Head of Operational Sales

We’re thrilled that you’re interested in joining the British Board of Agrément.

The BBA is looking to hire a Head of Operational Sales to join our Sales team.

About Us:

The British Board of Agrément (BBA) provides services that help clients create accountability and mitigate risk. Through extensive research, auditing, inspection, testing and certification, we help to instill confidence in the entire Construction product supply chain. With a 50-year legacy as a trusted certification body, the BBA develops long-term partnerships with clients, assisting in the innovation and development of products and services, enabling continued commercial growth in both the UK and Global marketplaces, while remaining reassuringly impartial. As a for-profit organisation Limited by Guarantee, the BBA looks to reinvest in the industry for the benefit of all stakeholders.

About You:

We’re looking for a candidate that is excited about excellence and playing a critical part in the business’ focus on serving our customers better. You are comfortable working in a structured environment, with the agility to adapt when necessary. You can work independently, and as part of a team and confident to suggest improvements to work more efficiently.

Purpose of Job:

This role requires a dynamic and results-driven Head of Operational Sales to drive the Sales Team’s success and growth for the business. The individual will be responsible for developing and optimising the sales infrastructure, processes, and strategies, KPIs and day-to-day sales activity to enhance revenue generation and client experience. With an eye on learning from past activity, proactively driving activity of today, while planning for the future is critical to the success of this role and is pivotal in ensuring that the sales team operates efficiently and is equipped with the tools, data, and insights to achieve business objectives.

Main Duties/Responsibilities:

Key Responsibilities:

• Sales strategy deployment and planning: Collaborate with the Head of Strategic Sales, and the Sales & Marketing Director to execute sales strategies that align with business objectives, including target setting, sector differentiation, product sector focus, audience approach, territory development and more.
• Process Optimisation: Continuously review opportunities for efficiencies to streamline sales processes, CRM utilisation, reporting frameworks to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Data & Performance Analysis: Leverage data analytics to track sales performance, forecast trends, and identify growth opportunities, including an astute eye on detail regarding not only KPIs, but quality of interactions with clients and sales process accuracy.
• CRM & Sales Tools Management: Ensure the effective use of CRM and other sales tools, driving adoption and continuous improvement.
• Sales Enablement: Working with the Head of Strategic Sales to identify training opportunities in the team, and develop training programs, playbooks, and best practices to support the sales team in achieving targets and increasing conversion rates, improved qualification, improved forecasting and more.
• Commercial Support: Work closely with the commercial team to fine-tune the quotation process inputs and flow.
• Customer Insights & Market Intelligence: Coordinate market feedback from territory owners including competitor analysis to support strategic decision-making.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with marketing, product, technical services, commercial, operations, and all other business teams to align sales efforts with broader business initiatives.
• Performance Management & Reporting: Implement KPIs, dashboards, and regular reporting mechanisms to monitor sales effectiveness, managing any areas of performance improvement, building the team unit continuously to share best practice, support of each other, and ensuring a level of care for each other, the business at large, and ultimately our clients.

Skills & Experience Required:

• Proven experience in a senior sales operations role, ideally within a certification, testing, or compliance-driven industry.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and translate insights into actionable strategies.
• Expertise in CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and sales enablement tools.
• Ability to lead, influence, and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Openness to change and transformation, constantly seeking out areas of improvements and learning.
• Experience in driving process improvements and operational efficiencies.
• Commercial acumen with a strong understanding of sales metrics, pricing, and forecasting.
• Strong eye for detail and embedding quality of sales process from the ground up, through quality of meetings, quality of calls, quality of conversion by stage in the pipeline.
• A proactive problem-solver
• A results-driven mindset with a passion for supporting sales excellence.

General Responsibilities:

• Promote and adhere to all BBA policies and actively promote the BBA wherever possible.
• Responsible for your own Health and Safety and that of your colleagues and others on the BBA premises in accordance with relevant health and safety legislation and the BBA H&S manual.
• Carry out tasks broadly similar to those in this job description.
• Act professionally with integrity, impartiality, and honesty at all times.
• Endeavour to self-improve and develop.

Working Relationships Frequent with:

• Sales & Marketing Director and rest of the Sales Team
• Head of Strategic Sales
• Commercial Team
• Technical Services & Test Team
• Client Engagement
• Marketing Products
• As required with: Other BBA functions

Key Competencies

Technical:

• Commercial awareness
• Excellent time management
• Prospecting for new business, i.e., markets, clients, products & services.
• Presenting and public speaking
• Good networking skills
• Some knowledge of product manufacturing, construction sector, or 3rd party certification and regulations
• Excellent communication skills both verbal and written with strong negotiation skills.
• Experience working directly or indirectly in a UKAS accredited and/or product development/R&D environment.

Behavioural:

• Professionalism, honesty, and integrity
• Proactivity in approach
• Openness and willingness to continuous improvement, including self-reflection.
• Impartiality, calm under pressure
• Ability to build and maintain strong working relationships internally and externally.
• Able to work on own initiative and self-motivated.
• Results orientated.
• Client focused with a good understanding of client needs and expectations.
• Commitment to maintaining of all BBA equipment, including company vehicle.

What we offer:

We believe that our strength lies in our people; that’s why we invest heavily in them through providing training to maintain and develop the skills of all our teams, enabling us to serve our clients better. Because of that, we offer a total reward package including competitive salaries and benefits, including:

• BBA Contributory Pension Scheme of 6%
• Life assurance
• Generous holiday allowance starting at 25 days and increasing to 30 after five years of service
• Health care cash plan scheme
• An Employee Assistance Programme – with up to 6 counselling sessions
• Flexible working hours to fit in with individual lifestyles
• We’re a social group and when we’re not working, we love to get together socially, and support local community initiatives whenever possible