Key Account Manager

Job Description

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: ESPO, Barnsdale Way, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester, LE19 1ES

Salary: Grade 10, £35,451 - £39,165 per annum (pro-rata for part-time) (Pay Award Pending)

Working Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract Type: 12-month fixed contract / internal secondment

Closing Date: Sunday 28th June 2026

Interview Date(s): early July 2026

Are you an experienced sales or account manager with a passion for early years education?

Do you have an education background?

Do you have a background in the early years sector and understand the learning areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)?

Do you want to help shape how early years providers access high-quality resources to support young children’s development?

About the Role

We’re looking for an Early Years Key Account Manager, to help ESPO grow and support our early years customer base. This is an exciting opportunity to join one of the UK’s most successful public sector suppliers and contribute to our mission of delivering excellent, innovative resources to nurseries, preschools and childcare providers nationwide.

In this role, you’ll manage a portfolio of early years customers, helping to retain and grow revenue, while identifying new prospects and strategic opportunities across the sector. You’ll develop and implement business plans, analyse customer data, gather market insight, and ensure that all customers receive a first-class ESPO experience.

You will enjoy a flexible working arrangement split between home, our ESPO office in Leicester, and customer site visits. Occasional weekend work and overnight stays may be required to attend and exhibit at events. Due to the nature of the role, a full driving licence and access to your own vehicle are essential.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package featuring wellbeing support and opportunities for personal and professional development. Upon successful completion of your probation period, you'll also become eligible for our generous pension scheme and optional salary sacrifice car scheme.

About You

To apply for this post, you must:

• Knowledge or experience of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) or the early years education sector is essential
• You will be working closely with education providers therefore you must be solution focused
• Proven experience in business development or account management
• Strong communication skills and the ability to build effective relationships with customers
• Confidence in using data to monitor customer engagement and record performance
• A formal sales qualification or relevant training (or equivalent practical experience)
• The ability to work independently, manage your time, and prioritise tasks and Access to your own transport and a willingness to travel to customer sites

What we offer:

• Flexible working opportunities and access to employee benefits portal with car lease scheme.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (increasing to 30 days after 5 years' service), and a scheme to buy additional leave.
• Local Government Pension Scheme with a generous employer contribution.
• Opportunities for learning and development (e.g. CIPS or CIM).
• Great office location next to Fosse Park, with free on-site parking and easy access to M1 and M69.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our customers. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Helen Swann, Head of Business Development

Telephone: 07584775985

Email: h.swann@espo.org

How to Apply

At ESPO, we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raise a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

About us

About ESPO

We're a unique organisation, owned by the public sector and sharing their values and ethos, but operating with a commercial edge. As a specialist procurement body, we pride ourselves on establishing procurement solutions that save money for the public sector. View our prospectus to find out more.

We have modern, open-plan offices with excellent transport links and a friendly workplace environment. We offer flexible working, a generous holiday entitlement, a contributory pension scheme, training (including professional CIPS qualification) and opportunities to develop your career.

ESPO is supported by wide range of roles across many different disciplines including sales, marketing, IT, procurement, finance, operations (warehouse management and transport planning) and customer services. So whether you are interested in a public-facing role or playing your part behind the scenes, ESPO could be the place for you.

To learn more about working for ESPO please visit www.espo.org.