Sales Director, Retail Planning

Role: Sales Manager If your salary expectations do not meet our banding, please do still apply - salary banding is based on transferable skills, tenure, industry experience, and interview performance     What we’re building (and why it matters) UK schools spend over £2 billion a year on temporary staff — and £600 million of that goes straight to recruitment agencies. We’ve built an online platform that connects schools directly with fully vetted teachers and support staff — cutting out agencies and saving schools money - and a game-changing suite of software tools that revolutionises their processes.    We’re now looking for a Sales Manager to help take our commercial engine to the next level. You’ll play a critical leadership role, responsible for helping grow and retain long-term school partnerships while building a high-performing sales culture that can scale with the business. Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Account Executives and sales talent. Improve sales processes to increase efficiency, shorten sales cycles, and accelerate customer value. Drive accountability through strong pipeline management, forecasting, and performance coaching. Collaborate with Customer Success, Product, Marketing, and Operations teams to ensure sales convert into long-term customer usage and retention. Help refine our go-to-market strategy as we continue expanding into new regions and customer segments. Build a strong, performance-driven culture focused on continuous learning and improvement. Align team priorities with company goals as they evolve throughout the academic year. Experience leading and developing successful B2B or SaaS sales teams. Passion for coaching and upskilling both experienced sellers and emerging talent. Strong commercial instincts with the ability to balance strategic thinking and hands-on execution. Experience managing complex, relationship-led sales cycles alongside faster transactional sales. A highly organised leader who can effectively manage pipelines, forecasting, and performance metrics. Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills. Someone who thrives in ambiguity and enjoys building processes in scaling environments. You want to combine serious commercial impact with a meaningful mission. You’re not comfortable with outreach and leading sales conversations. Meaningful work — every deal you close helps schools save money and teachers get paid more. ~ Competitive salary + commission + equity. ~25 days holiday + all UK public holidays. ~ Hybrid working (outside of term time) — we have a central London office with gym, showers, café, and cycle parking. ~1:1 coaching and professional development support. ~ Life & Health Insurance, Cycle to Work Scheme, Electric Car Scheme. Intro chat – A short conversation with our recruiter.   Sales interview – Let’s talk about your approach to prospecting, discovery, and closing.   Culture chat – Meet the wider team and make sure it’s a great fit both ways.   Diversity & inclusion We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds, and different experiences and perspectives - just like the staff who teach through Zen and the children at the schools we work with. We believe in an environment with equal access to career development opportunities and actively encourage applications from BAME candidates. This role is based full-time at our London office and requires onsite attendance five days per week during term time. We encourage applications from candidates who live in or near the local area of this office, or plan on relocating. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.