Appointment of the Chair and two Deputy Chairs of the Greater Manchester Business Alliance 

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

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Welcome

Dear Candidate, 

Thank you for your interest in the roles of Chair and Deputy Chair of Greater Manchester’s new Business Alliance. This is an important moment for our city-region. As we begin the next decade of delivery under the Greater Manchester Strategy, we are strengthening how we work with business to ensure we continue to be a place where everyone can live well, and where enterprise, innovation and ambition can thrive. 

Greater Manchester has always been at its best when we work in partnership. Our long-term vision is clear: a dynamic, inclusive and resilient economy that creates opportunity for all our communities. Achieving this relies on deep, purposeful collaboration between the public and private sectors. The Business Alliance will be central to this approach. 

Building on the strong foundations of the GM Business Board, the Alliance will sit at the heart of a refreshed and more connected ecosystem of business engagement. It will bring together the leaders of our flagship and high-growth businesses, colleagues from sector-specific forums, representatives from locality-based networks across all ten boroughs, and voices from the full spectrum of business models, from major employers to social enterprises and co-operatives. In doing so, the Alliance will help us shape and deliver the strategic priorities that matter for the long term: growing our economy, increasing productivity and innovation, accelerating our missions such as Bee Net Zero and Innovation GM, and supporting people and places to flourish. 

As Chair or Deputy Chair, you will play an important leadership role. We are looking for business leaders with the stature, credibility and experience to guide a diverse group of peers; individuals with deep knowledge of Greater Manchester, a clear understanding of our opportunities and challenges, and a strong commitment to collaborative, place-based leadership. You will help set strategic direction for the Alliance, provide insight that strengthens the delivery of the Greater Manchester Strategy, and act as an ambassador for the city-region, bringing clarity, challenge and ambition to the table, while ensuring we remain inclusive and grounded in the needs of our business community. 

This is a dynamic and informal forum, meeting quarterly with the Mayor, Portfolio Leaders and GMCA leadership. But it is also a highly purposeful one: a space for frank conversation, constructive challenge and shared ownership of the decisions that will shape Greater Manchester’s future. Together, we want to create an environment where businesses can grow, innovate and invest with confidence, supported by a ten year Integrated Pipeline and £1bn Good Growth Fund and a renewed commitment to making Greater Manchester a great place to do business. 

I am delighted that you are considering joining us at this formative stage. Your leadership, expertise and perspective could play a critical role in helping us deliver on our collective ambitions for the city-region. 

I look forward to receiving your application. 

Caroline Simpson 
Group Chief Executive, GMCA, GMFRS & TfGM

About the Greater Manchester Business Alliance 

Introduction 

The Greater Manchester Business Alliance is a new, strategically important body designed to strengthen the partnership between the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the Mayor, local Leaders, and the private sector. It sits at the heart of a renewed approach to business engagement, ensuring that the expertise, insight and leadership of businesses are fully embedded in the delivery of the Greater Manchester Strategy (GMS) and the city-region’s long-term economic priorities. 

The Alliance evolves from the former GM Business Board, reflecting Greater Manchester’s ambition to deepen collaboration, broaden representation and create more dynamic, effective mechanisms for working alongside business. It is a central forum within a wider network of sector groups, locality networks, thematic partnerships and business representative organisations, together forming a comprehensive, connected ecosystem of business engagement across the city-region. 

Purpose and strategic role 

The Business Alliance has been established to: 

  1. Strengthen strategic partnership with business

The Alliance provides a high-impact forum for Greater Manchester’s business leaders to work directly with GM’s political and executive leadership. It enables joint problem-solving, strategic alignment and shared accountability for the decisions and actions that shape Greater Manchester’s economic future. 

  1. Support the delivery of the Greater Manchester Strategy

Reflecting the GMS priorities – growing the economy and ensuring everyone can live well – the Alliance will help guide the development and delivery of policies, interventions and investment programmes that will support sustainable growth, productivity and inclusive prosperity. 

  1. Hardwire business insight into policy and delivery

The Alliance ensures that the voice of Greater Manchester’s business community, diverse in size, sector and business model, influences the city-region’s strategic agenda, from innovation and skills to net zero, trade and investment. It provides clarity on opportunities and barriers, ensuring that public policy and delivery remain grounded in real-world business experience. 

  1. Drive a decade of growth and economic rebalancing

Through its oversight of a ten-year integrated economic pipeline, the Alliance will help shape the investments and strategic choices that underpin Greater Manchester’s ambition to rebalance its economy, accelerate high-growth sectors, and remain a leading destination for innovation, enterprise and talent.  

A connected ecosystem of business engagement 

The Alliance sits at the centre of a structured and carefully designed network that brings together every part of Greater Manchester’s business landscape. This includes: 

  • Sector forums and groups
    Covering key areas such as advanced manufacturing, digital and tech, life sciences, financial and professional services, the visitor economy, green industries and more. 
  • Locality-based business networks
    Ensuring representation and input from all ten Greater Manchester local authorities, reflecting the distinct strengths, priorities and opportunities of each place. 
  • Thematic initiatives and missions
    Partnerships such as Innovation GM and Bee Net Zero, which focus on innovation, productivity, decarbonisation and long-term growth missions. 
  • Business representative organisations
    Including GM Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, CBI and others, ensuring that the full spectrum of business voices contributes to the strategic conversation. 
  • Informal engagement channels
    Including grassroots networks, 1:1 sessions, town halls and targeted outreach that broaden the reach and inclusivity of business engagement. 

