Senior Sales Manager Germany - Buying Groups & Field

Columbia Sportswear; München; Vor Ort; EUR 75.000 - 95.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

A leading outdoor apparel company is seeking a Senior Sales Manager in Germany to unify national sales efforts, focusing on buying groups. This role involves setting sales strategies, leading a team, and building relationships with key accounts. The ideal candidate should have a proven track record in sales leadership, strong commercial acumen, and fluency in German and English. Join us to transform and drive growth in a key European market.

Leistungen

Significant discounts on products

Unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning

Monthly Learning Hour for training

Access to in-house training courses

DEI initiatives

Qualifikationen

• Proven experience leading and developing sales teams.
• Successful track record in managing multi-tiered sales structures.
• Strong commercial acumen with data-driven insights.

Aufgaben

• Define and execute the go-to-market strategy for Germany.
• Set clear sales targets and align the sales team.
• Build strong relationships with key buying groups.

Kenntnisse

Sales Leadership

Strategic Selling

Building Relationships

Commercial Acumen

Data-Driven Decision Making

Team Alignment

Fluent in German

Fluent in English

Ausbildung

Proven experience in sales management

Experience in outdoor or sporting goods

Jobbeschreibung

ABOUT THE POSITION

As our Senior Sales Manager for Germany you will play a pivotal role in elevating Columbia's commercial success in one of our key European markets. This is a new role created to provide unified strategic direction across our national sales efforts with a specific focus on buying groups and field accounts.

Germany is a complex and decentralized market where multiple sales streams operate simultaneously. This role exists to bring them together. Your mission: inspire structure and align our sales teams to drive growth with accounts like Intersport and Sport2000 and to support better decision-making and long-term planning.

You'll lead a team of one to six Sales Representatives, ensuring they're equipped with clear targets, consistent direction, and the tools to succeed. Your scope will be to set the vision, shape the plan, and empower the team.

This is an opportunity to build something from the ground up. The role is as much about transformation as it is about leadership. If you're ready to roll up your sleeves, challenge the status quo and shape the future of Columbia in Germany, we'd love to hear from you.

HOW YOU’LL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

• Define and execute the go-to-market strategy for Germany with a specific focus on buying groups and field accounts.
• Set clear sales targets in collaboration with the Country Manager and align the field sales team behind a common vision.
• Facilitate the transformation of our sales approach from order-taking to value-driven strategic selling.
• Support the field team with structure, clarity and inspiration to drive performance and boost confidence.
• Build strong, trust-based relationships with key buying groups and drive their engagement across all categories.
• Collaborate with the European merchandising teams to provide timely and actionable market feedback.
• Partner with Marketing to activate relevant commercial initiatives aligned with strategic priorities.
• Track performance and take proactive steps to optimize revenue, manage contracts and drive reorders.
• Represent the German market in seasonal sales meetings and trade shows, aligning stakeholders and energizing the team.
• Champion Columbia’s values and culture in every interaction internally and externally.

YOU ARE

• A natural leader with a talent for inspiring and aligning teams even through change and ambiguity.
• A builder at heart: you thrive when creating new processes, shaping structures and transforming ways of working.
• Highly resilient and pragmatic, able to navigate complexity and lead through pressure without losing sight of the goal.
• Comfortable challenging the status quo and bringing fresh energy and ideas into established environments.
• A clear and confident communicator capable of adapting your message to different audiences and stakeholders.

YOU HAVE

• Proven experience leading and developing sales teams, ideally across a national or multi-regional scope. You know how to engage, inspire and drive performance through clear direction and support.
• A successful track record in buying groups and managing multi-tiered sales structures within decentralized organizations.
• Significant background in sales leadership, preferably within the sporting goods, lifestyle or outdoor sectors, or within a brand/retailer working closely with complex account structures.
• Hands-on experience building or transforming sales strategies from the ground up. You thrive in environments where things aren’t yet set in stone.
• Strong commercial acumen with proven ability to use data and insights to influence decisions and guide action plans.
• Full professional fluency in German and English; willing to travel extensively across Germany.

PERKS & BENEFITS

• Significant discounts on Columbia and Sorel products
• Unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning
• A monthly Learning Hour for training, discovery and learning
• Unlock your potential: access to in-house training courses (feedback, leadership, insights...)
• DEI initiatives to exchange and strengthen our involvement around these themes

ABOUT THE CULTURE

• We value an inclusive and open culture that emphasizes the absence of barriers between team members and fosters a sense of belonging.
• Team members serve as ambassadors for our brand, finding motivation in being part of an organization dedicated to activities they are passionate about.
• We offer the opportunity to work for a US-based company within a multicultural environment where your job has an impact across different countries.
• Our Always Be Learning culture of continuous learning enables our employees to identify and develop skills that will enable them to continue to grow within the company.
• Unlock Your Potential is the spirit of our vision for employee development: to offer opportunities to grow in their role, in their team, or to change jobs entirely.

To learn more about us and our culture, visit our page on Welcome To The Jungle.

1 Ready to unlock your potential at Columbia Sportswear Company? Apply now to help us connect active people with their passion. The hiring team will review your application in the following weeks.

2 If your application is selected: a 30-45 minute introductory interview with our Talent Acquisition Team to talk about yourself, your motivations and the role.

3 Interview with the hiring manager

4 Interview with the main stakeholders; case study presentation

5 Your unique strengths align perfectly with our team: we are thrilled to extend you an offer!

#LI-LA1

This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities but constitutes a general definition of the position’s scope and function in the company.

Required Experience: Manager

Key Skills

Category Management, Presentation Skills, Public Relations, Purchasing, Organizational skills, Produce Experience, Office Experience, Warehouse Distribution Experience, Analysis Skills, Retail Math, Supervising Experience, Logistics

Employment Type: Full-Time

Experience: years

Vacancy: 1