team to devise and deliver promotional and marketing activities across the sector areas.
• To promote and market all learning products, programmes events and activities that the College can provide to employers, organisations and key strategic partners and lead on business development campaigns in order to maximise income generation for the College.
• To participate in the selection, induction and probation of staff, in line with relevant College policies and procedures.

2. Human Resource Management

• To provide dynamic leadership that contributes to the creation of a culture that encourages debate, rewards innovation and fosters inclusiveness and productive team working within the Centre for Business Development. 
• To ensure that all staff within the relevant area of accountability are working efficiently and effectively and to take action if standards are not met. 
• To ensure the implementation of effective and equitable procedures within the framework set by the College for the recruitment, selection, appointment, grading, appraisal, discipline and performance management of all staff within the Business Development Unit. 
• To effectively line manage assigned members of staff within the Business Development Unit and provide support to these employees in the discharge of their line management responsibilities.  This includes the following:

• Appraisal and Performance Management
• Identification of staff development needs
• Setting priorities for staff
• Planning holiday leave and rotas to balance individual requests with the needs of the organisation
• Mentoring and advising staff
• Managing absence
• Dealing with matters of discipline and competence
• Supporting, directing and evaluating staff performance where and when necessary 
• To ensure that rules and regulations relating to the following statutory requirements are being fully observed and implemented both by the post holder and reporting staff
• Employment law
• Finance
• Health and Safety
• Equality and Diversity
• Disability Discrimination
• Safeguarding

3. Resource Management and Financial Accountability

• To manage the annual operating budget for the Business Development team within the guidelines of the financial regulations of the College.  
• To monitor and review budget targets and take prompt corrective actions to address any areas of overspend. 
• To manage the organisation of financial and other resource allocations across the area including identification of staffing, capital and revenue resource needs in order to meet objectives.
• To prepare appropriate bids/tenders/funding applications for funding for the College and to assist in the project management and administration of these funds.
• To identify and pro-actively pursue all income generation activities which may benefit the College and to achieve KPI’s including income generation targets.
• To provide up to date information on all relevant grant funding opportunities and pro-actively disseminate these through the college pipeline. 
• To ensure the most effective deployment, utilisation and development of staff. 
• To support the Senior Management Team to ensure the proper and effective operation of all financial, planning and other management controls whilst ensuring efficient utilization of physical and financial resources that safeguards public funds within Support Services. 
• To ensure that the College’s financial regulations and procedures are understood and complied with at all times by reporting staff. 
• To ensure full compliance with all terms and conditions of contracts in line with public sector standards for financial management and procurement. 
• To work with Heads of School to assess the necessity and effectiveness of support strategies and employ/divert resources as required. 
• To ensure the effective management of risk through the implementation and monitoring of related policies and procedures.

4. Performance Management and Continuous Improvement

• To fully support the development of the College as a responsive provider of high quality services. 
• To drive continuous improvement and to promote a culture of innovation in support services.
• To ensure the service meets and/or exceeds requirements for all internal and external audits, assessments and inspections.  
• To be accountable for setting targets, establishing and implementing performance management systems to monitor achievement of targets by the Service against agreed performance targets and to monitor achievement of targets through operational plans.
• To be accountable for participative commitment to excellence in performance, management and participation in continuous improvement activities by all support staff.  To be accountable for full implementation, of the College programmes of staff appraisal/performance management and continuing professional development.
• To be accountable for staff utilisation, to address any under-utilisation or shortage of staff by contributing with HR to the creation of job descriptions and the selection and induction of staff.
• To be accountable for, participate in and manage the services contribution to the College business planning and budgeting processes and quality assurance processes. 
• To provide leadership for the teams and to be accountable for ensuring that all staff are trained and developed and that College policies and procedure, appropriate external professional standards and Codes of Conduct are followed consistently. 
• To motivate and communicate effectively with staff, delegate work to others where appropriate and consistently encourage others to contribute to improvements in working and learning environments. 
• Where necessary, to challenge underperformance and support improvement through the application of College procedures.
• To be responsible for ensuring that rules and regulations relating to statutory requirements are being fully observed and implemented as reasonably practicable and appropriate by all staff directly and indirectly under the post holder’s control.
• To be accountable for completion of all designated management tasks as required by college policies e.g. Sickness Absence Management Policy, Disciplinary Policy. 
• To be accountable for implementation of service level agreements with key internal customers and providers, incorporating and promoting best practice and quality standards and monitor service delivery to ensure that agreed levels are met.

5. External Links and Partnerships

• To lead on the development of a network of contacts which feeds into the business intelligence process around opportunities for enterprise and industry development.
• To develop and strengthen partnerships and alliances with stakeholders, other education providers, employers, professional bodies, referral agencies and appropriate Government departments. 
• To represent the College at appropriate meetings and events as required. 
• To help instil and develop a dynamic, innovative and entrepreneurial culture in the College and with its students to enable adaptation to external changes, response to opportunities, maximisation of income generation and maintenance of a position at the forefront of excellence and best practice in the provision of business development services.
• To represent Belfast Metropolitan College on external partnership forums. 
• To develop and maintain key relationships with strategic partners (public/private/community/educational) to increase the sphere of influence of the College and to increase income sources for the College. 
• To facilitate improved HE/FE Collaboration across the key sectors.

6. General

• To promote, implement and ensure compliance with all College policies and procedures.
• In particular, to ensure equality of opportunity and the effective application of health and safety procedures for all staff and learners within the Innovation Unit. 
• To lead the department’s contribution to the achievement of the College’s mission, values and strategic directions. 
• To represent the College as necessary at national, regional and local level to ensure its effective promotion as a world class organisation. 
• To participate actively in relevant regional and national professional networks 
• To deputise for the Manager for the Centre for Business Development as required. 
• To undertake such other relevant duties as may be reasonably expected of the post- holder.