Manager of SME Account Management - Manchester

Carwow Group; Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme via Royal London

Vitality private healthcare insurance

Life Assurance - 4x annual salary

Share options

Learning & development budget

Home office budget (£500)

Generous holiday (28–35 days)

Parental leave policies

Job summary

Carwow Group is seeking a high-impact Manager for SME Account Management to lead, develop, and inspire a team responsible for dealer performance and growth. You will shape team culture, deliver departmental objectives, and maximise value from our platform.

You will balance people leadership, operational excellence, and commercial impact, empowering your team to perform at their best while contributing to strategic direction and ongoing business performance.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a people leader with a track record of coaching and performance delivery.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and making fast operational decisions.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience in account growth and revenue generation.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Deep understanding of sales or account management disciplines.
• Willingness to work in our London Office for a minimum of 3 days a week (95% office based).

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Account Managers to drive dealer performance.
• Build an inclusive, high-performance culture and manage change.
• Deliver against departmental targets and improve partner outcomes.
• Own productivity, morale, and operational efficiency.
• Coach on sales techniques and handle escalations when needed.

Skills

People leadership

Coaching & mentoring

Performance management

Ambiguity management

Commercial acumen

Account growth

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Sales techniques

Job description

OUR MISSION

To become the car-changing destination of choice. By combining technology, media and deep automotive expertise, we've turned how people buy, sell, advertise and lease cars on its head.

What started as a simple reviews site is now one of the largest online car-changing destinations in Europe. Last year alone we grew over 50% with nearly £3bn worth of cars bought on site, while £1.8bn of cars were listed for sale through our Sell My Car service.

In 2024 we went big and acquired Autovia - creators of AutoExpress and Evo magazines - doubling our audience overnight. Together we now have one of the biggest YouTube channels in the world with almost 10m subscribers and over 1.1 billion annual views, while we sell 1.2 million print copies of our magazines and have an annual web content reach over 350million.

And we’re a long way from done!

YOUR MISSION

We are looking for a high-impact Manager for our SME Account Management to lead, develop, and inspire a team responsible for driving dealer performance and growth. This role is critical in shaping team culture, delivering against departmental objectives, and ensuring our partners maximise value from our platform.

You will balance people leadership, operational excellence, and commercial impact, empowering your team to perform at their best while contributing to strategic direction and ongoing business performance.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Team Leadership & Development

  • Lead, coach, and develop a team of Account Managers with varying skill sets and areas of focus

  • Create an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performance culture where individuals are empowered to take initiative and ownership

  • Act as a strong advocate for your team, identifying growth opportunities and supporting career development

  • Provide hands‑on coaching through call listening, feedback, and sales technique development

  • Lead the team effectively through change and ambiguity, maintaining clarity and momentum

  Performance & Delivery

  • Own team productivity, performance, and morale, driving consistent delivery against departmental targets

  • Support the team in growing dealer share of wallet, improving offer volume and strength, and increasing overall partner performance

  • Act as an escalation point for day-to-day operational decisions, including dealer behaviour disputes, suspensions and goodwill cases

  • Identify and remove blockers to ensure the team can operate efficiently and effectively

  • Continue contributing to key initiatives and accounts while overseeing multiple projects and priorities

  Commercial Excellence & Enablement

  • Drive best-in-class account management practices, including upsell and adoption of additional services

  • Advance sales enablement by embedding strong sales techniques, frameworks, and coaching within the team

  • Act as a subject matter expert, providing guidance on complex commercial scenarios and opportunities

  • Ensure the team consistently delivers value to partners and maximises commercial outcomes

  Process & Structure

  • Embed scalable processes and proven structures that enable the team to achieve outstanding results

  • Continuously identify opportunities to streamline workflows and improve operational efficiency - not being afraid to start afresh with something if we can make it better

  • Maintain a strong understanding of company performance, market trends, and industry dynamics to inform decision-making

REQUIREMENTS

• Proven experience as a people leader, with a strong track record of coaching, mentoring, and driving performance

• Comfortable managing ambiguity and making confident operational decisions in a fast‑paced environment

• Strong commercial acumen with experience in account growth, upselling, and revenue‑driving activities

• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands‑on execution

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

• Deep understanding of sales or account management disciplines, with the ability to elevate team capability

• Ability to work in our London Office for a minimum of 3 days a week – being on hand and available for our team (this role will be 95% office based, with very occasional travel to partners where required)

INTERVIEW PROCESS

• Introductory call with the Talent Partner

• Skills‑based interview with the Team Manager and another manager within our commercial team

• Interview and role‑based task with the Team Manager and a Head Of Department or Director

• Values based interview

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU

• Competitive comp package
• 28 days' holiday increasing to 35 with length of service, plus extras for house moves, weddings and more!
• Employee-friendly share options
• Pension scheme via Royal London - up to 5% company contribution
• Vitality private healthcare insurance
• Life Assurance - 4x annual salary
• Monthly coaching sessions with Spill - our mental wellbeing partner
• Inclusive parental, partner and shared parental leave including up to 20 weeks' full pay maternity and shared parental leave, and 8 weeks' full partner pay, as well as fertility treatment and pregnancy loss policies
• Bubble childcare support and discounted nanny fees for little ones
• 'Work from abroad for a month' annual scheme
• Generous learning and development budget
• £500/€550 home office budget

Diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our culture. We know that diverse teams are strong teams, so we welcome those with alternative identities, backgrounds, and experiences to apply for this position. We make recruiting decisions based on experience, skills and potential, so all our applicants are treated fairly and equally.