Sales Director

RecXchange – The Recruiter Xchange; Harlow; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

RecXchange – The Recruiter Xchange is seeking an experienced Sales Director for Retail to drive growth across major retail accounts. You will shape commercial strategy, secure key customer partnerships and lead revenue growth while mentoring the sales team.

The role is based in Harlow, Essex with travel to meet customers and develop opportunities across retail markets. You will balance strategic planning with hands-on execution to exceed targets.

Qualifications

• Senior sales/commercial leadership experience
• Proven track record of winning and growing major accounts
• Experience selling into retail or related markets
• Experience managing complex customer relationships
• Strong business development capability
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management
• A commercial understanding of pricing and profitability
• Proven leadership and people management
• Strong forecasting and pipeline management
• Ability to develop existing and new customer relationships
• Strategic yet practical leadership
• Strong communication, presentation and influencing skills

Responsibilities

• Lead commercial strategy across key retail markets
• Develop and grow major customer relationships
• Identify and convert new business opportunities
• Build a strong and sustainable sales pipeline
• Lead commercial negotiations with senior decision-makers
• Develop account growth strategies across existing customers
• Create structured plans to increase revenue from strategic accounts
• Work closely with operational, production and commercial teams
• Identify customer requirements and translate to opportunities
• Provide accurate sales forecasts and commercial reporting
• Monitor performance against targets
• Support pricing and margin decisions
• Protect profitability while developing new business
• Lead, coach and develop the sales function

Skills

Senior leadership

Major accounts

Retail sales

Key account management

Business development

Negotiation skills

Pricing & margin

People management

Forecasting & pipeline

Strategic mindset

Communication & influence

Job description

The Role

Sales Director - Retail

Location: Harlow, Essex

Salary: Competitive + Bonus + Benefits

Are you an experienced Sales Director professional or senior commercial leader with a strong background in retail, FMCG, consumer products, point-of-sale, display, manufacturing or another customer-led environment?

We are recruiting for a commercially driven Sales Director leader to take ownership of growth across a retail-focused business, developing major customer relationships, creating new opportunities and helping shape the next phase of commercial development.

This is a senior leadership role for someone who combines strategic thinking with a genuine appetite for winning business, growing accounts and improving commercial performance.

What We’re Looking For

To be considered for this Sales Director Retail position, you should have:

• Significant senior sales or commercial leadership experience
• A strong track record of winning and growing major accounts
• Experience selling into retail or closely related markets
• Experience managing complex customer relationships
• Strong business development capability
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder-management skills
• A commercial understanding of pricing, margin and profitability
• Proven leadership and people-management capability
• Strong forecasting and pipeline-management skills
• The ability to develop both existing and new customer relationships
• A strategic mindset combined with a practical, hands-on approach
• Strong communication, presentation and influencing skills

Experience within retail, FMCG, consumer products, point-of-sale, displays, branded environments, manufacturing or a related sector would be particularly relevant.

The Candidate

This opportunity would suit an established Sales Director, Commercial Director, Head of Sales or senior Business Development leader who has operated within a commercially demanding environment.

You should be comfortable dealing with senior customer stakeholders, managing major accounts and taking ownership of both revenue growth and commercial performance.

This is not a purely strategic position. The successful candidate will need to be visible in the market, actively developing relationships and driving opportunities through the sales process.

Commercial Focus

A major part of the role will involve developing existing customer relationships while continuing to create new business.

You will be expected to:

• Understand customer strategies and future requirements
• Identify opportunities to expand existing accounts
• Build relationships across multiple stakeholder levels
• Develop new customer opportunities
• Lead significant commercial negotiations
• Maintain a clear and credible sales pipeline
• Ensure opportunities deliver appropriate margin and commercial return
• Provide insight into changing customer and market requirements

Location

The role is based in Harlow, Essex, with travel expected as part of the position to meet customers and develop commercial relationships.

The location may suit candidates travelling from Harlow, Epping, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford, Ware, Cheshunt, Waltham Abbey, Chelmsford, North London and surrounding areas.

The Role

As Sales Director, you will take responsibility for the commercial strategy across key retail markets, working closely with senior stakeholders, customers and internal teams to drive sustainable growth.

Your duties will include:

• Leading commercial strategy across key retail markets
• Developing and growing major customer relationships
• Identifying and converting new business opportunities
• Building a strong and sustainable sales pipeline
• Leading commercial negotiations with senior decision-makers
• Developing account growth strategies across existing customers
• Creating structured plans to increase revenue from strategic accounts
• Working closely with operational, production and commercial teams
• Identifying customer requirements and translating them into commercial opportunities
• Analysing market trends, competitors and emerging opportunities
• Providing accurate sales forecasts and commercial reporting
• Monitoring performance against targets
• Supporting pricing and margin decisions
• Protecting profitability while developing new business
• Leading, coaching and developing the sales function
• Supporting wider business strategy and commercial planning
• Representing the business professionally with senior customers and stakeholders

The successful Sales Director will be expected to remain close to customers and the market, combining strategic leadership with a hands-on approach to developing major opportunities.