Sales Manager

John Lewis & Partners; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 53,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Herbert Parkinson, part of the John Lewis Partnership, seeks a Sales Manager to translate ambitious targets into execution‑focused sales plans, driving market growth and enhancing brand reputation. The role requires mobile work with attendances at the Darwen office and regular travel to client sites and exhibitions.

The position offers a permanent contract with a salary between £53,100 and £65,000, commensurate with experience. Flexible working arrangements and travel are expected.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in driving profitable sales growth.
• Experience managing key accounts and building long-term client relationships.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the textile industry.
• Exemplary communication and negotiation skills; UK driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Use high impact sales strategies to hit ambitious targets while maximising gross margin and account profitability.
• Identify and target high‑value clients, driving end‑to‑end sales execution and pipeline growth.
• Present the Herbert Parkinson/John Lewis business at trade shows to generate leads and customer interactions.
• Retain key customers and maximise lifetime value through the full product portfolio.
• Monitor contract value and pricing to mitigate risks and protect business performance.
• Provide technical product selection guidance to customers from the portfolio.
• Share market intelligence with the Product Manager to support portfolio enhancements.

Skills

Sales growth

Key accounts

Textile industry

Product selection

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.

• 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.

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.

• 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

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 occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

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.