Senior Business Development Manager

The William Reed Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - GBP 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food and drink consultancy in London is looking for an experienced sales professional to join their team. The role involves building strategic client relationships, achieving sales targets, and converting business opportunities into revenue. Candidates should have at least 4 years of experience in selling B2B services, preferably in the food and drink sector. The position offers a hybrid working model, allowing part of the week to be worked remotely. Competitive benefits include 25 days annual leave, a contributory pension, and wellbeing programs.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Cultural celebration day

Volunteer day

Contributory Pension

Life Assurance Scheme

Wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• At least 4 years’ experience in selling data subscriptions or consultancy projects.
• Proven track record in winning deals and converting pipelines into revenue.
• Background in food & drink or FMCG is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Build strategic relationships with clients and meet sales targets.
• Convert high-quality business opportunities into sales.
• Manage contract renewals with a minimum 90% success rate.

Skills

Sales experience in B2B services

Networking and relationship building

Clear communication

Self-starter mentality

Job description

Lumina Intelligence are a highly ambitious, London-based, food & drink consultancy on a mission to inspire our customers with expert insight and world-class data powered by analytical thinking, outstanding expertise, and leading technology. We are part of a global media group, William Reed, who have been leaders in the food and drink sector for over 160 years.

We have offices in Gatwick, Brighton and London, UK; Montpellier, France; Singapore and Chicago, US. In line with the Company’s current Agile Working Policy, the successful candidate would be eligible to work part of the week from our London office and to work remotely for the rest of the week.

Position

Position

Position: Full time – permanent

Location: London / Hybrid

What you will be doing:

You will be responsible for building strategic relationships with clients, prospects and business partners and be accountable for individual sales targets. You will make a significant contribution towards the company meeting the total sales targets and ensure that customer service and relationships are maintained to a first-class standard. You will:

• Proactively sourcing, engaging and converting high‑quality new business opportunities across Lumina’s full suite of insight, data and consultancy solutions.
• Identifying opportunities for ad hoc consultancy and strategic projects building a strong, well‑qualified pipeline of new logo prospects, driving momentum through outreach, discovery, proposal and close.
• Leading high‑impact pitches and demos that clearly articulate how Lumina’s insights solve client challenges and accelerate commercial performance.
• Developing a deep understanding of market dynamics, emerging trends and prospect needs to create compelling reasons to buy now.
• Representing Lumina at industry events and networking forums to strengthen brand presence and create new lead‑generation routes.
• Maintaining accurate forecasting and insight into the new business pipeline, ensuring clear visibility of progress, risks and required actions.
• Managing, negotiating and securing contract renewals with a portfolio of strategic Lumina Intelligence clients, achieving a minimum 90% renewal rate.
• Maintaining up-to-date, accurate records in CRM systems and ensure ongoing pipeline visibility and forecasting accuracy.
• Collaborating with colleagues across Lumina and the wider William Reed group to feed into product development and align client opportunities with broader business initiatives.

Requirements

What you’ll need:

• At least 4 years’ experience selling data subscriptions, market insights, consultancy projects or other value‑led B2B services.
• Proven success in winning deals and converting pipelines into revenue.
• Top class networking and relationship building experience.
• An ability to cut through complexity and communicate clear, compelling value to senior stakeholders.
• A confident and concise storyteller and presenter, comfortable leading compelling pitches and commercial conversations.
• A self‑starter with ambition, resilience and the drive to consistently exceed targets.
• A background in food & drink, FMCG, retail, hospitality, or adjacent industries (preferred, not required).

Other information

Company Benefits and Initiatives Include:

• 25 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays – increasing by one additional day after 6 years, up to a maximum of 30 days.
• An additional day of leave for you to take on a cultural celebration day or on your birthday if you like. A day for you! At William Reed, we call this our “MeDay”.
• A volunteer day to take for supporting a chosen charity and giving back to the community.
• Contributory Pension
• Life Assurance Scheme
• Group Income Protection
• Enhanced family-friendly leave pay entitlements
• Wellbeing benefits, including: A health care cash plan, Employee assistance programme, Virtual GP service and Access to health & wellbeing resources and tools.
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme

Why work for us

We provide a supportive work environment and are committed to maintaining a healthy work/life balance for all of our employees. Working for William Reed means that you will be joining a stable organisation that is committed to developing its employees and brands.

We warmly welcome and encourage applications from talented individuals of all backgrounds and characteristics.

If you need any support in accessing this opportunity, please do not hesitate to discuss this with us.