National Specification & Business Development Manager

Kidde Global Solutions; England; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company car/allowance

Pension

Private healthcare

Mobile phone

Home office equipment

Training & development

Job summary

Kidde Global Solutions is seeking a commercially driven National Specification & Business Development Manager to strengthen its UK market presence. The role blends specification sales, business development and strategic account management to drive growth across social housing and related sectors.

You will build relationships with housing associations, consultants and contractors, delivering CPD sessions and technical demos while advancing product specifications and revenue opportunities.

Qualifications

• Experience in specification sales within construction or fire safety.
• Proven track record of winning new business and delivering growth.
• Experience selling into social housing and/or public sector markets.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills.
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders, including Asset Managers and Fire Safety Teams.
• Confident delivering technical presentations and CPD sessions.
• Experience using CRM to manage opportunities and pipelines.
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel across the UK.

Responsibilities

• Specification Management – develop and maintain product specifications with housing associations, consultants and engineers.
• Business Development – identify and win new opportunities across social housing and adjacent markets.
• Account Development – grow existing national and regional customer accounts and upsell.

Skills

Specification sales

Social housing

Stakeholder engagement

CRM proficiency

Negotiation skills

Travel readiness

UK driving licence

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

The Next Level of Fire & Life Safety Leadership

With more than two centuries of combined history, brands like Kidde, Kidde Commercial, Edwards, GST, Badger, Gloria and Aritech have been leading the way in protecting people and property around the world. Now, we’re taking that leadership to the next level. Kidde Global Solutions brings together the most trusted and iconic brands in safety, building upon our shared experience and expertise to address the needs and challenges of more customers in more places. With an unmatched portfolio of solutions and services, and a commitment to constant innovation we’re elevating the standards for an entire industry - and establishing the next level of fire and life safety leadership.

At Kidde Global Solutions, you’re joining a global technology leader in fire and life safety solutions and our employees are the heart of it all. With industry-defining brands in life safety and security, you’ll be part of a legacy of leadership working with cutting-edge technologies that protect lives and property worldwide. As a leading fire safety brand, our mission is to provide solutions that protect people and property from the effects of fire and related hazards. We’re committed to expanding our impact and providing dynamic opportunities for growth within our team. You’ll be part of a company that prioritizes quality, integrity, collaboration, and customer care, with the resources, training, and incentives to ensure your success every step of the way.

Role: National Specification & Business Development Manager

Country: UK

Location: Flexible, dependent on applicant

Ideal Base: Central UK with excellent transport links, such as the Midlands or Northwest England. Proximity to major social housing hubs will also be considered.

Contract Type: Full Time

Travel: Approximately 50%

Annual Base Salary Rate: 65000 - 75000 GBP

As part of our continued growth, we are looking for an ambitious and commercially driven National Specification & Business Development Manager to strengthen our presence across the UK market.

About The Role

This is a high-impact commercial role combining specification sales, business development and strategic account management.

You will be responsible for driving product specification and commercial growth across the UK, with a primary focus on the social housing sector. You will also identify and develop opportunities across residential developers, contractors, consultants, distributors, fire safety specialists and other specification-led markets.

Your role will be to create demand, influence key decision-makers, secure product specifications and convert opportunities into sustainable, profitable sales growth.

Key Responsibilities

Specification Management - approximately 50%

• Develop and maintain product specifications with housing associations, local authorities, consultants, architects and M&E engineers.
• Promote compliant smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarm solutions across refurbishment and new-build projects.
• Deliver CPD presentations, technical briefings and product training.
• Influence product and system selection at the design and specification stage.
• Build and maintain a strong specification pipeline through CRM.

Business Development - approximately 30%

• Identify, develop and win new business opportunities across social housing and adjacent markets.
• Build strong relationships with contractors, procurement frameworks and installation partners.
• Identify new routes to market and generate additional revenue opportunities.
• Support product launches, campaigns and wider commercial initiatives.
• Develop a strong understanding of market trends, customer requirements and competitor activity.

Account Development - approximately 20%

• Develop and grow existing national and regional customer accounts.
• Identify upselling and cross-selling opportunities.
• Build long-term relationships with key customer and industry stakeholders.
• Work closely with distributors and merchant partners to maximise specification conversion and sales growth.
• Develop strategic account plans for priority customers.

Key Customer & Market Segments

Primary Focus

• Housing Associations
• Social Housing Providers

Additional Markets

• Residential Developers
• Main Contractors
• Electrical Contractors
• M&E Consultants
• Procurement Frameworks
• Distribution Partners
• Leisure
• Utilities
• New Build

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for a commercially driven professional who combines strong specification experience with the ability to develop new business and build long-term customer relationships.

You Will Ideally Have

• Proven experience in specification sales within construction, electrical, fire safety, building products or a related industry.
• A strong track record of winning new business and delivering commercial growth.
• Experience selling into social housing and/or public sector markets.
• Strong commercial negotiation and influencing skills.
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders, including Asset Managers, Compliance Managers and Fire Safety Teams.
• Confidence delivering technical presentations, CPD sessions and customer training.
• Strong relationship-building and account management skills.
• Experience using CRM systems to manage opportunities and pipelines.
• A proactive, self-motivated and commercially focused approach.
• A full UK driving licence and willingness to travel extensively across the UK.

How Success Will Be Measured

• Value of specifications secured.
• Specification conversion into sales.
• New business revenue.
• Growth of existing accounts.
• Number of new customer wins.
• Pipeline value and quality.
• Gross margin.
• Customer engagement and activity.

What We Offer

• Attractive salary plus performance-related bonus.
• Company car or car allowance.
• Pension scheme.
• Private healthcare.
• Mobile phone, laptop and home office equipment.
• Ongoing product, technical and industry training.
• Career development opportunities within a growing and innovative fire safety manufacturer.

Your Journey With Us

We aim to provide a fair, transparent and valuable recruitment process for every candidate.

If Selected, You Can Expect

• Initial call with our Recruitment/Sourcing team.
• Interview with the Hiring Manager and key stakeholders.

Our Commitment to You

Our greatest assets are the expertise, creativity and passion of our people. We strive to create an environment that attracts, develops and retains talented individuals while promoting collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.

We believe everyone should feel that they belong and have the opportunity to grow. Our values of respect, integrity, inclusion, innovation and excellence guide the way we work and how we support our people.

About Us

We are a leading manufacturer of smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms, committed to protecting lives through innovative, reliable and fully compliant fire safety solutions.

We work closely with social housing providers, contractors and industry professionals to help ensure homes across the UK remain safe, compliant and future-ready.

Joining us means becoming part of an organisation where innovation, quality and customer impact are at the heart of what we do.

World Leaders in Fire and Life Safety

Kidde Global Solutions is a world leader in fire & life safety solutions tailored for complex commercial facilities to homes. Through iconic, industry-defining brands including Kidde, Kidde Commercial, Edwards, GST, Badger, Gloria and Aritech, we provide residential and commercial customers with advanced solutions and services to protect people and property in a wide range of applications, all around the globe.