Senior Account Manager - Education

Hippo is looking for a proactive and commercially strong Senior Account Manager to help shape and grow our Education client partnerships, including work within one of our largest and most high-impact accounts, the Department for Education, with an annual run-rate of c.£20m across multiple call-off contracts. This role will manage part of that portfolio.

Reporting to the Client Director, Education, you'll play a key role in delivering the commercial strategy for the sector. You'll combine sales ownership (leading smaller bids and expansions, and supporting major pursuits) with day-to-day commercial excellence across existing work: SOW management (including a 6-day SLA process), resourcing forecasting, contract hygiene, and monthly reporting that reflects commercial performance, Social Value progress and value-add activity.

You'll also play an important role in delivery leadership across your accounts, working closely with project and delivery leads to understand live delivery, anticipate future client needs, and help shape sustainable growth opportunities and excellent client outcomes.

You'll work closely with Delivery, Technical, Legal, Client Ops, Resourcing and the Social Value team to keep momentum across live work and proactively set up "the next thing." Alongside the commercial responsibilities, you'll also help shape meaningful Social Value initiatives (apprenticeships, T-Level support, community engagement) and value-add activities that deepen client relationships and make a visible impact.

Role Responsibilities

Commercial Delivery & Account Management

• Own day-to-day commercial performance for your accounts: forecasting, margin awareness, renewals/extensions, commercial issue resolution, and supporting strong overall account health alongside Delivery leadership.
• Build trusted, long-term relationships with senior client stakeholders.
• Partner with Delivery and Project Leads across accounts to maintain a strong understanding of live delivery, client priorities, risks and future opportunities, helping ensure Hippo continues to deliver high-quality outcomes and identify follow-on work.
• Lead the coordination and return of Statements of Work, including those under a 6-day SLA. Gather inputs from Delivery, Technical, Legal and Resourcing and consolidate them into clear, accurate and commercially sound responses.
• Coordinate and return SOWs (including a 6-day SLA), consolidating Delivery/Technical/Legal/Resourcing inputs into clear, commercially robust responses.
• Maintain accurate account and pipeline information, ensuring reporting and CRM/commercial records are always current.

Sales & Growth Ownership

• Own and deliver a portion of the Education sector sales target (set by the Client Director), converting opportunities into sales orders.
• Identify expansion opportunities within existing accounts and drive them from early shaping through to contract/SOW.
• Over time, develop strong understanding of Education sector priorities, policy context and client needs to support meaningful conversations and account planning.
• Contribute to bid responses and commercial shaping for a defined value range of opportunities (and support larger strategic pursuits led by the Client Director).

Resourcing & Onboarding

• Forecast capability demand across call-off contracts and ensure the pipeline aligns with the roles and skillsets being hired or deployed. Your focus is to facilitate SOWs starting on time with a team available, you won't be expected to interpret discipline-specific capability needs in depth, but you will work closely with Delivery to confirm requirements, timelines and readiness.
• Work with Resourcing, Delivery and Client Ops to coordinate onboarding, ensuring start dates, checks and approvals are completed so teams can begin as planned.

Social Value & Value-Add Delivery

• Work with Hippo's Social Value team to ensure all Social Value commitments made at bid stage are delivered, tracked and evidenced.
• Coordinate engaging value-add events and activities that bring teams together, build capacity. Ensure value-add initiatives are planned, progressed and clearly communicated to clients, strengthening their engagement with Hippo.
• Produce accurate monthly reports for clients capturing Social Value delivery, value-add activities, KPIs and overall account performance.

This is a high-priority sector at Hippo and you’ll be joining a dynamic leadership team. You’ll succeed here if you’re commercially minded, confident with clients, and enjoy bringing teams together to deliver outcomes at pace. We’re looking for someone with solid experience and high standards, who brings energy, curiosity and the ability to think ahead, balancing today’s commercial delivery, strong account leadership, and shaping tomorrow’s opportunities.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Commercial or client-facing experience in a professional services or public sector environment
• Experience working closely with delivery or project leadership teams to support client relationships, account growth and successful delivery outcomes.
• Strong relationship-building skills with senior stakeholders
• Experience managing SOWs, contracts, renewals or similar processes
• High attention to detail across documentation, commercial modelling and reporting
• Ability to take ownership and work proactively within deadlines
• Strong financial planning, budgeting or forecasting skills
• Excellent communication skills: written, verbal and interpersonal
• Comfort working with multiple priorities and stakeholders
• Strong problem-solving ability and willingness to collaborate

Desirable

• Experience in public sector digital transformation environments (e.g., UCD, engineering, data, identity or cyber). Not required on day one, but you’ll be expected to develop this understanding over time.
• Education sector knowledge.

Other Requirements

• Willing to travel nationwide to client sites and Hippo offices