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SalaryAbout the role : This is a new role in the Management team.
You will work alongside the Director of Partnerships & Services and the Director of Finance & Operations, together with the Chief Executive, to:
- Determine and refine our strategic direction for the next exciting phase of our development and growth, and
- Lead the team to drive tangible change that enables the clearer communication of numbers everywhere.
Hours : Ideally full time (37.5 hours), but with the possibility of working between 30 and 37.5 hours.
Location : Lewes, East Sussex. We offer flexible working, encouraging employees to work in our office for at least 2 days per week. We currently hold face-to-face full team meetings once a week on Tuesdays.
About Plain Numbers : Plain Numbers is a young and fast-growing social purpose company. Established in 2020, we have a small and dynamic team who are committed to growing our impact and delivering lasting change for the organisations we support and their customers.
Our mission is to enable people to better understand the information they need to make informed choices. We do so by empowering communication professionals within Plain Numbers Partner organisations; providing them with the skills they need to communicate numbers more clearly.
Overview of main duties : You will:
- Lead the growth of Plain Numbers within financial services, utilities, the third sector, other commercial sectors and in time the public sector. This will involve ownership of the full sales process: generating leads, building the sales pipeline, converting prospects into Plain Numbers Partners, negotiating partnership terms, completion of procurement and due diligence processes (together with Director of Finance & Operations) and contract signing before handing over to the Partnership Management team.
- Lead on external stakeholder engagement and marketing. Line manage our Marketing & Communications Lead, supporting them to utilise the growing evidence of impact of our work to raise awareness of Plain Numbers among key stakeholders and persuade new organisations to become Partners.
- Work with the Director of Partnerships & Services and our growing Partnership Management team to build the evidence of the beneficial impact of our work for customers and for our Partner organisations.
- Represent Plain Numbers externally at conferences, events, webinars and occasionally in the media.
- Work with our Client Support Manager to maintain and utilise accurate and up to date records of all contact within the sales pipeline, to maximise conversion of suitable prospect organisations into Plain Numbers Partners.
As a small team, we expect the successful candidate to develop an understanding of other roles in the business, both to support your work and so you are able to cover for others as required as the business develops and grows.
Person specification : You will be:
- A credible business leader who is confident and capable working collaboratively within a small team.
- A people orientated person who can rapidly build rapport with stakeholders at all levels within the sales process and in wider external engagement on behalf of Plain Numbers.
- A self-starter, who is proactive and able to develop and deliver Business Development and growth plans whilst also contributing constructively to decisions about other areas of the business within the Management team.
- Enthused to build and then use the growing evidence of the positive impact of the Plain Numbers Approach as your primary marketing collateral for Business Development and growth.
- Capable of representing Plain Numbers externally with key stakeholders and in time the media.
- Comfortable in external conversations, with a natural curiosity and an ability to explore nuanced topics in a professional and friendly manner.
- Adaptable and excited by the opportunity to help to shape a new role within the management team of a young and fast-growing social purpose company.
- Willing to learn and develop as the organisation grows, striving for continuous improvements in everything we do.
- A strong believer in, and advocate of, the Plain Numbers mission to enable our Partner organisations to communicate in a way that more of their customers understand and thereby improve consumer outcomes.
We do not expect the successful candidate to have any pre-existing knowledge of the Plain Numbers Approach, but they should be keen to learn and capable of rapidly developing this knowledge.
Essential skills and experience :
- An entrepreneurial mindset.
- A proven track record of Business Development and marketing.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, rapidly building rapport and effective working relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders.
- Excellent communication skills, both in written and verbal communications.
- Ability to work within tight timescales.
- Efficient organisation skills.
- High attention to detail.
Desirable skills and experience :
Experience representing an organisation externally including media appearances. Experience developing and utilising evidence of impact to support Business Development. Experience of working within smaller, growing organisations. Experience of selling services to large organisations.
Benefits and remuneration :
This opportunity offers:
- A full-time salary of £50,000
- 25 days paid holiday (pro rata where relevant) plus Bank Holidays, increasing by 1 day per year (pro rata where relevant) until you reach 30 days.
- Potential future opportunity to join the Board of Directors and hold an equity stake in Plain Numbers, if your contribution to the Management team and the growth of Plain Numbers means that this becomes appropriate.
And as an employer we offer many other benefits which include:
- Salary sacrifice pension scheme with 5% employer contributions
- Group life insurance and income protection schemes
- Private health insurance (following successful completion of probation period).
- Corporate health cashplan membership to assist with day-to-day healthcare costs (following successful completion of probation period)
- Enhanced family pay
- A fully supported approach to professional development
- Opportunities to work flexibly
Plain Numbers is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and all applicants will be treated equally throughout the recruitment/selection process and beyond. We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need and you will be asked whether any are required during your application.
We are also committed to building a diverse team made up of people from varied backgrounds with different experiences. Therefore, we actively encourage applicants from marginalised groups.
How to apply
To apply for this opportunity, please submit a CV and covering letter via our recruitment portal in the first instance. We will not accept applications without a covering letter and suggest that you take a look around our website and review our values, and include what you find most interesting about our work, or the findings of our research, and how you think you would enhance our team. We also advise candidates to refer to the job description and person specification in their application.
If you would like the opportunity to have an informal conversation to find out more about whether Plain Numbers, and this specific role, is a good fit for you, please contact our Director of Finance & Operations, Diane Hume, diane@plainnumbers.org.uk and we will be very happy to arrange this.
The closing date for this opportunity is 15th July 2024, and we anticipate conducting initial interviews from 25th July 2024. Plain Numbers reserves the right to change the closing date, or to withdraw this opportunity.
Our vision
To enable clearer communication of numbers everywhere, so that people can better understand the choices they face in life.
Our mission
We enable people to better understand the information they need to make informed choices. We do so by empowering communication professionals; providing them with the skills they need to communicate numbers more clearly.
Our values
We are proud to be:
- Changemakers – we work to drive tangible change for everyone. Every action we take is to enable Partners to make changes to their communications that facilitate improved understanding.
- Collaborators – all of our work is in partnership, and we aspire to always be a joy to work with. We work with others and as a team in a friendly, creative, and inclusive way so that we all learn and improve together.
- Innovators – we bring a fresh and unique approach to communications which unapologetically challenges the status-quo. Alongside an unrelenting focus on sustaining the quality of our work as we grow, we also continue to find ways to further enhance our support for Partners.
