Business Development Manager | Content Acquisition

Position: Business Development Manager | Historical Content Acquisition
About Ancestry:

When you join Ancestry, you join a human-centered company where every person’s story is important. Ancestry, the global leader in family history, empowers journeys of personal discovery to enrich lives. With our unparalleled collection of more than 40 billion records, over 3 million subscribers and over 23 million people in our growing DNA network, customers can discover their family story and gain a new level of understanding about their lives.

Over the past 40 years, we’ve built trusted relationships with millions of people who have chosen us as the platform for discovering, preserving and sharing the most important information about themselves and their families.

We are committed to our location flexible work approach, allowing you to choose to work in the nearest office, from your home, or a hybrid of both (subject to location restrictions and roles that are required to be in the office). We will continue to hire and promote beyond the boundaries of our office locations, to enable broadened possibilities for employee diversity.

Together, we work every day to foster a work environment that's inclusive as well as diverse, and where our people can be themselves. Every idea and perspective is valued so that our products and services reflect the global and diverse clients we serve.

Ancestry encourages applications from minorities, women, the disabled, protected veterans and all other qualified applicants. Passionate about dedicating your work to enriching people’s lives? Join the curious.

We are looking for a thoughtful, motivated professional to join our Content Acquisition team. This role will partner closely with archives, historical institutions, genealogy communities, and cross-functional stakeholders to identify, acquire, and bring valuable historical records to Ancestry members across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The ideal candidate is adaptable, collaborative, commercially minded, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment while building strong external relationships and managing complex projects.

What You'll DoDevelop and manage relationships with archives, government entities, historical institutions, and genealogy organisations across the UK and Ireland.

Identify, evaluate, and negotiate opportunities for historical content acquisition and licensing.

Lead content acquisition projects from discovery through digitisation, publication, and launch.

Partner with Content, Product, Marketing, PR, and Research teams to maximise the value and impact of new collections.

Monitor collection performance and support initiatives that drive member engagement and business results.

Represent Ancestry at industry events and contribute expertise on historical records, archives, and genealogy.

Who You Are5+ years' experience in business development, partnerships, content acquisition, licensing, or a related field.

Strong relationship-building, negotiation, project management, and analytical skills.

Experience working with archives, government agencies, cultural institutions, or similar organisations is highly desirable.

Commercially minded, collaborative, and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Interest in history, genealogy, archives, or historical records; knowledge of UK and Irish records is a plus.

Willingness to travel regularly within the UK and Ireland, with occasional international travel.

Why Ancestry?

Join a dedicated team working to connect millions of people with their past and enrich their futures. At Ancestry, you will play a key role in expanding and preserving access to historical records that help individuals and families discover their stories. Your contributions will directly support our mission while helping strengthen relationships with archives, institutions, and communities around the world. We offer a collaborative workplace, competitive compensation, and the opportunity to make a meaningful difference.

Additional Information:

Ancestry is an Equal Opportunity Employer that makes employment decisions without regard to race, colour, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity,…