This ecosystem ensures that the Alliance is informed by a rich, diverse and representative set of perspectives, enabling faster, more coordinated and impactful decision-making. 

Our ambition 

The Greater Manchester Business Alliance is more than an advisory board. It is a new partnership at the heart of our collective endeavour to build a fairer, greener and more prosperous city-region. 

By bringing together the leadership, insight and energy of our business community with the strategic direction of the GMCA, the Alliance will help shape the choices that determine Greater Manchester’s future, ensuring that our economy grows, innovates and creates opportunity for everyone. 

The roles

Chair of the Greater Manchester Business Alliance (AQ3428)

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Job description 
  • To provide leadership and strategic direction to the GM Business Alliance, harnessing the skills, expertise and experience of members to deliver the Greater Manchester Strategy.
  • To convene the city-region’s business ecosystem and develop the Alliance model of business engagement.
  • To ensure that GM Business Alliance activities support and add value to the city region’s strategic economic priorities and that these reflect the current and future needs of the GM economy.
  • To act as an ambassador for the city-region locally, nationally and globally.
  • To act as the Alliance’s spokesperson in its dealings with the media.
  • To Chair all Alliance meetings and attend related events as appropriate.
  • To negotiate with and influence senior local and national political and business figures.
  • To ensure that the Alliance complies with the Nolan Principles of standards in public life.
Person Specification
 
  • Have a strong commitment to, and understanding of, the city region and in particular the drivers of and challenges faced by the Greater Manchester economy
  • Have substantial business skills and experience gained at a senior level and be a credible individual with the stature to lead and influence
  • Have substantial experience of chairing groups or boards of senior executives, of providing leadership and of inspiring and motivating colleagues and stakeholders
  • Be independently minded – providing detachment and clarity in the development of strategy and the identification of opportunities
  • Have the ability to set strategic direction and to quickly understand and analyse and distil complex issues into coherent and practical actions
  • Have strong interpersonal and communication skills, be articulate and passionate, have an ability to influence and network, to deal with media attention and to represent the GM Business Alliance and its actions
  • Have experience of providing leadership in a partnership environment and have a strong commitment to collaborative and partnership working, including with the public sector
  • Have a genuine interest and understanding of the challenges facing the business community
  • Have a total commitment to equality of opportunity and diversity, including an understanding of the barriers and challenges faced by economically or socially excluded group
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Deputy Chair for the Business Alliance (AQ3427)

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Job description 
  • To support the Chair in leading the GM Business Alliance, harnessing the skills, expertise and experience of members to deliver the Greater Manchester Strategy.
  • To work with the city-region’s business ecosystem to develop the Alliance model of business engagement.
  • To help shape GM Business Alliance activities so that they support and add value to the city region’s strategic economic priorities and that these reflect the current and future needs of the GM economy.
  • To act as an ambassador for the city-region locally, nationally and globally.
  • To deputise for the Chair at Alliance meetings and attend related events as appropriate.
  • To negotiate with and influence senior local and national political and business figures.
  • To support the Chair in ensuring that the Alliance complies with the Nolan Principles of standards in public life.
Person Specification
  • Have a strong commitment to, and understanding of, the city region and in particular the drivers of and challenges faced by the Greater Manchester economy.
  • Have substantial business skills and experience gained at a senior level and be a credible individual with the stature to lead and influence.
  • Have substantial experience of contributing to groups or boards of senior executives, of supporting leadership and of inspiring and motivating colleagues and stakeholders.
  • Be independently minded – providing detachment and clarity in the development of strategy and the identification of opportunities.
  • Have the ability to agree strategic direction and to quickly understand and analyse and distil complex issues into coherent and practical actions.
  • Have strong interpersonal and communication skills, be articulate and passionate, have an ability to influence and network, to deal with media attention and to represent the GM Business Alliance and its actions.
  • Have experience of supporting leadership in a partnership environment and have a strong commitment to collaborative and partnership working, including with the public sector.
  • Have a genuine interest and understanding of the challenges facing the business community.
  • Have a total commitment to equality of opportunity and diversity, including an understanding of the barriers and challenges faced by economically or socially excluded group.
Apply now

Terms of appointment 

The roles are voluntary, although reasonable expenses such as travel will be reimbursed.  

The Alliance will meet quarterly and the Chair and Deputies will be expect to attend other events and forums focused on the GMS. The expected time commitment is c 2 days a month. 

How to apply

Anderson Quigley is acting as a recruitment advisor to the GMCA. An executive search process is being carried out by Anderson Quigley in addition to the public advertisements. 

Should you wish to discuss the role in strict confidence, please contact Elliott Rae at elliott.rae@andersonquigley.com or +44 (0)7584 078 534 or Aino Betts at aino.betts@andersonquigley.com +44 (0)7743 934 723.  

Applications should consist of a CV and a short covering letter setting out your interest in the role and details of how you match the criteria outlined in the person specification. 

Timetable and appointment process 

Closing date: Friday 16th January 2026 

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to discuss the roles with the Mayor of GM, the Leader for Economy, Business & Inclusive Growth and the Group Chief Executive of the GMCA.

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