Area Sales Director - Enterprise

About the opportunity

At Contentful, we are always searching for top candidates to lead our global team of Account Executives. We are particularly interested in leadership candidates with experience in the DACH, Nordic, French or Southern EMEA regions. This is a speculative job description, and an immediate opening may not be available. However, we still encourage interested candidates to apply. In the first instance, a recruitment team member will be in touch to discuss your profile and explain more about Contentful. Thank you for being so interested in Contentful. We will keep your application on file should a suitable opportunity arise.

The position of the Area Sales Director Enterprise is a critical role in our EMEA Sales team, reporting to the Regional VP of Enterprise sales in EMEA. You will be managing a sales team of Enterprise Account Executives with the task to hire and develop the best talent in the market to strategically increase sales presence throughout EMEA. As an experienced mentor with a strong enterprise software sales background, you are responsible for supporting your team in complex procurements and go-to-market initiatives and being a senior stakeholder for the customers in your region. Since your role is quota-carrying, you own the regional forecast, identify and mitigate risks, tackle opportunities, and constantly uplevel your team through outstanding leadership and coaching.

What to expect?

• Develop and implement effective recruitment strategies to attract top talent, conduct thorough hiring processes to select qualified candidates, and provide comprehensive training programs to onboard and develop new team members.
• Contribute to the regional strategy with metrics, observations, and market research.
• Create processes, set best practices, and build replicable patterns for regional go-to-market initiatives.
• Serve as senior stakeholder and point of escalation internally and in customer engagements.
• Support team members in customer meetings and pitches.
• Be a mentor and provide hands-on coaching and professional development for AEs and the wider team.
• Conduct weekly forecasts and oversee sales development goals, metrics, and quota achievement.
• Proactive cross-functional collaboration with Marketing, Recruitment, Human Resources, Partnerships and Customer Success to align regional strategy.

What you need to be successful?

• 5+ years of management experience in a sales team.
• 3+ years of direct sales (closing) experience, preferably technical SaaS.
• Fluent written and verbal communication skills in at least one European language is a huge plus - German, Swedish, French, Spanish, etc.
• Experience growing and scaling a high-performing and inclusive sales team, fostering diversity in backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
• You’re data-driven and have an analytical approach to identifying trends in pipeline and performance.
• You’re a highly effective and empathetic communicator.
• You are a confident leader with previous executive customer exposure.
• Ability to analyze data, extract and present information, market data, and produce concise business documents and initiatives.
• Familiarity with the UKI market and proficiency in additional European languages would be advantageous.
• Willingness to travel (up to 40%).
• Experience working with Salesforce and standard office suites.

What’s in it for you?

• Join an ambitious tech company reshaping the way people build digital experiences.
• Full-time employees receive Stock Options for the opportunity to share in the success of our company.
• Fertility and family building benefits, including a lifetime reimbursable wallet to support your growing family.
• We value Work-Life balance and You Time!
• A generous amount of paid time off, including vacation days, sick days, education days, compassion days for loss, and volunteer days.
• Time off to care for and focus on your growing family.
• Use your personal annual education budget to improve your skills and grow in your career.
• Enjoy a full range of virtual and in-person events, including workshops, guest speakers, and fun team activities, supporting learning and networking exchange beyond the usual work duties.
• An annual wellbeing stipend to care for your physical, financial, or emotional health.
• A monthly communication phone/internet stipend and phone hardware upgrade reimbursement.
• New hire office equipment stipend for hybrid or distributed employees.

Who are we?

Contentful is a leading digital experience platform that helps modern businesses meet the growing demand for engaging, personalized content at scale. By blending composability with native AI capabilities, Contentful enables dynamic personalization, automated content delivery, and real-time experimentation, powering next-generation digital experiences across brands, regions, and channels for more than 4,200 organizations worldwide. More than 700 people from more than 70 nations contribute their energy and creativity to Contentful, working from hubs in Berlin, Denver, San Francisco, London, New York, and distributed worldwide. Everyone is welcome here!

“Everyone is welcome here” is a celebrated component of our culture. At Contentful, we strive to create an inclusive environment that empowers our employees. We believe that our products and services benefit from our diverse backgrounds and experiences, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, physical (dis)ability, or length of time spent unemployed. We invite you to apply and join us!

If you need reasonable accommodations at any point during the application or interview process, please let your recruiting coordinator know.