Sales Director - Financial Services

Version 1; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity scheme

Private medical insurance

Flexible working arrangements

AI-Native working tools

Job summary

Version 1 is seeking a seasoned Sales Director for Financial Services to lead a high-performing commercial team and drive revenue growth across Banking, Insurance and Capital Markets. The role focuses on doubling the FS business size within the next years, aligning with group growth ambitions.

The successful candidate will build relationships with senior stakeholders, close large, complex AI, digital, data, cloud and managed services deals, and coach teams to deliver against targets with strong

Qualifications

• Experience delivering 8-figure revenue targets in the financial services sector.
• Global sales leadership experience.
• Expertise in AI, Digital, Cloud and Data services for FS customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach FS sales teams across UK & Ireland, and the US to grow and protect accounts.
• Shape and execute the global FS sales strategy with targets and cadence reconciliation.
• Develop competitive pricing/contracting strategies for qualified deals.
• Act as executive sponsor for key deals and customer contracts.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Pre-Sales and OCTO to cross/up-sell Version 1 capabilities.

Skills

Commercial acumen

Leadership

Strategic sales

Stakeholder management

AI/Tech industry knowledge

Tools

CRM (Salesforce)

Job description

Company Description

Version 1 is a global technology services company, delivering impactful change to help our customers Version 1 has celebrated 30 years in Technology Services and continues to be trusted by global brands to deliver solutions that drive customer success. Our expertise enables our customers to navigate the rapidly changing Digital-First world we live in. We foster strong partnerships with leading technology giants including Anthropic, Microsoft, AWS, Oracle, Red Hat, OutSystems, and Databricks, ensuring that our customers are provided with the highest quality solutions and services.

Company Description

Version 1 is a global technology services company, delivering impactful change to help our customers Version 1 has celebrated 30 years in Technology Services and continues to be trusted by global brands to deliver solutions that drive customer success. Our expertise enables our customers to navigate the rapidly changing Digital-First world we live in. We foster strong partnerships with leading technology giants including Anthropic, Microsoft, AWS, Oracle, Red Hat, OutSystems, and Databricks, ensuring that our customers are provided with the highest quality solutions and services.

We’re An Award-winning Employer Reflecting How Our Employees Are At The Very Heart Of Version 1 And What We Do

• UK & Ireland's premier AWS, Microsoft, Outsystems & Oracle partner
• Preferred Services Partner status in the Anthropic Partner Network
• 4000+ strong, €400/£450m revenue business
• 10+ years as a Great Place to Work in Ireland & UK
• Best Workplace for Women in the UK & Ireland by GPTW
• Best Workplace for Wellbeing in the UK by GPTW

We’re a core values driven company, we hire people who share our values, and we reward those who display and foster them, it’s deeply embedded within our DNA. Invest in us and we’ll invest in you!

Job Description

Purpose of role

As we continue to deliver significant growth, we have an opportunity for a seasoned IT sales leader to take on a strategic leadership role – Sales Director for Financial Services.

This is an exciting opportunity for a proven, ambitious sales leader to build and manage a high-performing commercial team - growing Version 1’s reputation, relationships, and revenue across key target industries within the financial services (FSI) sector, including – Banking, Insurance & Capital Markets.

The role is best suited to a well established sales leader with the drive to lead the challenge of doubling the size of Version 1’s existing financial services business in the coming years, in line with Group growth ambitions.

The sales operation is rapidly growing and the Sales Director for Financial Services will ensure the organisational structure, sales processes and cadence are executed to high standards of excellence to ensure respective teams meet and exceed commercial targets and objectives against pipeline generation, contract closings and revenue growth.

The Sales Director for Financial Services will be part of the commercial leadership team, accountable for delivering the Revenue number for the financial services sector business, driving business growth and scaling the commercial organisation. The successful candidate will possess a proven ability to build relationships with senior customer stakeholders, understand their needs and to close large, complex deals encompassing AI, digital, data, cloud and managed services. Based on this experience through your own career, you will be able to lead and coach a team of sales professionals to drive commercial success and deliver on the Group business growth plans.

