European Sales Manager

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Flexible Fridays

Hybrid working

Job summary

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in the UK seeks a senior Academic Sales professional to drive revenue across Europe. You will manage direct customer accounts, lead agency relationships, and promote Bloomsbury’s print and eBook lists to libraries, retailers, and wholesalers.

You will negotiate terms, coordinate cross-functional work with Marketing, Editorial, and Operations, and represent Bloomsbury at major industry events while traveling within Europe.

Qualifications

• Experience selling to retail/wholesale/library suppliers.
• Experience managing an international sales territory.
• Strong commercial sense with margins and discounts.
• Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office; well organised and analytical.
• European language skills are advantageous.
• Experience with publishing systems (Biblio, Cognos, Power BI, SAP) advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Drive revenue growth across Bloomsbury Academic print and eBook portfolios in Europe.
• Manage direct customer accounts and agency relationships; handle queries and orders.
• Present front list and backlist titles to accounts; run promotions and upsell.
• Lead relationships with sales agencies; provide product information and collateral.
• Negotiate trading terms and optimize margins.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Editorial, Operations, Export Sales, and IT.
• Coordinate logistics with distribution centres and oversee customer credit.
• Represent Bloomsbury Academic at major book fairs; travel across Europe.

Skills

Retail relationships

International sales

Margin analysis

Presentation skills

Analytical

European languages

Power BI

Cognos

SAP

Excel

Tools

Power BI

Cognos

SAP

Excel

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to join Bloomsbury's Academic Sales team. Our division is dedicated to publishing and delivering world-class scholarship, textbooks, and professional resources across the humanities, social sciences, visual and performing arts, and law to customers around the world.

Reporting to the Academic & Professional Sales Director, UK & Export, you will be the face of Bloomsbury Academic across Europe—managing direct customer accounts, leading sales agency relationships, and driving revenue growth across our print and eBook lists.

Key responsibilities:

• Drive revenue growth: Deliver sales target growth across Bloomsbury’s Academic & Professional print and eBook portfolios for the designated European territory, in line with the UK and Export sales budget.
• Account management & development: Maintain and nurture relationships across an established customer base, handle customer queries and orders to ensure first-class service.
• Front list and backlist sales: Confidently present front list titles tailored to account specialisms, while driving backlist sales through strategic promotions, up‑selling campaigns, and regular re‑orders.
• Agent management: Lead relationships with sales agencies across Europe, equipping agents with essential product information, tools, and sales collateral, and conducting regular check‑ins to track performance and gather regional market intelligence.
• Trading terms and commercial management: Negotiate and review customer trading terms to optimise profit margins for Bloomsbury while maintaining commercially sound customer partnerships.
• Cross‑functional collaboration: Partner closely with Marketing on wholesaler catalogue submissions and co‑marketing initiatives, and collaborate with Editorial, Operations/Inventory, Export Sales, and Business Systems to ensure seamless stock availability, metadata flow, and sales execution.
• Supply chain and operations: Liaise with distribution centres to streamline logistics, minimise trading friction, and oversee customer credit accounts.
• Book fairs and market travel: Represent Bloomsbury Academic at major industry events, including the London and Frankfurt Book Fairs, and conduct regular travel to key European regions and customers in line with departmental travel budgets.
• Market insight: Channel feedback on European market trends, competitor activity, and product performance back to the Sales Director, and Editorial and Marketing teams.

Skills, knowledge, experience

• Demonstrable experience in selling products to, and establishing lasting relationships with retail/wholesale/library supplier customers.
• Experience managing a sales territory, preferably internationally.
• Strong commercial sense with experience calculating margins, evaluating discounts, analysing sales figures, and managing travel/overhead budgets.
• Excellent verbal, written, and formal presentation skills with experience pitching to both individuals and larger groups.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially Excel).
• Highly organised, resilient, and analytical, with the ability to assimilate complex information, identify operational obstacles, and propose constructive solutions.
• Able to work proactively with minimal direct supervision while maintaining clear alignment with team goals and senior leadership.
• Working knowledge of one or more European languages is a distinct advantage.
• Experience using publishing and reporting systems such as Biblio, Cognos, Power BI, and SAP is highly advantageous.

Application Deadline: 23:59 on Wednesday 18th of November 2026

Bloomsbury reserve the right to close the role early if we exceed the required number of applications

Additional information

Starting: As soon as possible

Contract: Full-time, permanent.

Hybrid-working: 2 days per week: Wednesdays and Thursdays

Bloomsbury Benefits

• 25 days holiday
• 3.5 days Christmas company holiday
• Two paid Personal Wellness Days
• Flexible Fridays
• Work Anywhere Fortnight
• Season Ticket Loan
• Share save Scheme
• AXA Healthcare Plan (Private Medical Insurance)
• Peppy Health App
• In-house Doctor
• Eye care Voucher Scheme

And a range of other benefits as listed on our company website: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/connect/work-with-us/rewarding-you/

Bloomsbury is a place where anyone of any background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, ability, or socio-economic status can thrive, feel comfortable, and be heard and accepted. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please flag to the recruitment team if required.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.