Senior Business Development Manager

Key Responsibilities

Partner Acquisition
Manage a prioritised prospect list from first outreach to signed agreement, keeping CRM stages, forecasts and dated next steps realistic.
Research and approach high-potential experience partners through tailored calls, email, LinkedIn, referrals, events and meetings.
Maintain clear plans for strategic prospects, engage the right decision-makers and follow through consistently.
Commercial Pitching and Negotiation
Understand each prospect's business model, goals, capacity and customer fit, then turn those insights into compelling proposals for Buyagift and Red Letter Days.
Pitch to owners, founders, operators and senior decision-makers, navigating complex deals, competing priorities and objections.
Balance customer value, margin and partner ambitions when negotiating sound terms, obtaining required commercial and legal approvals before commitments.
Category Growth
Work with Category Managers to agree acquisition priorities based on supply gaps, customer demand and partner value.
Win partners that improve quality, choice, regional coverage and category performance.
Use market insight and prospect feedback to refine how we acquire partners.
Use Excel and commercial reports to assess supply gaps, prioritise prospects and evaluate the potential value of partnerships.
Onboarding and Collaboration
Work with Category, Commercial, Legal and Onboarding to agree requirements, owners and deadlines; give concise updates and flag setbacks promptly.
Secure executed agreements and provide receiving teams with clear terms, contacts, expectations, product information and launch risks.
Support successful partner launches and escalate blockers with their impact, actions tried and a specific recommendation or support request.
Market Insight and Relationships
Develop trusted relationships across experiences, hospitality, leisure, travel, wellness and entertainment, representing our brands at relevant events.
Monitor competitors, customer trends and partner feedback to identify prospects and improve how we acquire partners.
People Leadership Where Applicable
Where line management forms part of the role, set clear priorities and individual targets for two Senior Business Development Managers, taking accountability for their delivery and combined team results alongside your own strategic deals.
Review team pipelines and forecasts, support complex negotiations and resolve delivery risks, while giving each manager clear ownership and autonomy.
Hold regular one-to-ones and performance reviews, provide practical coaching and feedback, and agree individual development plans to support each manager’s growth.

About You

You are a commercially driven, proactive relationship builder who enjoys opening doors and turning prospects into long-term partners.
You are confident pitching, negotiating and influencing senior stakeholders while staying focused on quality, customer value and commercial impact.
You are highly organised, resilient and comfortable managing multiple opportunities at once.
You can work autonomously, use insight to prioritise the right prospects, and collaborate closely with internal teams to turn signed agreements into successful partner launches.

Essential Skills and Experience

Strong experience owning new business, including prospecting, pitching, negotiating and closing new business relationships.
Experience in B2B sales, business development, partnerships or commercial acquisition, including complex deals.
Commercial judgement: using data and customer insight to assess partner fit, prioritise prospects, evaluate terms and consider long-term customer relevance.
Consultative selling skills, including building business cases, influencing senior stakeholders and negotiating sound agreements.
Pipeline discipline, with honest qualification, realistic forecasts and consistent deal progression.
Clear communication, reliable follow-through and good judgement about when to seek support.
Strong stakeholder management, influencing and relationship-building skills.
Self-motivation, target focus and strong organisational skills, with experience managing a multi-stage pipeline.
Confidence using CRM systems and Excel to analyse commercial data, manage a pipeline and make evidence-based recommendations.

Desirable Skills and Experience

Experience line-managing a sales, business development or partnerships team, or readiness to step up demonstrated through coaching, mentoring or leading others towards shared results. Previous formal line management is not required; this experience is relevant where people leadership forms part of the role.
Experience in a marketplace, e-commerce, travel, hospitality, leisure, gifting or experience-led business.
Experience with partner onboarding, catalogue launch, product setup or supplier activation.
Understanding of category management, product curation, customer proposition or supply acquisition.

Interview Process:

Stage 1: TA Screen – 30 minutes

Stage 2: Hiring Manager Screen – 45–60 minutes

Stage 3: Final Interview – 60 minutes with the Hiring Manager / Senior Stakeholder. Task details TBC.

Our process may vary depending on role and availability. We keep candidates informed of any changes.