Account Relationship Manager

Press Tab to Move to Skip to Content Link

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

Location: Jeddah, Middle East and North Africa, SA

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications. Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021–22 we reached 650 million people.

Role Purpose

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. We do this by making a positive contribution to the UK and the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections, and engendering trust. Each year we reach over 20 million people face-to-face and more than 500 million people online, via broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934, we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body.
In Saudi Arabia, our areas of focus are arts and culture, English language, education and Exams. With emergence of Vision 2030, and the ambitious plans for economic and social transformation, mean that the opportunities for the UK will only continue to grow. Saudization has seen the government investing heavily in training and education, and English is one of its central development areas. 
This translates to:
• IELTS exams taken by students for government scholarships or university admissions
• Usage of our global assessment products such as Aptis for measuring training effectiveness or recruitment
• Opportunities we create for school students in the form of UK board exams
Owing to the large scale of operations and the impact we create; the Saudi Arabia exams portfolio is of vital importance to the British Council globally.
The country exams strategy focuses on these three strands (IELTS, Global Assessment products, and Schools businesses). The post holder is expected to execute the country strategy and plan at a local level, in the Western Province of KSA. The postholder will report to the head of BD, and will be based in Jeddah with frequent travel to Yanbu, Abha, Makkah, Madina, Taif and Jazan.

Main Accountabilities:

Winning business
• Grow existing and new markets. Identify new channels.
• Own the development and progression of sales pipelines (employers and education)
• Results will be measured in signed up accounts and revenue.
• Identify opportunities with existing businesses, cross-sell initiatives/ products
Account and stakeholder management:
• Flag and address performance issues in delivery and proactively seek resolution.
• Monitor alignment to targets and when needed forward B2B/B2B2C sales to ensure targets are met
• Build and develop networks around existing clients to cultivate segments
• Liaise with operations to set and review quality of delivery to support account relationship
• Work with Marketing for targeted events, campaigns and collateral to support retention and value add
• Contract review and renewal
• Builds relationships and uses influence to work with others internally to grow the business
Market and customer intelligence
• Command over product/sector knowledge 
• Have your ear on the ground - remain well informed; be on the watch for new trends and information.
• Innovatively use this market intelligence to advise BD activities/ marketing plans/ improve targets.
Analysis & reporting
• Using standard procedures and templates, regularly records, analyses and reports on operational activity levels and performance data, to support senior managers in making timely and effective business decisions that respond to operational needs

About You (essential requirements for the role):

• 5+ years of sales and customer management experience selling education products in the middle east
• Fluent English (CEFR C)
• Fluent Arabic
• University degree in Business management 
• Familiarity with use of CRM
• Proficiency in Microsoft office programs
• Strong relations across Government bodies, education, and corporate sector

• Experience of working with UK exam boards and familiarity with school exams
• Experience of working with high stake testing English language testing products
• Business Management / MBA degree 

Language Requirements :

• Proficient in English language
• Arabic language is required 

Further Information 

• Closing date: 22 June 2024
• Other: This role is open to candidates who have the right to work and are based in KSA.

*Please note that all applications should be submitted only in English.
*It is advisable to apply in advance to avoid any technical issues at the last moment.

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement

The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.

We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.

Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.

Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.