Director – Sales & Business Development – UK & Ireland – Pharma & Food Applications

Overview

As Sales Director for UK & Ireland, you shape and deliver the PFA commercial strategy to drive growth, profitability and long-term stability. You will work with the MD and leadership team to set revenue targets, forecast demand, and pursue new market opportunities. You lead high-value, complex sales engagements and build a high-performing sales organisation, navigating a matrixed environment with disciplined governance. This is a strategic, impact-first role with a clear hook in transforming sales to support sustainable production solutions. You will influence cross-functional teams to deliver customer value and scalable growth.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute comprehensive sales strategies aligned with company objectives for the UK & Ireland
• Lead revenue planning, forecasts, and growth initiatives with the senior leadership team
• Identify new business opportunities through market trend analysis and customer insights
• Own go-to-market strategies for new products, services, and market segments
• Lead and oversee high-value capital equipment and solution-based sales processes
• Define terms of engagement with rigorous risk and benefit assessments
• Champion disciplined sales processes with strong project management and service collaboration
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing sales organisation
• Establish sales processes, territories, quotas, and compensation structures
• Oversee CRM usage, sales tools, dashboards, forecasting, pipeline management and budgeting
• Manage an annual sales budget > 25m
• Monitor performance metrics and drive continuous improvement
• Lead deal governance with reviews, approvals, and risk assessment
• Operate effectively in a complex, matrixed environment
• Communicate clearly across functions to gain buy-in for strategy and execution
• Demonstrate resilience and diplomacy under pressure
• Advocate for disciplined process, customer understanding, and cross-functional collaboration

Key requirements

• Degree in Engineering and/or Business
• Formal sales training from a reputable provider
• 5–10 years of progressive sales experience
• At least 5 years in senior sales leadership roles
• Proven track record leading sales teams of 10+ people
• Experience delivering annual revenues exceeding 20m
• Strong background in B2B solution selling and complex sales environments
• Ability to build and scale a sales organisation for growth
• Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills

• resilience
• diplomacy
• strong communication
• CRM systems
• sales tools
• performance dashboards

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