Commercial Business Partner

Lightfoot; Exeter; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A high-growth technology company near Exeter is seeking a Commercial Business Partner to drive profitable growth through effective sales forecasting, pricing strategies, and financial governance. The ideal candidate will have proven experience in Sales Finance within a subscription-based model and strong analytical skills to support decision-making. Benefits include generous annual leave, group life insurance, and a dynamic work environment with hybrid options.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Company sick pay

Group life insurance

Company pension

Retail discounts

Hybrid working opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven experience in Sales Finance or Sales Operations within SaaS businesses.
• Strong acumen in forecasting, pricing, reporting.
• Commercial mindset with excellent communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead sales forecasting and variance tracking.
• Review deals for pricing and terms compliance.
• Own Salesforce data quality and drive process improvements.

Skills

Sales Finance

Forecasting

Pricing

Reporting

Data Analytics

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business

Professional qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA/MBA)

Tools

Salesforce

Excel

Power BI

Job description

We are Lightfoot, a high-growth technology company based just outside Exeter that is focused on making a difference worldwide, one driver at a time. We help businesses and private motorists improve efficiency and safety.

Our technology has been proven to reduce fuel use and emissions rates by 10‑20%, and at‑fault accidents and wear and tear by 40‑50%. It connects to your vehicle’s on‑board computer and uses all the live data it produces to analyse how efficiently you are driving. It’s similar to how performance is analysed in Formula 1. Lightfoot turns that data into simple feedback for you – the driver – so you know when you’re pushing your vehicle too far and can bring it back to maximum efficiency. Beyond the vehicle, our proprietary gamification platform engages users via our app, giving our driver community the opportunity to engage in their performance and to win weekly cash prizes and rewards for achieving Elite Driver standard. Our solutions are highly differentiated from the competition which has helped us secure circa 300 of the UK’s largest fleet customers including Tesco, Asda, Southwest Water, Iceland and Virgin Media to name a few.

More recently, we’ve started leveraging our gamification IP to expand our product offering to beyond drivers. With our new app‑only solution we can now incentivise and reward all sorts of measurable behaviours for our customers, from physical activity to online order picking. We’ve now given away nearly £1m in prize money incentivising and rewarding desirable behaviours and are excited about the value this can bring to our customer and to our growth prospects.

We’re a fun‑loving bunch who are growing at an astonishing rate. We work from a state‑of‑the‑art office near Exeter in the beautiful Southwest (which was voted Exeter’s ‘Best Workspace’). We are excited to keep growing the Lightfoot family with like‑minded, passionate individuals who share our values.

• We are innovative.
• We are customer first.
• We are friendly and celebrate individuality.

About the role

The Commercial Business Partner is an individual contributor role reporting to the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), with responsibility for sales forecasting, pricing, profitability, and process governance, driving accurate, commercially aligned insights that support decision‑making.

The person will also act as the commercial “bridge” between Finance and Sales, ensuring revenue growth is aligned to strategic goals and risk is managed through the contracting process. This role therefore combines financial control, commercial governance, and performance management and so will also have a dotted reporting line into the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

The role works with key stakeholders to shape pricing strategies, monitor margins, deliver reporting and analytics, and drive data‑led improvements. The role also manages Salesforce governance and processes, ensuring accurate customer and pipeline data. This is an exciting opportunity to not only be a driver for revenue growth in the UK but also continue to expand into international markets.

Key Responsibilities

Forecasting & Performance Management

• Lead sales forecasting and variance tracking for bookings, revenue, and pipeline conversion.
• Maintain and improve sales dashboards and reporting tools (Salesforce, Excel etc).
• Analyse performance against target and provide commentary on trends and risks.
• Track key commercial KPIs including forecast accuracy, win rates, conversion, deal slippage and pipeline health.
• Prepare clear, board‑ready summaries on sales performance and pipeline health.

Commercial Governance & Pricing

• Review deals to ensure pricing, terms, and margins align with commercial policy.
• Maintain pricing templates, guardrails, and approval workflows.
• Support the CFO and CRO with deal validation and credit checks for larger opportunities.
• Monitor discounting, promotional activity, and incentive impact on profitability.

System & Process Governance

• Own Salesforce data quality for opportunities, forecasts, and deal lifecycles.
• Drive process improvements to ensure clean, auditable data and accurate reporting.
• Champion sales process discipline across teams, supporting adoption and compliance.
• Partner with Finance to align bookings, revenue recognition, and cash forecasting.
• Support contract drafting and negotiation, ensuring commercial terms align with agreed pricing and secure CFO sign‑off.
• Administer sales commission calculations and ensure accurate, timely payments.
• Maintain incentive plan tracking and alignment to budget and performance targets.
• Provide reporting and analysis on commission costs and attainment trends.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Finance, Account Management, and Product to ensure commercial alignment.
• Support Account Management with renewal and upsell tracking.
• Contribute to commercial model reviews and product pricing discussions as required.

Experience & Qualifications

• Proven experience in Sales Finance, Commercial Finance, or Sales Operations within SaaS or subscription‑based businesses.
• Strong acumen in forecasting, pricing, reporting, and process optimisation.
• Proficiency in Salesforce or equivalent CRM.
• Skilled in forecasting, financial modelling, and data analytics with advanced Excel skills.
• Commercial mindset and collaborative business partner with excellent communication and stakeholder management ability, with the ability to challenge senior stakeholders.
• Analytical and strategic thinker with high attention to detail.
• Proactive, curious, and results oriented.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, or a related field; professional qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA/MBA) preferred.
• BI or ERP system experience (SAP, Power BI etc)
• Experience in contract drafting and credit approval process/structuring.
• Experience in helping design and subsequently administer sales incentive and commission plans.

Benefits include...

• 25 days annual leave including end of year closure (+ bank holidays, day off for birthday, volunteering day + option to buy additional leave)
• Company sick pay
• Group life insurance
• Company pension
  
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Retail/tech/gym discounts, cycle‑to‑work scheme, financial wellbeing support, a mental health support app
• Simplyhealth health plan and dental plan
• Refer‑A‑Friend scheme (£2,500 for successful referrals!)
• Company social events and activities
• Hybrid working | Office in Exeter with on‑site parking