Head of Sales development

Location: CHANEL Head office, London

Reports to: Commercial Director, UK

Contract: Permanent, Full-time

CHANEL is an independent company that believes in the freedom of creation, cultivates human potential, and acts to have a positive impact in the world. At CHANEL, we strive to identify what is unique in each person and support them through their journey with the brand. Our mission at CHANEL Beauty is to underline what is most unique in every person and give our clients the confidence to become the true expression of themselves through exceptional fragrance, make up and skincare creations.

Your role @CHANEL

The Head of Sales Development for the Fragrance & Beauty division is responsible for developing and delivering the UK Retail Sales strategy. The role will be pivotal in delivering go-to-market strategies and driving impactful & innovative trade experiences to drive Chanel performance in line with our strategic priorities, in partnership with the brand and commercial teams.

What impact you can create at Chanel:

• Demonstrating excellent commercial acumen, this highly analytical role is central to the Commercial team and requires an advanced level of collaboration & coordination with multiple functions throughout the business such as Marketing, VM and CRM teams.
• This role will partner heavily with the Head of Retail & Store Operations and Head of National Accounts to deliver the sales strategies and maximise Chanel’s potential in the UK Market.

Role accountabilities:

• Monitoring & accelerating retail sales:

• Define and create Annual Retail Sales Plan, before partnering with National Accounts and Head of Retail & Store Operations to deliver the plan.
• Develop and implement retailer & owned distribution sell out strategy by working collaboratively with National Accounts and Events and Activation team to ensure trade activity is in place.
• Define geographical Chanel priorities, building regional plans that support delivery of retail targets.
• Review evolution of retail sales forecast: identify opportunities and risks and generate solutions accordingly.

In Partnership with:

• Head of National Accounts to maximise new business opportunities, analysing retailer behaviour and maximise impact of product assortment.
• Head of Retail & Store Operations to ensure seamless execution of sell-out strategy.
• Marketing to ensure sell-out strategies are aligned with demand plan & budget.
• Represent UK Sales within the Global Retail community.

Trade activation, Projects, Events and Service offer

• Provide insight on all events and activations for UK Sales to drive consistency, alignment and accountability.
• Evaluate each execution to improve the success of all projects.
• Management of Events & Activation team to elevate in store experience for our clients.
• In partnership with Marketing/VM, develop excellence in local events and activation, implementing innovative and impactful experience for clients that drive sales and brand loyalty.
• Manage the budget of activations (in collaboration with Marketing) to drive incremental performance and achieve the sales plan.
• Management of Sales Development Team, building accountability for project management & business analytics within UK Sales.
• Identify and evaluate commercial viability of existing and new service offerings (in partnership with Education teams), enhancing client service techniques, improving client engagement and relationship.

What you will bring to the role:

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to translate brand vision into actionable go-to-market strategies and adapt them to evolving market dynamics.
• Commercial acumen: Strong understanding of retail dynamics, channel management, and P&L levers with the ability to identify growth opportunities and be a driving force for maximum impact and sales performance.
• Collaboration & Communication: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams, key stakeholders and drive alignment.
• Analytical & Data-driven: Proficiency in analysing data and leveraging insights to inform strategic decisions and optimise performance. Ability to summarise large amounts of information and provide insights to relevant stakeholders & senior management.
• Leadership & Team Management: Proven ability to lead, motivate and develop high-performing teams to achieve ambitious goals. Extensive experience in strategic planning, budgeting, and forecasting in a fast-paced environment.

KPIs to measure performance:

• Deliver Retail Sales Results as per commercial plan.
• Drive impactful trade animation, maximising impact and results, including ROI.
• Loyalty increase (measure as repeated purchase).
• Delivery of all UK Sales development projects, events and activities adhering to deadlines.

You are energised by:

• The ability to be data informed and make solid business decisions independently.
• Working in a highly collaborative environment & being a part of an extremely passionate team with a common goal.
• Coaching and mentoring your team to be their best.
• Being proactive & solutions driven.
• Contributing in the on-going and company-wide version of sustainability.

Sustainability is one of CHANEL’s key performance drivers, embedded into our ways of working we require continued collective action from all employees to deliver on CHANEL’s House Sustainability Ambitions across our four key areas:

• Restoring Nature and Climate.
• Investing in Circularity.
• Advancing dignity and prosperity.
• Promoting the autonomy of women.

What You Will Gain From This Experience:

• Opportunity to work with the most well-known luxury Global brand with a wealth of heritage.
• Empowerment to take ownership of your impact within the brand.
• You will be equipped and supported to drive your development and meet your career aspirations.
• To further develop your knowledge of the ever-evolving beauty industry.
• An opportunity to work with senior stakeholders to develop your leadership skills.

The UK Region plays a pivotal role in delivering on CHANEL’s House Sustainability Ambitions. Transforming our business and leaving a lasting positive impact on people and planet will require the collaborative efforts of everyone across our House. As an employee of CHANEL, you will be an important part of this journey.

Benefits At CHANEL:

• Our employee benefits have been created to support you across your professional and personal life by offering you:

• Physical Wellbeing: Private Medical Insurance covering pre-existing medical conditions and ability to add family members, Online GP App with 24/7 appointments available within 24 hours and Cycle Scheme participation for a tax-exempt bike and/or accessories.
• Financial Wellbeing: Pension, Life Assurance and Retail Discounts across multiple retailers including Supermarkets, Gyms, Days Out and 100’s more.
• Mental Wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programmes and Other Support Lines.
• Platforms: Multiple Platforms to support across Wellbeing.
• Lifestyle: Arts & Culture Ticket Discounts across major London attractions, CHANEL Product Discounts and Employee Only Sales.
• Employee Recognition: Service Awards Programme offering CHANEL Products, Retail Vouchers and Additional Holidays across milestones.

Benefits are eligibility dependent and subject to change at any time.

At Chanel, we are focused on creating an inclusive culture that nurtures personal growth, contributing to collective progress. We believe the uniqueness of each individual increases the diversity, complementarity and effectiveness of our teams. We strongly encourage your application, as we value the perspective, experience and potential you could bring to CHANEL.