Business Development & Account Manager - Newcastle

Itison; Newcastle upon Tyne; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Health Care

Employee Assistance Programme

Pension scheme (Salary exchange)

Discounts on Itison venues

Volunteer/Charity day

Job summary

Itison is seeking a commercially minded Business Development & Account Manager to join our City Team and drive growth in Newcastle and the Northeast. You’ll build strong relationships, spot opportunities, and turn them into long‑term revenue against a backdrop of an established brand.

Your role starts as remote work, evolving to our Newcastle city centre office, with frequent travel across the Northeast and regular visits to our Glasgow HQ. Salary £30k-£35k + commission (OTE up to £45k).

Qualifications

• Experience in business development, B2B sales, partnerships, or transferable hospitality/leisure roles.
• Track record of building relationships and turning opportunities into results.
• Confidence speaking to business owners, operators, and senior decision-makers.
• Strong commercial instincts and ability to identify winning opportunities for partners and customers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Resilience, judgement, and negotiation confidence.
• Organised time management and pipeline handling.
• Understanding of hospitality commercial considerations.

Responsibilities

• Build a strong pipeline through outreach, networking, meetings and targeted prospecting.
• Develop relationships with decision-makers across hospitality and leisure businesses.
• Turn first conversations into long-term partnerships.
• Grow existing accounts by spotting new opportunities and aligning with client goals.
• Use market knowledge, research and commercial judgement to identify top opportunities for Itison.
• Schedule high-quality meetings and strategic drop-ins to maximise time.
• Work toward targets across new business, account growth and other KPIs.

Skills

Business development

B2B sales

Account management

Partnerships

Hospitality experience

Negotiation

Time management

Communication skills

Market insight

Job description

Business Development & Account Manager - Full time - Newcastle At itison, we believe life is about the experience.

We connect 1.7 million members with the best local experiences, create world-class events of our own, and donate thousands of experiences to local charities every year.

We’ve built a strong, market‑leading business in Scotland, and Newcastle is an exciting part of our future growth.

That makes this a great opportunity for someone who wants to join an established brand, make their mark locally, and help shape what comes next. We’re looking for a commercially minded Business Development & Account Manager to join our City Team and help grow our Newcastle and Northeast business.

The role would suit someone who knows how to build strong relationships, spot opportunities, and turn them into long‑term growth.

You might already work in sales, partnerships, hospitality, hotel operations, leisure, or another commercially focused role where earning trust and driving revenue go hand in hand.

A network across food and drink, spas or hotels would be a real advantage.

Restaurant connections would be especially valuable.

What you’ll be doing Our City Team is at the forefront of delivering growth for itison, responsible for sourcing and negotiating an incredible range of experiences in our local areas- from standout hotel stays and Michelin‑starred dining to the best new spa and leisure experiences.

Your initial focus will be on developing new business across Newcastle and the Northeast.

As your pipeline grows, your role will evolve into a mix of new business and account management, growing existing partnerships while continuing to bring in great new ones.

You’ll play a key role in identifying the best businesses to work with, growing local relationships, and creating opportunities that deliver value for both our partners and itison.

What's the role?

• Building a strong pipeline through outreach, networking, meetings, and smart prospecting
• Developing relationships with decision‑makers across hospitality and leisure businesses
• Turning first conversations into long‑term partnerships
• Growing existing accounts by spotting new opportunities and shaping ideas around their goals
• Using market knowledge, research, and commercial judgement to identify the best opportunities for itison
• Making the most of your time by combining scheduled meetings with high‑quality drop‑ins
• Working to targets across new business, account growth, and other key performance metrics

Key skills & traits

We’re looking for someone who is commercially sharp, proactive, and strong at building trust. You’ll likely bring:

• Experience in business development, B2B sales, partnerships, account management, or transferable experience from hospitality, hotel operations, leisure, or related sectors
• A track record of building relationships and turning opportunities into results
• Confidence speaking to business owners, operators, and senior decision‑makers
• Strong commercial instincts and the ability to spot what will work for both the partner and the customer
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Resilience, sound judgement, and confidence handling objections and negotiations
• A diligent, organised approach and the ability to manage your own time and pipeline effectively
• A good understanding of hospitality and the commercial considerations that matter to operators
• Energy, drive, and a genuine appetite to grow a market

Salary and benefits package

Salary £30k - £35k + commission depending on experience (OTE up to £45k)

• Private Health Care
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Salary exchange smart pension scheme
• 15% itison discount and 50% discount at all itison‑owned venues
• Enhanced maternity/paternity Learning grant
• Lunchtime Pilates classes
• Holiday‑buy scheme
• Birthday day off
• Home & Tech scheme
• Paid company socials
• Free tickets to our major events (Drive‑In Movies, GlasGLOW, and more to come)
• Charity day – paid time off to volunteer for a charity of your choice
• Fantastic work environment and the best equipment to do your job

Location and travel The role will initially be remote, before moving to our Newcastle city centre office. You’ll spend a lot of time out meeting businesses and venues across Newcastle and the Northeast, along with regular visits to our Glasgow HQ. To do this role, you’ll need to be flexible, hold a full driving licence, and have your own transport.