SALES MANAGER

Work with us

The Vegan Society is an anagram of The Nicest Voyage. Quite fitting, we think, as for many people veganism is a journey - and a pretty remarkable one at that. Regardless of where you are on your vegan journey, our staff are on hand to make it easier, healthier and more fun. If you think you’d be great at helping others with this, read on, as this may be right up your street.

The Vegan Society makes veganism more accessible and an easily adopted approach by supporting individuals, policy and decision makers, caterers, manufacturers, health care professionals and the media.

Who we’re looking for

Are you passionate about changing the way we treat animals? Do you want to help reduce damage to our environment? Do you want to encourage people to enjoy healthy vegan food that looks good and tastes great? We’re looking for an enthusiastic Sales Manager who can help to support both individual behaviour change and system change.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The Vegan Society as an organisation values equality, diversity, and inclusion. We want to be an organisation that tackles any structural discrimination or prejudice. We are actively trying to increase diversity in our organisation and encourage applications from all sections of the community. We will offer an automatic interview to all candidates who meet our essential criteria and who identify as from an under-represented race or ethnicity or as deaf, neurodiverse, or living with disability.

The role

The role will lead our Sales teams to ensure targets are met, create responsive industry specific sales strategies and explore new opportunities to deliver against our financial goals.

Working proactively with the Marketing and Development teams the successful candidate will steer promotional activities needed and monitor trends and data to ensure client expectations are met.

This post will require a sales professional with experience closing high profile and large scale deals as well as motivating a team. They will have a proactive attitude and excel in building strong relationships both internally and externally.

As Sales Manager, you will:

- Effectively manage the trademark sales process, utilising direct sales activities
- Manage direct reports, deliver sales against the sales strategy and targets
- Identify Trademark strategy driven sales opportunities and take forward to confirmed order stage
- Convert leads into orders through effective and timely engagement, selling the key features and benefits of the Vegan Trademark
- Develop tactical sales plans in line with sales Trademark strategy
- Support Trademark team with effective Key account Management
- Manage and grow own accounts in identified business lines
- Develop new business by attending client visits, video / phone calls, selling the features and benefits of the portfolio
- Develop own sales pipeline in line with budget driven targets
- Identify new business lines to enter with the trademark
- Identify emerging markets for direct sales
- Produce accurate income projections and progress towards targets for growth
- Deploy various strategies to increase conversion rates for leads
- Create bespoke sales approaches for incoming leads and targeted audiences
- Manage the collection of customer feedback via various activities to include surveying, comms, collating data and producing
- Work with members of the Trademark Team to improve the customer journey
- Deliver sales against the sales strategy and targets
- Review existing suppliers, identify potential new suppliers and negotiate commercially viable agreements
- Make recommendations and work collaboratively with the Marketing team
- Evaluate and deliver new fulfilment solutions in line with business needs and growth
- Being an advocate for the trademark and primary product brands
- Utilising social media to increase lead generation for the trademark
- Providing comprehensive monthly reporting to the Head of Commercial Services on KPIs

To be considered as our Sales Manager, you must have:

- A relevant Sales/Business/Management qualification or equivalent work experience.
- Experience in a front-line sales management role (ideally B2B)
- Experience working towards sales targets
- Experience in managing a pipeline of leads and proficiently increasing conversion rates
- Proven experience of working to deadlines whilst maintaining the highest quality of work
- Good knowledge of the wider vegan movement and issues relating to veganism
- A high level of understanding of a variety of sales and marketing functions: social media, PR, sales, corporate identity and branding issues
- An understanding of the importance of customer service and proven experience of delivering effective customer service
- An understanding of B2B & B2C customer needs and wider economic trends relating to vegan products and supplements market

What we offer

- A fun and supportive team
- A solution-focused atmosphere and hard-working environment
- Flexible working hours
- Employee Assistance Programme and health cash-back scheme
- Cycle-to-work scheme
- Childcare vouchers scheme
- Animal companion compassionate leave
- Ethical pension scheme (5-7% employer contribution)
- Death in service benefit
- 28 Days’ leave + 8 Bank Holidays (25 days’ annual leave & 3 closure days)

Additional information

This is full time role (37.5 hours per week) role with a salary of £34,728 - £37,890 per annum

This is a predominantly home-based position, but the successful candidate must be willing to travel to our head office in Birmingham when required.

The application deadline is 9am on Friday 3rd December 2021.

Interviews will be held throughout December.

Find out more about what it is like to work for The Vegan Society by reading our recruitment pack.

This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.