Job Summary
Sabre Rail is seeking a commercially focused and highly organised Head of Sales to lead the day-to-day operation of the sales function. Reporting directly to the Sales Director, the role will be responsible for managing a small team of Account Managers and providing operational leadership across existing customer accounts, enquiries, quotations and wider commercial activity. The Head of Sales will ensure the sales function operates efficiently, consistently and in line with Sabre Rail’s standards, while also supporting agreed business development activity by identifying, progressing and developing opportunities with both existing and target customers.
This role will suit an experienced sales or commercial leader who thrives on ownership, enjoys driving performance, and leads by example. You’ll likely already be working in a manufacturing, engineering, or technical sales environment, and will be confident balancing people leadership with strong commercial decision-making.
Key Responsibilities:
Enquiry & Quotation Management
- Oversee incoming enquiries to ensure timely response, accurate quotation and effective follow-up.
- Ensure quotations are commercially sound and aligned with company pricing principles.
- Provide guidance and approval on complex, high value or commercially sensitive quotations.
- Monitor quotation quality, margin control and conversion performance.
- Ensure quotation records, assumptions and customer communications are properly documented.
Business Development
- Identify growth opportunities within existing customer accounts, projects and frameworks.
- Support the Sales Director in progressing agreed business development initiatives.
- Proactively identify and pursue new enquiry opportunities, service lines or customer requirements that align with Sabre Rail’s capabilities.
Customer & Commercial Management
- Maintain strong relationships with existing customers.
- Act as the escalation point for operational sales matters, pricing queries and customer concerns
- Lead customer meetings, commercial discussions and issue resolution where required.
- Work closely with the Customer Service Manager to ensure a seamless customer experience.
Internal Coordination & Commercial Delivery
- Act as the operational link between Sales, Engineering, Operations and Customer Service.
- Support project mobilisation by ensuring scope, pricing and customer expectations are clearly defined.
- Resolve issues that may affect customer satisfaction, quotation progress or commercial outcomes.
Sales Leadership & Team Management
- Lead, manage and develop the Account Management team.
- Set objectives, monitor performance and drive accountability.
- Manage sales activity, workload allocation and team priorities.
- Coach the team to improve commercial performance and customer communication.
Forecasting & CRM
- Maintain clear visibility and control of the sales forecast.
- Ensure accurate CRM/ERP data, disciplined follow-up and reliable reporting.
- Prepare sales forecasts and report on opportunity status, conversion rates and performance.
- Highlight risks, opportunities and forecast variances to relevant internal stakeholders.
Person Specification:
Essential Skills, Education & Experience
- Proven experience in a sales management, commercial management or sales office leadership role.
- Minimum of 5 years’ experience within manufacturing, engineering, rail or technical services.
- Experience handling commercial escalations, pricing negotiations or contract related discussions.
- Experience supporting business development, customer development or growth initiatives.
- Experience managing pipelines, forecasts, customer activity and sales performance.
- Strong commercial awareness, particularly in pricing, margin control and quotation management.
- Experience leading and developing a sales, account management or commercial team.
- Highly organised, able to manage multiple priorities with strong attention to detail and process discipline.
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make sound decisions under pressure.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel and Outlook.
- Experience using CRM or ERP systems to manage sales activity and reporting.
Desirable Experience & Skills
- Experience within the rail industry.
- Knowledge of Sage 200 or a similar ERP system.
- Understanding of project mobilisation and delivery within a technical or engineering environment.
We are looking for someone who is naturally commercially minded, highly organised, and comfortable making decisions in a fast-moving environment where priorities can shift. We feel this role will appeal to someone who takes pride in delivering excellent customer outcomes while ensuring commercial success, structure, and consistency across the sales function. If you have any questions about the role, please do feel free to contact us.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Company car
- Company events
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
