At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

Key Account Management Lead

Contract type: Permanent

Salary: £74,000 - £85,000

Location: Home based, with regular national travel to customer locations and AQA office locations.

Shape how AQA partners with some of the UK's largest Multi Academy Trusts while leading and developing a growing national team

Influence strategic decisions across the organisation, coach a high-performing account management function and help schools navigate one of the most significant periods of educational reform in recent years.

As our partnerships with Multi Academy Trusts continue to grow in importance, we're creating a brand-new leadership role to shape the future of strategic account management at AQA.

This is a rare opportunity to lead a growing team, strengthen relationships with some of the most influential organisations in education and ensure customer insight directly influences decision-making across AQA. Working at the intersection of education, customer engagement and organisational strategy, you'll help shape how we support schools and trusts through a period of significant change.

Lead a growing team at the heart of AQA's trust strategy

Reporting to Darren Bayley, you'll lead a team responsible for some of AQA's most strategically important customer relationships. The team currently comprises three regionally aligned Key Account Managers and two newly appointed regionally aligned Key Account Management Associates.

Working closely with colleagues across Product, Subject Support, Marketing, Operations and Sales, you'll help create a high-performing strategic account management function, building consistency, capability and stronger customer partnerships across the team.

Help shape the future of strategic partnerships at AQA

If you're excited by the opportunity to lead a growing team, influence strategy and build meaningful partnerships across the education sector, this could be the role for you.

You'll work directly with CEOs, executive leaders and decision-makers across some of the UK's most influential Multi Academy Trusts, helping shape how they engage with qualifications, support and educational reform. This role has been created to strengthen strategic account management across AQA's most important MAT relationships while raising standards, consistency and professional practice across the function.

More than a leadership role, this is an opportunity to shape a growing function, develop talented colleagues and establish the standards and ways of working that will define the next chapter of Key Account Management at AQA. You'll have the visibility and influence to bring customer insight into strategic conversations across the organisation and help strengthen AQA's most important partnerships.

What you'll be doing

• Lead, coach and develop a growing team of Key Account Managers and Key Account Management Associates, building capability, consistency and a high-performing culture.

• Build trusted relationships with CEOs, executive leaders and decision-makers across key Multi Academy Trusts, helping strengthen AQA's most strategic partnerships.

• Work across Product, Subject Support, Marketing, Operations and Sales, ensuring customer insight influences strategic priorities and organisational decision-making.

• Establish clear standards, governance and ways of working across the function, creating consistency in account planning, customer engagement and operational delivery.

• Support the team to identify opportunities, manage risks and deliver meaningful outcomes for customers and AQA.

You'll thrive in this role if you have

• A strong track record of leading, coaching and developing teams, creating an environment where people can perform at their best.

• A detailed understanding of Multi Academy Trusts and experience building relationships with senior education leaders.

• The ability to influence across organisational boundaries, bringing people together around shared objectives and customer outcomes.

• Experience of strategic account management, partnership management or complex stakeholder leadership.

• Strong judgement, commercial awareness and the ability to use insight and evidence to drive decisions.

What's in it for you?

Alongside the opportunity to shape a brand-new leadership role and influence AQA's approach to strategic partnerships, you'll benefit from a 35-hour working week, 25 days' annual leave increasing with service, an excellent pension scheme with combined contributions of up to 18.5%, private medical insurance, up to five paid volunteering days each year and ongoing opportunities for professional development and career progression.

Diversity and inclusion

At AQA, we are committed to fostering a workplace that celebrates diversity and promotes equity and inclusion. We believe diverse teams bring richer perspectives and better outcomes. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences and are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive.

What next? Application process

Please upload:

• Your CV

• A supporting statement outlining your relevant leadership experience and experience of working strategically with Multi Academy Trusts, complex customer groups or comparable education organisations

You'll also be asked to complete a short application question as part of your application.

Closing date: 23:59 on Sunday 9 August 2026

Selection process

Applications will be reviewed following the closing date. First-stage Teams interviews are expected to take place on 19, 20 or 21 August 2026, followed by a face-to-face interview and presentation exercise towards the end of August and into early September. We recognise many candidates may be away during the summer holiday period and will aim to offer flexibility where possible when arranging interviews.

An Enhanced DBS check is required for this role. AQA will arrange and cover the cost.

If you are currently an Associate of AQA, you would need to relinquish this post.

Recruitment Agencies

We have a preferred supplier list (PSL) in place.

Unsolicited CVs will be treated as a gift. We will not be subject to or liable under your terms and conditions for agency fees.

Full Job Description

Summary

The Key Account Management Lead is a people leader responsible for building, performance managing and developing AQA’s Key Account Management team. The role sets the standards, governance and operating rhythm for strategic account management across defined key accounts, including Multi Academy Trusts and selected sector bodies. The KAM Lead ensures delivery of high-quality account plans, disciplined use of CRM and customer data, effective Ladder of Adoption progression, senior stakeholder engagement, opportunity pipeline governance, and measurable customer and commercial outcomes. The role also ensures that priority accounts and stakeholder relationships are segmented and managed according to strategic value, adoption risk, relationship complexity and growth potential. The role is field-based, with frequent travel to customer sites and AQA office locations.Landscape:
This role exists to raise the standard of Key Account Management across AQA’s most strategically important Multi Academy Trust (MAT) relationships and selected stakeholder groups. It provides leadership, coaching and governance so the team moves beyond transactional sales activity and builds deeper customer insight, multi-level relationships, value-adding initiatives and proactive risk management. The role works across the business with teams including Marketing, Events, Customer Training, Product, Subject Support, Operations, Data and Insights, and Policy, ensuring strategic account plans are credible, actionable and supported by the organisation. It is accountable for team performance and commercial outcomes, including growth in entries, offer adoption, retention of strategic MAT relationships and relationship health.

