***THIS JOB VACANCY HAS NOW CLOSED***
Permanent full time contract, based in Aylesford, Kent with national travel 37 hours per week
Package: circa £55,000 + £3,500 car allowance per annum
Main purpose of job:
To lead the Sales and Business Development Department of RBLI’s award winning manufacturing division, Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company (BBMC). This role is responsible for overseeing all sales activities across BBMC’s Aylesford , including the management and development of the sales and business development team, with a focus on seeking and winning new contracts and tenders as well as driving new and sustainable growth for the division.
Overview of the Role & Team:
Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company (BBMC) is RBLI’s Social Enterprise, providing employment opportunities to veterans and people with disabilities. This position which reports directly to the Director of BBM, is key within the division’s leadership team. The Assistant Director of Sales and Business Development will be responsible for generating sales and margin across 3 distinct areas with a combined annual turnover in excess of £6m.
The individual will take the lead on all business development, tending and sales opportunities, and be responsible for maximising income with new and existing customers, both locally and nationally. They will also be responsible for providing leadership and direction to the wider RBLI sales team to ensure that customers receive the best quality products and service to ensure their continued commitment to RBLI.
This role will be responsible for the performance of the wider sales team but will directly line manage the following positions; the Head of Customer Service, the Wooden Products Timber Sales Executive, the Fruit Bin Sales Executive and the House Builder Project Manager.
Key Responsibilities:
Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
People
- Lead and motivate the sales team to meet /exceed the agreed targets
- Ensure that Direct Reports have clear and measurable objectives
- Train, coach and mentor staff to create a dynamic and commercially focused team.
- Develop an open and honest culture throughout area of responsibility promoting a ‘great place to work’ environment.
- Undertake all HR related activity in relation to the Sales Team including absence management, performance management, training and development and annual appraisals.
- Undertake recruitment as and when necessary in order to ensure that a balanced, skilled and flexible workforce is maintained now and in the future.
- Implement Investors in People in the division as part of a Company-wide initiative.
- Ensure a safe working environment for all employees, providing training as appropriate and health and safety measures as required in order to comply with legislative requirements.
- Promote by example the high standards that RBLI expects of its employees and volunteers when representing RBLI, and support staff and volunteers to understand and reach these standards.
- Undertake HR related activity, including supporting with investigations and disciplinary and grievance hearings, as requested by the HR Department and SMT
Budget and targets
- Work with the Director of BBMC to create the annual sales and margin targets
- Maximise use of resources to meet agreed expenditure budgets
- Regularly review prices and margins to ensure maximum returns
- Devise, implement and manage strategies for driving sales growth across all functions of BBMC
- Mange own departmental salary, expense and marketing budget.
- Ensure the production of accurate and relevant management information enables decisions to be made in a timely a manner.
Sales and Business Development
- Create sales and business development strategies to meet financial targets
- Negotiate and manage sales contracts with customers and ensuring their profitability.
- Identify tender opportunities and manage the collation and submission process.
- Ensure you maintain an in-depth understanding of existing markers, customers and opportunities
- Develop and implement an effective process for measuring and analysing competitors’ performance
- Identify market opportunities for new customers and develop appropriate approaches
- Analyse existing approaches to the development of business and make changes for improvements where appropriate.
- Form strategic partnerships with other companies to leverage their existing networks, contacts and business opportunities.
- Continuously market RBLI’s profile as the ‘supplier of choice’ through the CSR/Disability/Military Covenant narrative designed as appropriate.
Customer Service
- Develop and implement account management plans to secure long term customer relationships
- Continuously identify key areas for improvement in the sales process.
- Create a robust customer feedback mechanism, analyse departmental customer service feedback and process and take action accordingly.
- Monitor customer satisfaction with existing clients to ensure service delivery
Other
- Attend industry events and conferences to generate new business leads.
- Act as a spokesperson for the organisation at sales events and conferences.
- Network with other directors in order to generate new business for the company.
- Work closely with internal stakeholders to implement new business initiatives
- Work with the marketing team to devise marketing materials and tools to support new business teams.
- Work with the marketing team to identify new products for development
- Work with the Director of BBMC, to develop an environmental policy that meets our customers’ current and future requirements.
- Work with the Operations Manager to ensure customer contractual SLA/KPI’s are met
Personal Attributes:
- Excellent leadership and team management skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Commercial drive and acumen
- A self-motivated individual with good team ethics
- Energetic and positive
- Ability to inspire others
- Detail orientated with an analytical eye.
- Desire to enable vulnerable people or people with a disability to contribute to society.
Working Environment:
- This role will be based in Aylesford, with national travel and potentially overnight stays away from home
- This role may require evening and weekend work on occasion.
Skills & Experience Required:
Essential:
- 10+ years experience in a sales leadership role
- Strong Numerical and IT skills
- Proven experience of undertaking successful contract negotiations
- Proven experience of collating, submitting and winning large scale tenders
- Proven track record of achieving targets and driving sales growth in a business.
- Demonstrable experience of leading and inspiring multifunctional teams to deliver targets
- Strong leadership skills and an ability to inspire sales teams
- Proven experience of dealing with financial data including budget and income management.
- Previous experience and understanding of customer experience management
- Experience of analysing customer data to facilitate continuous improvement
- Strong commercial awareness
- IT literate (particularly in Microsoft Office suite)
Desirable:
- 5+ years experience in a senior management positon within the manufacturing sector
- Knowledge of Commercial print or Infrastructure industries
- Knowledge of multichannel sales
- Experience of working with the armed forces community
- Experience of working with vulnerable adults
Benefits:
RBLI offer 25 days holiday per annum pro rata, a Group Flexible Retirement Plan and Life Assurance. If you wish to be considered for the above role, forward your CV and covering letter including a supporting statement to recruitment@rbli.co.uk
* RBLI reserves the right to remove a vacancy at any time prior to the published closing date
Closing Date: Friday 10 July 2020 (at close of business)
