Business & Commercial Manager

Vacancy listed 20/08/2026

Details

Role Profile

Job Title: Business & Commercial Manager
Location : Working in the Devonport Creative Quarter
Hours : Full-time, 35 hours per week to be worked flexibly including evenings & weekends to suit the needs of the business/team
Salary : £32,000 - £41,000 depending on experience

Real Ideas Organisational Purpose

Real Ideas Group works to solve problems and create opportunities that regenerate communities and support individuals to progress and flourish. We do this through four teams, each with a distinct focus. Pathways, delivering employability support; Liskeard Library, a library and cultural hub; Nature and Neighbourhoods, our consultancy service; and the Devonport Creative Cluster, growing the createch sector, creative careers, businesses and opportunities.

Job Purpose

The Business & Commercial Manager will manage Real Ideas’ pipeline of commercial sales and corporate partnerships for the Devonport Creative Quarter, including established services such as venue and specialist facilities hire, bespoke productions for the immersive dome and other commercial packages. The focus of the role is income generation, targeting an annual growth rate of 10-15% for established services.

The Business & Commercial Manager will manage the development of services and commercial partnerships in new market areas, creating new revenue opportunities. This includes business development to position the Devonport Creative Quarter as an innovation partner to key sectors, such as defence and marine.

The Business & Commercial Manager will use Real Ideas processes and systems to manage an efficient and effective commercial sales pipeline, maximising lead generation and conversion to sales, ensuring excellent client experience and satisfaction.

The Business & Commercial Manager will work closely with the Head of Creative Enterprise, the Operations, Dome & Events Manager (commercial event logistics), the Creative Tech Manager (commercial production delivery) and Food & Drink Manager (corporate catering).

Main duties and responsibilities

• Manage commercial enquiries and convert leads to bookings, develop commercial pricing strategy and quotations, handle client liaison and contract negotiation, and coordinate commercial delivery with the Operations, Dome & Events Manager and the Creative Tech Manager.
• Manage corporate client relationships including account management and regular contact, deliver partner benefits and reporting, and represent Real Ideas and the Devonport Creative Quarter in business networks and sector forums including Plymouth Chamber and other industry events.
• Develop and manage corporate partnerships with key sectors, including createch, defence and marine autonomy, prospecting and pitching to potential clients, and negotiating partnership agreements and sponsorship packages to meet agreed annual targets.
• Identify new commercial opportunities and revenue streams, conduct market research and competitor analysis, develop sales materials and proposals, attend conferences and networking events, and track commercial pipeline and conversion rates.
• Manage the commercial sales of hire of Real Ideas’ specialist facilities, such as the Market Hall immersive dome, and develop client relationships to sell bespoke dome production including corporate films and branded content.
• Market and sell commercial sales of conference and corporate events to meet annual income targets and growth rate, working with the Operations, Dome & Events Manager to ensure efficient delivery.
• Market and sell professional training programmes in immersive technologies, business skills and creative industries, ensuring sales, and develop post-training client relationships and repeat business. Develop training products for corporate markets, coordinating with the Creative Tech Manager on training curriculum and delivery.
• Manage commercial contracts and invoicing, maintain commercial client database and CRM, coordinate with Marketing Manager on B2B marketing and lead generation, and ensure excellent commercial client experience and satisfaction.

Real Ideas wide responsibilities

• To represent Real Ideas well, understanding and talking coherently about Real Ideas products and programmes to provide more value for customers and members.
• To adhere to and uphold Real Ideas' social purpose, strategic aims, and policies.
• To contribute to a culture of inclusion and equality and demonstrate a commitment to removing all forms of discrimination.
• To act with integrity and always maintain the highest professional standards.
• To strive to meet individual and collective targets.
• To maintain the level of qualifications/personal and professional development and competence required to carry out this role and notify the company immediately of any circumstance that affects this.
• To proactively and effectively use all Real Ideas reporting and other systems.
• A flexible approach is required for the role. Additional, reasonable duties commensurate with the role and as agreed in advance from time to time.

This job description is not necessarily an exhaustive list of duties and is intended to reflect a range of duties the post-holder will perform. The job description will be reviewed regularly and may be changed in the light of experience and in consultation with the post-holder.

Person Specification

Our values: How we behave

Working at Real Ideas is exhilarating, but it can also be challenging; we're not a typical organisation and by design we don't fit into traditional business structures or strict 9 to 5 working hours.

There's nothing typical about the people who work at Real Ideas. With experience in many different industries and cultures the one thing we all have in common is a passion to make a positive difference in the world.

Principally we're looking for people who embrace our vision and values, and who want to join us on this journey. Whilst your technical skills and abilities are important, being on board with our vision is crucial.

You'll need to be dedicated, tenacious and enjoy the challenges of working as part of multi-disciplined team. At Real Ideas collaboration is key, so you'll need to be a great team player, up for working with a wide range of people from colleagues and partners to members and suppliers.

We're interested in finding people who are proactive, hungry for opportunities to be responsible and accountable, and who can ride the waves of change with the wind in their hair and a smile on their face.

And because we always strive to be the best we can be, you'll be happy to challenge and be challenged.

We use the following criteria to assess your suitability for the role. Please note that requirements at the application stage represent the minimum requirements for shortlisting purposes.

Behaviours

• Adaptability Looking at your ability to adapt to change (Interview)
• Culture Fit Do you share our beliefs/values and bring about diversity within Real Ideas? (Interview)
• Collaboration Can you collaborate effectively and work well with others? (Interview)
• Commercial Drive Do you demonstrate strong commercial acumen and drive to achieve sales targets? (Interview)
• Prioritisation Are you able to decide which task needs to be tackled immediately and which ones can wait – someone who can manage your time and prioritise effectively. (Interview)
• Digital Technology Do you have a commitment to adopting and using digital technology effectively to help solve problems and add value to the work of Real Ideas. (Interview)
• Experience Significant experience in B2B sales, business development, or commercial partnerships. Experience developing corporate partnerships and managing commercial accounts. Experience managing sales pipelines, lead generation, and converting enquiries to sales. Experience with commercial sales and achieving revenue targets. Experience in relationship management and client liaison. (Application/ interview)
• Knowledge Knowledge of B2B sales and business development practices. Understanding of corporate partnership development and sponsorship models. Knowledge of commercial pricing strategies and contract negotiation. Understanding of CRM systems and sales pipeline management. Knowledge of the creative industries, tech sector, or defence/marine sectors (desirable). (Application/ interview)
• Skills Strong sales and business development skills with proven track record of achieving targets. Excellent networking and relationship building skills. Commercial acumen and financial understanding. Strong communication and presentation skills. Negotiation and contract management skills. Ability to work collaboratively in a matrix structure with creative and technical teams. (Application/ interview)
• Other Willingness to work flexibly including evenings and weekends as required by the role. Strong commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion with a good knowledge and understanding of how discrimination works and wants to work in an environment that challenges this. Alignment with Real Ideas' social purpose and values. (Application/ interview)

As an employee at Real Ideas, you have access to:

• 25 days holiday per year, increasing by 1 day per year’s service up to a maximum of 30 days.
• Salary sacrifice pension scheme with competitive employer contribution
• Real Ideas’ health cash plan
• Home & Tech scheme
• Cyclescheme
• 10% staff discount in Real Ideas Cafe's
• Enhanced maternity after 1 year of service

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