Head of Sales

Head of Sales – Food service & Wholesale

Location:
National UK – ideally Midlands based
Salary: £60,000–£65,000+ basic, negotiable depending on experience + performance-related bonus
Contract:
Full-time, Permanent
Field-based / Home-based | National Travel

Are you an experienced B2B food sales leader who knows how to grow key accounts, develop a sales team and open doors across the UK food service and wholesale market?

We are recruiting a Head of Sales for a growing UK food supplier operating nationally across wholesale, food service, catering, distribution and independent retail.

This is a hands-on commercial leadership role for someone who enjoys being close to both customers and the sales team. You'll lead a team of Business Development Managers while personally managing major accounts, developing relationships with key buyers and driving sustainable national sales growth.

The position can be based anywhere in the UK, although a Midlands location would be particularly convenient due to the national customer coverage and regular field travel.

As Head of Sales, you'll take responsibility for developing the UK sales function while remaining actively involved in major customer relationships and commercial negotiations.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading, coaching and developing a national team of Business Development Managers
• Taking ownership of key accounts and building strong relationships with major buyers
• Growing sales across wholesale, food service, catering, distributors and independent retail
• Identifying opportunities to increase repeat business, revenue and margin
• Re-engaging lapsed customers and rebuilding commercially valuable relationships
• Developing new business within agreed priority sales channels
• Negotiating commercial terms and closing significant pallet and high-volume orders
• Supporting the sales team in the field and helping progress key opportunities
• Using sales data, forecasts and account plans to set priorities and make commercial decisions
• Working closely with operations and supply chain teams to ensure customer commitments can be delivered
• Monitoring sales performance and creating greater structure and accountability across the sales function

We're looking for an established sales professional with strong knowledge of the UK B2B food market and the credibility to deal confidently with buyers, distributors and commercial decision-makers.

You should have:

• Proven experience leading and developing a sales team or sales function
• Strong B2B food sales experience within the UK market
• Good knowledge of wholesale, food service, catering, distribution and/or independent retail channels
• A strong track record in key account management and business development
• Experience negotiating commercial terms and closing substantial orders
• The ability to coach and motivate field-based salespeople while remaining hands-on yourself
• Commercial confidence using sales figures, forecasts and reports to drive decisions
• Strong relationship-building, negotiation and communication skills
• Fluent professional English
• A valid UK driving licence and your own car
• Flexibility to travel extensively across the UK

Experience selling ambient food products into relevant B2B channels would be particularly valuable, as would an existing network of UK wholesalers, distributors, food service customers or major buyers.

CRM and structured sales reporting experience would also be advantageous.

• £60,000–£65,000+ basic salary, negotiable according to experience
• Performance-related bonus linked to commercial and team performance
• National, field/home-based position
• Significant autonomy and influence over UK sales growth
• Opportunity to lead and develop an established sales team
• Direct involvement with major national…