Senior Business Development Manager

Location: London, hybrid; 2 days per week in the office with regular ongoing office attendance. Travel to partner meetings and industry events may be required.

Salary: Competitive salary plus benefits.

Company

Buyagift and Red Letter Days are UK gift experience providers within hirify.global Group, offering more than 4,000 experiences across hospitality, leisure, travel, wellness and entertainment.

What you will do

• Own a prioritised partner prospect list from outreach through signed agreement, maintaining accurate CRM stages, forecasts and next steps.
• Research, approach and win high-potential experience partners through tailored outreach, pitches, meetings, referrals and events.
• Build proposals and business cases, pitch to senior decision-makers, navigate complex deals and negotiate commercially sound terms.
• Work with Category, Commercial, Legal and Onboarding teams to agree requirements, secure approvals, execute agreements and support successful launches.
• Use market insight, customer demand, commercial reports and Excel analysis to identify supply gaps, prioritise prospects and improve category performance.
• Where applicable, line-manage two Senior Business Development Managers, including target setting, pipeline reviews, coaching and performance development.

Requirements

• Strong experience owning new business, including prospecting, pitching, negotiating and closing new business relationships.
• Experience in B2B sales, business development, partnerships or commercial acquisition involving complex deals.
• Commercial judgement to assess partner fit, prioritise prospects, evaluate terms and consider long-term customer relevance using data and customer insight.
• Consultative selling skills, including building business cases, influencing senior stakeholders and negotiating sound agreements.
• Pipeline discipline, with honest qualification, realistic forecasting and consistent progression across a multi-stage pipeline.
• Clear communication, reliable follow-through, sound judgement, self-motivation, target focus and strong organisational skills.
• Strong stakeholder management, influencing and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work autonomously and collaboratively.
• Confidence using CRM systems and Excel to analyse commercial data, manage pipelines and make evidence-based recommendations.

Nice to have

• Experience line-managing a sales, business development or partnerships team, or readiness to step up through coaching, mentoring or leading others; formal line management is not required.
• Experience in a marketplace, e-commerce, travel, hospitality, leisure, gifting or experience-led business.
• Experience with partner onboarding, catalogue launch, product setup or supplier activation.
• Understanding of category management, product curation, customer proposition or supply acquisition.

Culture & Benefits

• Permanent role with hybrid working and regular face-to-face office time expected.
• Competitive pay and bonuses, pension plans, staff discounts and share schemes.
• Private healthcare in the UK, dental and life insurance, and mental health support.
• Generous holidays, learning allowances, coaching, development programmes and opportunities for international working.
• Recognition awards, charity support, length-of-service awards, volunteering days and employee-led inclusion communities.

Hiring process

• Stage 1: 30-minute TA screen.
• Stage 2: 45–60-minute hiring manager screen.
• Stage 3: 60-minute final interview with the hiring manager or senior stakeholder; task details to be confirmed.