Business Development Manager

Department: Sales

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Remote, UK

Description

The Catering Unit consists of two main product suites:

• Cypad: Provides web-based software for school meal catering to local authorities and caterers. Our systems are used by 70 authorities covering 5,500 schools across the UK to improve kitchen management and catering delivery in schools.
• BlueRunner: A leading provider of cashless catering and meal ordering SaaS solutions, focused on the education sector with products including school meal ordering, Point of Sale, pre-order, and click-and-collect applications designed to increase operational efficiency, drive revenue, and provide detailed analytics.

As a team of Business Development Managers, you will play a pivotal role in driving growth by expanding our customer base and maximizing revenue. You will work within a small team of sales professionals, responsible for revenue generation for the Catering division.

Reporting to the Head of New Business – Caterers, you will focus on increasing the contribution of the BlueRunner and Cypad product ranges within your designated group of schools, local authorities, MATs, and caterers.

You should have extensive knowledge of the key markets: catering, enterprise, and education, understanding the customer journey and drivers. You will be responsible for a new sales target exceeding £250k.

You will be a versatile, engaging, and eloquent individual with extensive experience in client-facing roles, capable of identifying new sales opportunities and upselling within existing accounts.

You will collaborate closely with the Payments and Parental Engagement sales teams, sharing leads and opportunities to maximize product sales.

The role requires extensive experience in the catering and education sectors, with in-depth knowledge of school catering and related products and services. Strong commercial awareness and adaptability to change are essential.

A significant amount of travel, including overnight stays, should be expected.

Key Responsibilities

• New Business Development: Identify and pursue new opportunities, including acquiring new clients, entering new markets, and building strategic partnerships.
• Sales Forecasting: Maintain accurate forecasts and pipelines, track KPIs, and report on progress.
• Market Analysis: Stay informed on industry trends, competitors, and market conditions to adapt strategies accordingly.
• Process Optimization: Provide feedback to streamline operations and improve service delivery.
• Cross-department Collaboration: Work with Sales, Key Accounts, Product, and Support teams to ensure a seamless client experience and relay client needs for product improvements.

Skills, Knowledge, and Expertise

The ideal candidate will have:

• Deep understanding of enterprise accounts, school catering, and management at school (including MATs), local authority, and caterer levels.
• Proven success in a sales role with recent experience closing deals.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, comfortable working with senior leadership.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving abilities with common sense to escalate issues when necessary.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment as a self-starter.
• Aptitude for learning new technologies.
• Proficiency with email, internet, Excel, Word.
• Ability to prioritize and multitask effectively.
• Proven collaboration skills with internal and external stakeholders, advocating for all Group brands.
• Ability to translate customer and market needs into solutions.
• Vision for the future of catering in education.