Sales Manager

Company Overview

IRIS Education, one of the UK’s premier privately held software companies, where our mission is to streamline operations businesses, schools, and organisations.

We’re not just a company. We’re a transformative powerhouse providing cutting-edge software solutions and services. With our tools, you won’t just be enhancing operational compliance, efficiency, you’ll be reshaping certainty and confidence for our users in their future.

Imagine impacting over 4 million parents who use our software to connect with their children’s schools, the 18% of workforce paid via an IRIS payroll solution, 50,000 SMEs harnessing our cloud bookkeeping services, and the 21,000 firms relying on us for compliance.

While our operational software may be the unspoken heartbeat reverberating through the core of our clients’ businesses, you, as a member of our team, will be the lifeblood of our company. It’s crucial these vital functions work seamlessly, and with IRIS, you’ll be at the helm of helping businesses tackle the complex, remain compliant and get tasks right the first time around – enabling them to focus on their productivity and growth.

We pride ourselves on bringing together the best and the brightest, with our employees being our greatest assets.

Their innovative thinking, dedication, and high performance have shaped IRIS into the market leader it is today.

We’re pleased to say we’re not just a great place to work; we’re an officially certified Great to Work and one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women. Our recognition reflects our firm commitment to employee wellbeing, diversity, inclusion, trust in management, effective communication, and reward – factors we believe strongly in nurturing.

Join us at IRIS, a company that truly values engagement, rewards, and empowerment of our employees. We strive to foster an environment where everyone truly feels part of a team.

Join us and be part of our exciting.

Purpose of Job

We have a fantastic opportunity for a proven Sales Leader within the Education team, to lead an Account Development and a New Business Sales Team.

This is a key role within the IRIS sales team helping us to drive our growth strategy within our existing Education base . As a Sales Leader you will manage and develop a team responsible for selling into the Education market vertical market.

This role represents a fantastic opportunity to join a growing, market leading software business. The right candidate will be an ambitious, organised, target-driven individual looking to be part of a fast-moving team on a high growth trajectory. They will be able to demonstrate consistent target delivery and strong commercial acumen combined with an organised and personable approach.

As part of our commitment the successful applicant will undergo an extensive and comprehensive induction schedule.

Main Responsibilities

As a Sales Leader your responsibilities will be as follows:

• To achieve growth and surpass sales targets by successfully managing, coaching and mentoring the sales team.
• To support a strong culture within the sales team, founded on performance and consistently drive our standards upwards.
• To design and implement and maintain relevance of a strategic sales plan that grows the customer base or the existing revenues within existing accounts.
• Drive and maintain CRM behaviours and rigour which support strong control and visbiity of our opportunity pipeline.
• To support the enablement of their sales team to be able to articulate the value proposition of all products and solutions within the IRIS portfolio.
• To recruit, nurture and manage the performance of sales representatives within their team.
• Build, understand and promotes strong, long-lasting customer relationships.
• Present sales, revenue, and realistic forecasts to the management team, underpinned by clear translatable sales and qualification methodologies.
• Identify emerging markets and market shifts while being fully aware of new products and competition status.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging technologies to identify market opportunities and potential threats.
• Provide valuable insights and feedback to divisional stakeholders and product development teams to enhance existing offerings and develop new solutions tailored to customer needs.

2. Person specification

Knowledge/

Experience

• A strong sales methodology underpinned by systems including Sandler, Challenger, SPIN, Value Selling or similar.
• Proven experience as a sales manager or team leader in a software/SaaS environment, consistently meeting or exceeding targets.
• Demonstrable commitment to development and continuous self-growth, through workshops, seminars, and conferences.
• Ability to communicate, present and influence credibly and effectively at all levels of the organisation.
• Proven ability to drive the sales process from plan to close.
• Strong business sense and industry expertise.
• Excellent mentoring, coaching and people management skills.

Key Competencies

• Works effectively under pressure
• Strong Leadership / Team Player
• Ability to operate at senior/exec level.
• Agility and adaptability
• Ability to challenge current processes and recommend improvements.
• Commercially minded.
• Clear and concise communication skills
• Highly attentive to detail