Commercial Director

Savant have been retained to run the search campaign for the UK Commercial Director for this UK Listed business. The mission of the business is to empower the world of education and provide the software and services which underpin student success. They have embarked on an exciting and ambitious strategy in which they are building an ecosystem of cloud-based solutions, including a single student information system.

The Commercial Director partners with the leadership team to deliver expertise on matters of key strategic, financial and reputational importance to the business, with a particular focus on shaping the most strategic or transformational sales opportunities, playing an active role in sales enablement and helping shape the product pricing strategy.

Job Brief

The role requires effective engagement with Sales, Bids, Finance and Legal, as well as directly with prospective customers, to build rapport and credibility, assist in creating and delivering commercial solutions to meet the customer's need and create win-win outcomes.

The overall objective of the Commercial Director is to lift the commercial DNA of their products and deals, to ensure they are successfully secured and deliver sustainable and profitable growth. This is a leadership position which will be expected to influence all areas of the organisation, becoming a commercial subject matter expert and driving commercial thought leadership and best practice during the sales cycle and beyond. The role reports directly into the CFO, who sits on the company board.

Your key responsibilities and deliverables will be:

Deal negotiation:

Define and negotiate commercial solutions to complex and challenging customer business requirements.Negotiate contractual terms and support the sales team to close the deal.Ensure the sales team creates and executes a coherent negotiation strategy backed by a solid concession plan.Lead and manage teams in closing transformational deals (aligning close plans to key dates for processing, and driving the close process)Evaluate and manage risk within a deal.Lead the contractual negotiation process, managing customer's expectations, addressing their concerns and working alongside Legal and Sales teams to reach a mutually agreeable contractual position.

Sales enablement:

Support the development and deployment of the annual sales plansSupport, coach and mentor Sales teams in their understanding of SaaS contracts and commercial terms.Share expert knowledge on commercial matters with Sales community (e. commercial modelling, industry standards, competitive intelligence, top trends in negotiation etc)

General

Develop SaaS business practices, policies and proceduresShape product pricing strategiesParticipate in negotiating key supplier dealsEngagement on projects with commercial focus to help to drive initiatives as part of overall business strategyMonitor performance of commercial activities using key metrics

Requirements:

Successful track record as an experienced commercial negotiator within a software SaaS business.Significant demonstrable experience in both direct Enterprise software sales, and also bid/RFP/Tender based environments.Significant demonstrable experience in financial modelling for pricing, deals and projects.Intimate knowledge of the sales cycle and supply chain processes.Strong working knowledge of accounting, with a sound understanding of the legal implication of contract changes and IFRS15