Activities:
The role holder will be responsible for the following:

Lead, performance manage and develop the Key Account Management team, creating a clear coaching rhythm, high standards of accountability and a strong culture of professional account leadership.
Own the team operating model for strategic account management, ensuring clear role expectations, performance standards and development plans for Key Account Managers and Key Account Management Associates.
Set and maintain standards for strategic account plans, including customer insight, stakeholder mapping, offer adoption, relationship development, opportunities, risks and measurable objectives.
Quality assure team account plans so they translate into disciplined execution, clear internal asks and measurable customer and commercial outcomes.
Establish and maintain executive sponsorship and senior engagement models for priority MATs, ensuring senior leaders are deployed purposefully where relationships, risks or opportunities require it.
Drive commercial performance for defined MAT key accounts through the team, including growth in share of entries, income, offer adoption and strategically valuable customer engagement.
Maintain oversight of the key account opportunity pipeline, ensuring leads and opportunities are qualified, prioritised, progressed and linked to account plans, CRM records and commercial outcomes.
Coach the team to translate AQA’s products, services, support and reform propositions into account-specific value narratives linked to each MAT’s priorities and operating model.
Embed disciplined use of Dynamics CRM, Conversation Intelligence, LinkedIn Sales Navigator and other parts of the revenue technology platform as it evolves.
Own and improve the Key Account Management standards playbook, including account planning templates, stakeholder mapping, engagement cadence, CRM expectations, value initiative tracking and meeting preparation standards.
Establish a performance management cadence using data, account reviews, pipeline insight, activity quality and customer outcomes to identify risks, unblock progress and improve execution.
Coach the team to act as strategic account leaders, developing deep understanding of MAT priorities and mobilising AQA’s expertise to deliver value for customers and the organisation.
Work cross-functionally with relevant teams so account commitments are understood, prioritised, owned and delivered.
Ensure alignment with the field-based account management team, Inside Sales and Subject Support.
Ensure selected sector bodies and influencing organisations are managed through a clear engagement model, with defined objectives, ownership, messaging, meeting cadence and success measures.
Provide timely, accurate and insightful reporting on account progress, risks, opportunities, CRM quality and performance against objectives.
Develop team capability through structured coaching, account planning reviews, joint customer preparation, skills gap analysis, mentoring and targeted development activity.
Lead recruitment, onboarding, probation support, objective setting, regular one-to-ones, performance improvement and talent development for the Key Account Management team.
Create a culture aligned to AQA’s values, with high standards of integrity, professionalism, inclusion, customer focus and evidence-based decision making.
Act as an escalation and coordination point for strategic MAT risks, including customer issues, delivery barriers, competitor threats, adoption risks and internal dependencies.
Capture and escalate competitor intelligence, market signals and account-level insight to inform sales strategy, product positioning, reform planning and retention activity.
Retain strategic MAT relationships by strengthening customer confidence, monitoring competitor activity and ensuring proactive mitigation plans are in place where adoption risk emerges.
Support the Director of Sales and Subject Support with strategic insight, performance updates, account governance and recommendations relating to defined MAT key accounts.
Attend relevant MAT meetings, sector events, exhibitions, and customer-facing activity where required to support team development, account governance and strategic relationship progression.
Participate in special projects and perform other duties as required.
Measures of success:
Growth in share of entries across defined MAT key accounts.
Growth in adoption of AQA’s relevant offers, products, qualifications and services.
High-quality, current and actively managed account plans for all defined key accounts, with clear objectives, stakeholder maps, opportunity plans and risk controls.
Evidence that priority MATs and stakeholder groups are segmented and managed in line with strategic value, adoption risk, relationship complexity and growth potential.
Consistent progression of qualified opportunities through the Ladder of Adoption, with clear links between account plans, CRM records, customer engagement and measurable commercial outcomes.
Consistent adoption of the Key Account Management playbook and standards across the team.
Improved CRM data quality and insight discipline, evidenced through accurate account records, timely activity capture, clear opportunity ownership and robust risk tracking.
Stronger MAT stakeholder coverage, including broader and more senior relationships, improved engagement cadence and clearer visibility of strategic risks and opportunities.
Improved customer and stakeholder health and sentiment, evidenced through relationship quality, engagement consistency, stakeholder feedback, issue resolution and confidence in AQA as a trusted partner.
Reduced risk across strategic MAT relationships, including earlier identification of adoption risk, stronger competitor intelligence and proactive mitigation plans.
Demonstrable growth in team capability, confidence and performance, including effective onboarding, coaching outcomes, succession strength and consistent delivery against objectives.

To be successful in this role, you will need:
People leadership experience, including coaching, performance management, capability development and leading teams through change.
Strong understanding of strategic Key Account Management, stakeholder mapping, relationship development, account planning and cross-functional orchestration.
Knowledge of the education sector and Multi Academy Trusts.
Ability to influence senior internal and external stakeholders and facilitate complex, multi-party discussions.
Confident use of CRM, customer data, pipeline reporting and performance dashboards to support coaching and evidence-based decision making.
Strong commercial acumen, connecting customer insight, account activity and internal execution to share of entries, income growth, offer adoption and long-term account value.
Strong judgement, resilience and prioritisation skills, balancing customer need, commercial value, operational capacity and organisational risk.
High standards of professionalism and reputational awareness when representing AQA with senior education leaders, MATs, sector bodies and influencing organisations.