Business Development Manager

Impact Food Group; Woking; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

25 days leave

Company pension

Online learning platform

Wellbeing platform

Discounts

Annual Summer Party

Job summary

Impact Food Group is seeking a driven Business Development Manager for Surrey / Kent / South Region. You will lead the end-to-end sales cycle, develop a strong regional pipeline, and coordinate bids with operations and marketing to win new business across IFG brands.

The role demands relationship-building, bid proficiency, and a passion for social impact in school catering. You’ll engage from initial prospecting to site visits and client meetings.

Qualifications

• Experience in education sector or contract catering sales preferred.
• Proven ability to manage complex sales cycles and bids.
• Strong written and verbal communication for proposals and presentations.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end sales process from prospecting to closing.
• Develop and manage a strong regional sales pipeline across Surrey, Kent and the South region.
• Coordinate tenders, bids, and tender documents with operations and marketing.
• Build lasting client relationships and present at client meetings.

Skills

Catering sales

Education sector

B2B sales

Relationship building

Proposal writing

Negotiation

Presentations

CRM familiarity

Education

Education sales experience

Contract catering sales experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Adobe Suite

CRM software

Job description

Business Development Manager

Surrey / Kent / South Region

Impact Food Group

At Impact Food Group, we’re more than just a school caterer. We’re on a mission to create a positive food culture and help more students enjoy healthier, better-quality food. Making a positive social impact is at the heart of everything we do.

Through our industry-leading brands — Innovate, Hutchison, Cucina, Dolce & Chapter One — we cater for over 800,000students and operate in more than 1500schools nationwide, growing every year.

We’re now looking for a talented and highly organised Business Development Manager to join our Sales Team and play a vital role in supporting our business.

Guided by our values, integrity, bold, impactful, empathyand community; you will help us shape a workplace and culture we can all be proud of.

We’re looking for an energetic Business Development Manager to join our national sales team.

This is an exciting chance to help us grow our footprint across all IFG brands, working with talented colleagues in operations, bids, and marketing.

As BDM, you’ll lead the sales process from start to finish — from prospecting and tendering to winning new business and building lasting client relationships.

Key Responsibilities

• Represent IFG’s values, vision, and operational approach to the market.
• Develop and manage a strong sales pipeline: research opportunities, qualify prospects, and plan ahead.
• Lead the end-to-end sales process, working closely with operations and bid teams on proposals and tenders.
• Oversee the production of sales documents (pre-qualification, tenders, presentations, and promotional materials).
• Coordinate site visits, presentations, and client meetings, ensuring seamless engagement.
• Support and host events for clients, prospects, and consultants.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with consultants, prospects, and existing clients.

Skills & Competencies

• A proven track record in contract catering sales, ideally in education, B&I, or healthcare — or experience in catering operations with exposure to bids and sales.
• Existing contacts with consultants who manage tender processes (advantageous).
• A genuine passion for food and social impact.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills — able to engage confidently from the kitchen to the boardroom.
• Resilience, decisiveness, and the ability to thrive in a performance-driven environment.
• Excellent organisation, attention to detail, and time management.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (knowledge of database management or Adobe Suite is a plus).

Qualifications & Experience

• Driven, self-motivated individual with great interpersonal skills. A real team player
• Confident writer and speaker.
• Strong attention to detail and time management
• Education sales experience or any contract catering sales experience would be a bonus but not a must have

What We’d Love to Give You

• Competitive salary
• 25 days paid annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Company pension scheme.
• Access to our extensive online Learning platform and development opportunities
• An employee wellbeing platform.
• IFG rewards for highstreets discounts.
• Annual Summer Party with company awards.

Additional Details

IFG are committed to the safeguarding of children and our employees share this commitment. Successful candidates are required to undergo an enhanced DBS check, which we supply the cost for.

We are a committed equal opportunities employer - if you require any assistance for the interview process, please detail within your application. All information is kept confidential and in compliance with GDPR requirements.