Head of Sales Job Description and Leadership Profile

The Head of Sales leads revenue generation, sets commercial strategy and manages the sales function to meet organisational goals. This role is suitable for experienced senior sales leaders with a proven record of building high performing teams, delivering consistent sales growth and aligning sales activities with broader business objectives.

Head of Sales Job Profile

The Head of Sales is responsible for defining and executing the commercial strategy, developing sales leadership, and ensuring the sales organisation meets revenue, margin and customer growth targets. The role requires strategic thinking, operational rigour and hands-on leadership to translate market insights into scalable sales plans.

Reporting to the executive leadership team, the post-holder will work closely with marketing, product and operations to optimise go to market efforts, improve sales productivity and strengthen customer relationships across segments.

Head of Sales Job Description

This role provides senior leadership for all sales activities including target setting, forecasting, territory planning and performance management. The Head of Sales will create a clear sales strategy, allocate resources appropriately and ensure consistent processes for pipeline development, opportunity qualification and deal closure.

The position involves recruiting, coaching and developing sales managers and representatives, establishing KPIs and compensation frameworks, and implementing sales enablement initiatives to improve win rates. The Head of Sales will also represent the sales organisation in executive decision making and contribute to commercial planning and pricing discussions.

Success in this role requires strong stakeholder management, the ability to analyse sales performance data and to adapt strategy in response to market change. The Head of Sales must balance long term strategic priorities with the delivery of quarterly and annual targets.

Head of Sales: Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the overall sales strategy aligned with corporate objectives and market opportunities.
• Set clear sales targets, quotas and performance metrics for the sales team and monitor progress regularly.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding and development of sales managers and representatives to build capability and succession.
• Design and manage territory and account coverage models to maximise revenue and customer penetration.
• Oversee pipeline management, forecasting accuracy and deal review processes to ensure predictable revenue.
• Collaborate with marketing and product teams to define value propositions, pricing and campaigns that support sales objectives.
• Establish sales processes, playbooks and best practice to drive sales effectiveness and efficiency.
• Implement performance management, incentive plans and recognition schemes that drive behaviour and results.
• Analyse sales performance data and market feedback to inform strategic adjustments and resource allocation.
• Manage key client relationships and participate in major negotiations and contract discussions as required.
• Ensure compliance with contractual, legal and company policies in all sales activities.
• Prepare regular reports for the executive team on sales performance, risks and opportunities.
• Champion customer centricity and work to improve customer satisfaction and retention metrics.
• Drive cross functional initiatives to remove barriers to sales and improve the end to end customer experience.

Head of Sales: Requirements and Qualifications

• Proven senior sales leadership experience, typically 8 years or more in progressively responsible sales roles.
• Track record of meeting or exceeding revenue targets and scaling sales teams in a growth environment.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience in forecasting, pricing and contract negotiations.
• Demonstrable ability to create and execute sales strategy and translate it into operational plans.
• Experience managing complex sales cycles and large strategic accounts.
• Excellent leadership skills with the ability to recruit, develop and retain top sales talent.
• Proficiency in data driven decision making and familiarity with sales performance metrics.
• Effective communicator with strong stakeholder management and presentation skills.
• Highly organised with the ability to prioritise and manage multiple initiatives concurrently.
• Strong negotiation and problem solving skills, with attention to contractual and commercial detail.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent professional experience in a relevant discipline.
• Ability to work collaboratively across functions and present commercially sound recommendations to senior leadership.