Manager, B2B Partnerships, Corporate Training & Bids

About the Role
Edversity is looking for a commercially driven, highly analytical and relationship-oriented professional to lead our institutional business function across corporate training, strategic partnerships, tenders, RFPs and government or donor-funded opportunities.

This is a high-ownership role.

The person will be responsible for identifying opportunities, understanding client requirements, developing tailored solutions, preparing proposals, managing commercial discussions, coordinating bids and tenders, and driving opportunities from initial discovery through closure and handover.

We are not looking for someone who only writes proposals or submits tender documents.

We are looking for someone who can understand a business problem, think strategically, evaluate whether an opportunity is worth pursuing, structure the right solution, coordinate internal teams and partners, and move opportunities toward revenue.

The ideal candidate should be comfortable working across corporate, government, public-sector, donor and development-sector environments.

Key Responsibilities
1. Corporate Training and B2B Business Development

• Identify companies and institutions that may require workforce development, professional training or technology upskilling.
• Build and manage a pipeline of corporate training opportunities.
• Engage with HR, Learning & Development, Technology, Digital Transformation, Procurement and senior management teams.
• Conduct discovery meetings to understand organizational skill gaps, workforce priorities and business requirements.
• Translate client needs into customized training and capability-development solutions.
• Develop proposals for corporate training, bootcamps, customized academies, workshops and long-term learning partnerships.
• Coordinate internal experts, trainers and curriculum teams to design appropriate solutions.
• Manage commercial discussions, pricing, negotiations and follow-ups.
• Drive opportunities from first interaction through proposal, negotiation, closure and delivery handover.
• Build long-term relationships with corporate clients and identify repeat or cross-sell opportunities.
  
  

2. Tenders, RFPs, RFQs and EOIs

• Identify relevant tenders, RFPs, RFQs, EOIs and institutional opportunities from government, public-sector organizations, development agencies, NGOs, corporates and international organizations.
• Monitor PPRA platforms, provincial procurement portals, donor portals and other relevant procurement sources.
• Evaluate opportunities based on eligibility, commercial viability, delivery capability, strategic fit and profitability.
• Prepare clear bid or no-bid recommendations for management.
• Review tender documents in detail and identify mandatory requirements, evaluation criteria, risks and potential disqualification points.
• Develop compliance matrices, submission plans and responsibility trackers.
• Coordinate technical, financial, legal and administrative inputs required for submission.
• Prepare and manage technical proposals, financial proposals and supporting documentation.
• Manage pre-bid queries, clarification requests and submission requirements.
• Ensure all bids are complete, compliant, accurate and submitted within deadlines.
• Follow up on submitted bids and track outcomes.
  
  

3. Partnerships and Institutional Opportunities

• Identify strategic partnerships that can strengthen Edversity's institutional business.
• Develop relationships with government bodies, corporations, universities, development organizations and ecosystem partners.
• Explore consortium, subcontracting and joint-bid opportunities where relevant.
• Identify potential delivery partners, certification partners, technology partners and implementation partners.
• Support management in strategic meetings, negotiations and partnership discussions.
  
  

4. Commercial and Strategic Analysis

• Assess the commercial attractiveness of opportunities before resources are committed.
• Analyze project value, margins, payment structures, cash-flow implications, guarantees, penalties and contractual risks.
• Conduct competitor, client and market research.
• Research previous awards, procurement patterns and incumbent providers where relevant.
• Recommend whether Edversity should bid independently, form a consortium, subcontract or avoid the opportunity.
• Provide management with concise recommendations supported by commercial and operational reasoning.
  
  

5. Proposal Development and Solution Design

• Lead preparation of compelling and customized proposals.
• Ensure proposals clearly connect client requirements with Edversity's capabilities and measurable outcomes.
• Work with technical and academic teams to create tailored curricula, delivery plans and implementation approaches.
• Coordinate pricing and costing with relevant internal stakeholders.
• Maintain high standards of clarity, accuracy and professionalism across all submissions.
• Use AI tools effectively for research, analysis, drafting, customization and quality control.
  
  

6. Pipeline and Revenue Ownership

• Maintain a structured pipeline of all corporate, tender and partnership opportunities.
• Track stage, value, probability, next action, owner and expected closure timeline.
• Maintain regular follow-up discipline across active opportunities.
• Provide management with visibility into pipeline health, expected revenue and conversion performance.
• Track win/loss outcomes and identify lessons for future bids and deals.
  
  

7. Knowledge and Documentation Management

• Maintain a centralized repository of company credentials, registrations, tax documents, certifications, trainer profiles, project references and past performance.
• Develop reusable proposal templates, company profiles and standard bid responses.
• Maintain records of previous bids, client proposals, pricing structures and outcomes.
• Continuously improve Edversity's institutional sales and bidding processes.
  
  
  

What We Are Looking For

• 4 to 6 years of relevant experience in B2B sales, corporate training, institutional business, proposals, consulting, tenders, partnerships or business development.
• Demonstrated experience managing opportunities from initial identification through proposal and closure.
• Experience with RFPs, RFQs, EOIs or formal procurement processes.
• Experience working with corporate clients and institutional stakeholders.
• Strong commercial judgment and the ability to evaluate opportunities beyond headline revenue.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong research, analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Comfortable with pricing, negotiations and basic financial analysis.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple opportunities simultaneously.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to coordinate cross-functional teams and external partners.
• Strong proficiency with AI and modern productivity tools.
  
  
  

Preferred Background
Experience in one or more of the following will be highly valuable:

• Corporate training
• Technology services
• Education or EdTech
• Workforce development
• Consulting
• Government procurement
• PPRA processes
• Donor-funded projects
• Development-sector organizations
• Artificial Intelligence
• Cloud Computing
• Cybersecurity
• Data and Analytics
• Software Engineering
• Professional certifications
  
  
  

The Kind of Person We Want
We are looking for someone who is:

• Commercially sharp
• Highly logical
• Curious and broadly knowledgeable
• Comfortable working across different industries
• Proactive rather than reactive
• Strong at identifying opportunities independently
• Able to challenge assumptions
• Detail-oriented without becoming bureaucratic
• Confident in client meetings
• Strong at follow-ups
• Comfortable taking ownership
• Able to learn unfamiliar domains quickly
• Driven by outcomes, not activity
  
  

This person should be able to look at an opportunity and answer:

• Is this worth pursuing?
• Do we qualify?
• What could disqualify us?
• Who do we need to partner with?
• What should we propose?
• What should we charge?
• What are the commercial risks?
• What needs to happen next?
  
  

Success in This Role
Success will be measured through:

• Quality and value of B2B opportunities generated
• Corporate training revenue
• Number and value of relevant proposals submitted
• Tender and bid conversion
• Quality of bid or no-bid decisions
• Pipeline growth
• Repeat institutional business
• Gross margin quality
• Client relationship development
• Submission accuracy and compliance
• Improvement in Edversity's internal institutional business processes
  
  
  

Candidate Assessment
Shortlisted candidates may be given a practical case involving a corporate training opportunity or tender and asked to:

• Assess whether Edversity should pursue it
• Identify eligibility or commercial risks
• Understand the client requirement
• Recommend a solution
• Structure a proposal
• Outline pricing considerations
• Suggest partners where required
• Present a clear action plan
  
  
  

Candidates should also be prepared to discuss previous deals, corporate accounts, bids or proposals they have personally managed, including their specific role and outcomes.