Head of Business Development & Solutions Design

Head of Business Development & Solutions Design

Full-time

Culina Group is a leading UK 3rd party food & drinks logistics provider offering dedicated and shared user warehousing and distribution solutions.

At Culina we have a winning culture, we believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive… A place where you're valued, challenged, and inspired!

We have an exciting new opportunity to join our team as the Head of Business Development & Solution Design. The Culina Group Chilled & Fresh Division is a market leading 3PL, specialising in the management and delivery of time sensitive and perishable goods. Supporting a blue-chip client base, the business has a turnover in excess of £650m and delivers more than 17m pallets per year.

The Head of Business Development & Solution Design will help to shape, deliver and support the execution of the commercial growth strategy for the Chilled & Fresh Division over the next 3-5 years. This role combines strategic planning, with hands on leadership of business development activities, focusing on both new business acquisition and development of targeted existing key accounts with high growth potential.

Strategic planning is key to the critical success of this role and in line with developing a pipeline of new business coming into the Company, you will be required to ensure a thorough knowledge of the industry, its competitors and the solutions and services that the Company can provide. Developing tailor made customer solutions across the Chilled & Fresh Division and the wider Culina Group will be fundamental to the success of the role.

A high level of experience and a proven track record of owning a new business opportunity throughout the sales cycle and into a strong contractual agreement is critical. Equally important, is the ability to work across all levels, both internally and externally to help ensure the best possible outcome for Culina and the customer.

• New Business Development:
  Establish and implement a structured approach to lead generation, pipeline management, and performance tracking.
• Complete Sales Cycle:
  Own the customer onboarding process from introduction, solution design, pricing agreement, contract negotiation and implementation.
• Development of Existing Customers:
  Working with the rest of the Chilled & Fresh commercial team, identify customers with significant development opportunities and develop plans to increase EBIT and lock in those customers for the long‑term.
• Strategic Account Management:
  Ownership of a limited, but very select group of customers that are critical to the business’s long‑term growth aspirations.
• Solution Design:
  Help to develop & design complex logistical and IT solutions to form part of the value proposition. Solutions may require bespoke development and investment, which must form part of the internal business case.
• Develop Group Opportunities:
  Work with the various Group commercial teams, to ensure all potential group opportunities are identified and progressed in an elegant and timely manner.
• Marketing:
  In collaboration with the central marketing function, help to develop a coherent marketing strategy and visual content for the Chilled & Fresh Division.
• Act as an ambassador for the Chilled & Fresh Division, engaging with internal/external stakeholders, industry bodies, and strategic partners.

• Proven track record in driving significant revenue growth through both new business acquisition and strategic account expansion, essentially within a logistics, warehousing, or supply chain environment.
• Strong understanding of the UK logistics and supply chain sector, including market dynamics, customer expectations, and operational models.
• Experienced in the writing of high quality proposals and tender documents, which are both creative and compelling with strong commercial acumen underpinning the commercials and content.
• An emotionally intelligent and proactive individual, able to represent the Company to the highest possible standards to a wide‑range audience.
• Excellent numeracy and analytical skills, with attention to detail and capability to translate the operational and…