Senior Business Development Manager- Baby

The Company

Established in the UK my client is an ambitious and entrepreneurial company operating in the baby care and children’s markets with offices in the UK, Europe, Middle East and USA.  From the start of 2017 the business will enter into a period of significant investment and as such is ready to appoint a Senior Business Development Manager who will continue to develop the UK & European account base.

The Role

As the Senior Business Development Manager you will report directly to the Group Sales Director where you will assist him with the strategic direction of the business in the UK and in Europe. Responsible for the organic growth of your accounts and be continually looking for new ways to develop and generate business. This is a fast moving environment where you will be working with own label and branded products, so knowledge of both areas would be ideal.

This role will require you to spend a significant amount of your time travelling to customer meetings both here in the UK and throughout Europe. The role will allow you to be home based with regular travel to the head office in the South East of England.

Key Responsibilities

• Accountability for delivering targets on profit and turnover.
• Expand customer base both in the UK and in Europe.
• Responsibility for managing the accounts on a daily basis, with support and involvement from others departments as necessary.
• High levels of commercial awareness and an eagle eye to spot & exploit commercial opportunities
• Develop and agree Joint Business Plans with customers, drive activity and monitor performance on an on-going basis.
• Forecast business in line with other divisional requirements.
• Responsible for regular contact with the customers to maximise the effectiveness of account penetration to maintain and develop customer relationships.
• Promote the company image, products and strategies in a positive manner.
• Negotiate with all existing and prospective customers to ensure the selling price gives the best possible return for the company. 

The candidate

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who has an entrepreneurial attitude to assist in the development of national and international business and contribute to its strategic direction. The right candidate will have a ‘hunters’ attitude to new business and be able to see from where the next opportunity is going to arise. You need to be comfortable and confident at liaising with people at a senior level and be able to ‘hold your own’ in negotiations.

The right candidate will ideally have 5 years or more sales experience from a non-food FMCG background, preferably from within the baby sector. The right candidate must be able to work in an autonomous role with the ability to develop solutions. 

Essential skills for this position include:

• Negotiation skills
• Results orientated
• Strong communication skills
• Influencer
• Presentation skills
• Relationship management
• Innovative / creative
• Driven and a self starter
• Strategic and commercially aware