Sales Manager (Maternity Cover)
London | £40,000–£45,000 per annum | 35 hours per week | Hybrid | 16-month fixed-term contract
LHA London is a long-established charity providing affordable accommodation across 14 hostel sites in London. We welcome people from different countries, cultures and circumstances. For many residents, LHA is their first home in London. The experience they receive from their first enquiry matters.
We are looking for an energetic and people-focused Sales Manager to lead our central Sales and Reservations Team during a period of maternity leave. This is not a traditional, target-at-all-costs sales role. It is about combining excellent customer service with sound commercial judgement. You will help prospective residents find the right accommodation, support our hostels to maintain strong occupancy and ensure our charitable purpose remains central to every decision.
You will understand that behind every call, email and booking is a real person looking for somewhere safe, welcoming and affordable to live.
THE ROLE
You will lead the day-to-day performance of our busy Reservations Team, overseeing customer enquiries across email, phone and digital channels.
You will:
- Lead, coach and motivate the Reservations Team.
- Deliver a friendly, responsive and consistent customer experience.
- Oversee the full resident journey, from the first enquiry through to booking and arrival.
- Monitor occupancy, availability, enquiries and booking conversion across 14 hostel sites.
- Use data to identify trends, service gaps and opportunities.
- Manage performance against customer service, quality, KPI and SLA targets.
- Maintain accurate information across HubSpot, ASSD and other operational systems.
- Improve how enquiries, bookings and customer information move between the central team and our hostels.
- Resolve complex or escalated customer enquiries with empathy and good judgement.
- Work closely with hostel teams to ensure customers receive accurate and realistic information.
- Develop clear procedures that make the reservations process faster, easier and more efficient.
- Support fair and appropriate decision-making that maximises both occupancy and LHA’s social impact.
- Ensure records, communications and customer data remain accurate and up to date.
ABOUT YOU
You are a confident team manager who genuinely cares about people and the service they receive. You combine warmth and empathy with structure, accountability and a strong understanding of operational performance.
You will bring:
- Experience leading a sales, reservations, customer service or contact centre team.
- A strong track record of improving customer service and team performance.
- An understanding of different customer or resident needs, ideally within accommodation or another people-centred service.
- Confidence using CRM, booking or property-management systems.
- Strong systems knowledge and excellent attention to detail.
- Confidence working across multiple sites and with a range of operational teams.
IT WOULD BE A PARTICULAR ADVANTAGE IF YOU HAVE:
- Experience using HubSpot.
- Experience using ASSD or a similar accommodation-management system.
- Experience within a charity or another mission-led organisation.
- Experience within hostels, hospitality, housing, student accommodation or supported accommodation.
- An understanding of culturally diverse resident groups and the barriers people may face when seeking accommodation.
WHY JOIN LHA?
This is an opportunity to lead a service that has a direct and visible impact.
You will help shape how future residents experience LHA, support our hostels to remain welcoming and well occupied, and ensure our systems and processes work properly for both customers and colleagues.
WHAT WE OFFER
- 33 days’ annual leave, inclusive of bank holidays
- 35-hour working week (usual timings are Mon-Fri 8am - 4pm)
- Hybrid working (2 days from home)
- Enhanced pension contribution of 5% employee and 7% employer
- Private medical insurance
- Life assurance
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Season ticket loan scheme
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Health and wellbeing support
- Access to professional development and training
- A friendly, diverse and mission-led working environment
- The opportunity to make a genuine difference to people looking for affordable accommodation in London
If you love excellent customer service, enjoy bringing structure to busy teams and believe that sales can be both commercially effective and socially responsible, we would love to hear from you.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £40,000.00-£45,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Bereavement leave
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Gym membership
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Life insurance
- On-site gym
- Private medical insurance
- Sick pay
Experience:
- Sales management: 3 years (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Willingness to travel:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in London SW1V 1DE
