Hybrid Sales Manager

at Phoenix Software Limited

• Job title: Sales Manager
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Mid level, Senior
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: No Education Requirement
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Pocklington, United Kingdom

About the role

• Sales Manager overseeing strategic accounts across FE, HE, and Research sectors at Phoenix. Focused on governance, performance, and relationship building with educational institutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Strategic Accounts function across the FE, HE, and Research sectors, setting the strategic direction, driving high‑quality execution, and ensuring strong commercial outcomes.
• Act as the senior point of escalation for complex customer, commercial, or operational challenges, ensuring issues are resolved swiftly and effectively.
• Maintain strong governance across forecasting, pipeline management, and commercial practices, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and alignment with business standards.
• Lead, develop, and coach the Strategic Accounts team, setting clear expectations, driving performance, and supporting leadership capability and talent development.
• Build and manage senior‑level relationships with key vendors and partners, leading joint business planning and ensuring strategic alignment.
• Oversee vendor pipeline performance, profitability, and forecast accuracy, ensuring growth opportunities are maximised and risks are identified early.
• Optimise the organisation’s participation in FE/HE/Research procurement frameworks, ensuring compliance, effective utilisation, and strong commercial performance.
• Contribute to major tender submissions and research‑driven procurement activity, helping shape compelling, compliant, and competitive responses.
• Provide data‑driven insights and reporting on pipeline health, margin, profitability, and commercial risk, ensuring alignment with Education Sales leadership.
• Identify emerging risks, operational issues, or performance gaps, and recommend actions to drive continuous improvement and stronger commercial outcomes.

Requirements

• Extensive experience in IT sales within the FE, HE, Research, or wider public‑sector markets, with a strong track record of managing complex, enterprise‑level accounts.
• Demonstrated commercial acumen, with the ability to make sound judgements, manage risk, and drive profitable outcomes.
• Credibility and confidence when engaging with senior stakeholders (internally and externally) with the ability to influence, challenge constructively, and build trust.
• Experience working with managed services and recurring‑revenue models, with an understanding of how to position long‑term value propositions.
• Previous experience leading or developing people, with the ability to coach, support, and elevate team capability.
• Strong understanding of public‑sector procurement processes and frameworks, ideally across FE/HE/Research environments.
• Ability to navigate and coordinate multi‑vendor environments, building relationships and driving alignment across partners.
• Strategic and commercially minded, with the ability to connect long‑term vision to practical, day‑to‑day delivery requirements.
• Comfortable operating at senior level, making informed decisions and managing complexity in a calm, low‑ego, and collaborative manner.
• Able to balance strategic leadership with hands‑on involvement, ensuring high‑quality execution while maintaining a broad strategic perspective.