Sales Manager

John Lewis plc; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Night shift premium

Job summary

Herbert Parkinson, part of the John Lewis Partnership, is seeking a Sales Manager to drive commercial success. You will translate targets into execution plans, grow market share, and strengthen customer retention. This role involves travel to customer sites and exhibitions, with night premiums for overnight hours.

Expected salary ranges from £53,100 to £65,000 depending on experience, with a permanent/mobile-working arrangement and regular meetings at the London office.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in driving profitable sales growth.
• Demonstrable experience of managing key accounts and building long-term client relationships.
• Comprehensive knowledge of textile industry.
• Technically adept with ability to evaluate customer requirements vs product proposition.
• Exemplary communication and relationship-building skills.
• Strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Full UK driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Use high impact sales strategies to deliver bold, ambitious targets while maximizing gross margin and account profitability.
• Identify and target high-value prospective clients aligned with the ICP, driving end-to-end sales execution and pipeline conversion.
• Present the Herbert Parkinson/John Lewis business at trade shows and events to drive a healthy pipeline of leads.
• Retain key customers and maximise lifetime value via the full product portfolio for upsell/cross-sell opportunities.
• Monitor account performance and ensure ACV is realised, reviewing pricing and risks to performance.
• Provide technical expertise to help customers select optimal products from the portfolio.
• Provide market intelligence to the Product Manager to support portfolio enhancements.

Skills

Sales management

Key account management

Textile industry knowledge

Technical product knowledge

Communication skills

Negotiation

Driving licence

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE

At Herbert Parkinson, a proud and historic part of the John Lewis Partnership, we are embarking on an exciting transformation journey to secure our long-term success. By investing in state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities, streamlining our operations, and creating broader, more fulfilling roles for our Partners, we are building a more sustainable and agile future. Join us as we continue to deliver exceptional quality and service for our customers while empowering our partners to thrive. As Sales Manager, you will be the driving force behind our commercial success. In this high impact role you will translate ambitious business targets into execution-focused sales plans, directly driving market growth, deepening customer retention, and elevating our brand reputation. In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £5.25 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements. Expected salary - £53,100- £65,000 (dependent on experience). Contract type - This position is a Permanent role. Location - This role is classed as a Mobile worker, with expectations to attend key meetings at our Darwen Herbert Parkinson office- with regular travel to customer sites/ exhibitions etc.

Key responsibilities

• Use high impact sales strategies to deliver bold, ambitious sales targets while maximising gross margin and overall account profitability
• Identify and target high-value prospective clients aligned with the ideal customer profile (ICP), driving end-to-end sales execution, optimising pipeline conversion rates
• Presentation of the Herbert Parkinson / John Lewis business at relevant trade shows & industry events to drive a healthy pipeline of business leads & customer interactions
• Retain key customers & maximise life time account value by leveraging the full product portfolio to uncover high-margin upsell and cross-sell opportunities
• You will monitor customer account performance ensuring the annualised contract value (ACV) has been realised, taking action to review pricing & mitigate any risks to business performance
• Provide technical expertise to assist customers in the optimal product selection from the portfolio
• Provide market intelligence & customer insight to the Product Manager to directly support ongoing product portfolio enhancement and expansion

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Proven track record in driving profitable sales growth
• Demonstrable experience of managing key accounts and building long-term client relationships
• Comprehensive knowledge of textile industry
• Technically adept with a proven ability to evaluate customer requirements vs product proposition
• Possesses exemplary communication and relationship-building skills, adept at expanding professional networks
• Strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills
• Full UK driving licence

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Exposure of working in both Retail & B2B markets (Contracts)
• Evidence of formal sales training
• Comprehensive knowledge of soft furnishing industry - Made to measure (M2M) and Filled Goods

Closing Date: November 5, 2026 Pay: £53,100.00 - £79,600.00 Annual Contract Type: Permanent Hours of Work: 38.75 Job Level: Partnership Level 7 Where You'll Be Working: Mobile Worker, 1 Drummond Gate, London, , SW1V 2QQ

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us. We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose. As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note: It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles. We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants. We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview. At the John Lewis Partnership we’re not just employees; we’re co-owners, and that’s why we’re called Partners. Being a Partner means not only do we all collectively share the responsibilities of being the UK’s largest employee-owned business, but we also share in its rewards and successes. It’s this ownership model that makes the Partnership a very unique place to work.