Job Responsibilities

• Delivering the commercial outcomes for an 8-figure revenue stream the FSI business and driving double digit % growth Year on Year.
• Leading and coaching the financial services sales teams, focused on growing and protecting existing accounts and winning new business in target sub-sectors across UK & Ireland, and the US.
• Shaping the global sales strategy for financial services and driving its execution – tracking performance against targets, pivoting where necessary to capitalise on market opportunity, segmenting and expanding the customer base and embedding ways of working that focus on delivery excellence.
• Enabling the financial services sales team to develop competitive pricing/contracting strategies and shaping and signing off the commercial approach for qualified deals.
• Acting as executive sponsor for key deals and customer contracts to drive growth and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction across all financial services accounts.
• Challenging the team to introduce prospects and customers to new capabilities and innovation, shaped by our Office of the CTO (OCTO).
• This will include driving the team to collaborate with Marketing, Pre-Sales and OCTO to pitch “proactive proposals” to customers to cross/up sell the breadth and depth of the Version 1 propositions portfolio to solve customer problems and secure long-term growth in strategic accounts.
• Championing a best practice approach to opportunity management – equipping the team to explore routes to market via Version 1 partners and driving excellence in sales execution and deal planning.
• Collaborating with business leaders across the Group to ensure Version 1 always presents “one voice” to the customer and that the team continuously identifies opportunities to cross/up sell the breadth and depth of our portfolio capabilities.
• Crucially, as a senior leader in Version 1, ensure the company’s Core Values and Leadership Principles are upheld and enhanced where possible.
• Ensuring all financial services contracts meet Version 1 standards and risk requirements, and awarded contracts are successfully executed in line with contractual commitments.
• Ensuring financial services sales team operate to an exemplary standard at all times – driving and presenting consistently accurate forecast sales data, maintaining high levels of data quality in CRM and bringing to bear sales process best practice.

Qualifications

Requirements

• Experience of managing and successfully delivering against a minimum of 8-figure revenue targets within the financial services sector across serving customers on a global basis.
• Experience of successfully operating within a Private Equity ownership environment is an advantage.
• Experience in sales roles as both an individual contributor and leader, selling technology services such as AI, Software Engineering, Application Modernisation, Cloud Transformation, Data & Digital Services to customers in the financial services sector.
• A detailed understanding of outsourced managed services is also required.
• Adept at managing, motivating, and scaling sales teams to drive commercial success, instilling a high-growth, high-performance mindset to consistently deliver against sales targets.
• Exceptional commercial acumen and written and verbal communication skills.
• Advanced domain knowledge of the three financial services sub-sectors of Banking, Insurance and Capital Markets.
• The drive to bring world class sales processes, accuracy and transparency in forecasting, while managing a multi-stream sales organisation.
• Detailed understanding of off-shore and near-shore delivery and commercial models to support onshore capability offerings.
• Strong working knowledge of technology trends & CIO agendas across digital, data and cloud solutions, particularly within financial services customers.
• Demonstrable experience delivering sales strategies via partner channels.
• Ability to set priorities and drive results in a fast-paced sales environment.

Additional Information

Why join Version 1?

• Share in our Success: Excellent base salary plus bonus & an opportunity to join our V1 Equity success scheme
• Inclusive Culture: We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
• Professional Growth: We offer peer mentorship programs and career development opportunities to help you reach your full potential, giving you full access to modern learning platforms to grow your skills.
• Work-Life Balance: We understand the importance of work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements.
• Supportive Community: Join a team that values collaboration, respect, and mutual support.
• AI-Native Working: We provide the latest AI models and technologies, encouraging and coaching you to build digital co-workers to help you drive efficiencies and generate new sources of value your role.

At Version 1, we believe in providing our employees with a comprehensive benefits package that prioritises their well‑being, professional growth, and financial stability. We also offer a range of tech‑related benefits, including an innovative Tech Scheme to help keep our team members up-to-date with the latest technology. We prioritise the health and safety of our employees, providing private medical and life insurance coverage, as well as free eye tests and contributions towards glasses. Our team members can also stay ahead of the curve with incentivised certifications and accreditations, including AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat. PLUS, many more exciting benefits… drop us a note to find out more.