General Manager/Sales Manager in London

Salary: Up to £70,000 basic + company car + performance-related bonus

Job Type: Full-time, permanent

Working Pattern: Charlton/customer-facing role – expected to be on-site or with customers 4 days per week

We’re recruiting for a Sales & General Manager to lead a well-established snacks distribution business based in Charlton, East London. This is a brilliant opportunity for someone from a wholesale, snacks, FMCG, vending, foodservice or route sales background who is ready to step into a broader leadership role with real ownership. The business currently turns over around £3m, has a team of 21 people and supplies crisps and snacks to a large customer base across London and the South East. It has a strong foundation, but there is also a clear opportunity to modernise and grow the sales model – moving from a mainly delivered van sales operation into a more developed wholesale and telesales led approach.

About the Sales & General Manager role

This is not just a sales management role. It is a proper business leadership position with responsibility for sales, customers, people, operations, stock, fleet, performance and profit. As Sales & General Manager, you’ll take ownership of the day-to-day running and future direction of the business. You’ll lead the team, manage key customer relationships, drive new business and help shape the next phase of growth. You will also have responsibility for the P&L, working closely with senior leadership and finance to review performance, budgets, margins and opportunities for improvement. There is a genuine chance to make your mark here. The right person will be trusted to challenge how things are currently done, improve the route to market and build a stronger commercial operation around wholesale, telesales, field sales and customer growth.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading and developing a team across sales, operations and support functions
• Taking responsibility for business performance, profitability and growth
• Managing key customer relationships across pubs, hospitality, wholesale and trade accounts
• Developing new business opportunities and building a stronger sales pipeline
• Reviewing the current van sales model and helping evolve the business towards wholesale and telesales growth
• Improving processes, performance, margins and customer service
• Managing operational performance, stock, fleet and day-to-day trading standards
• Working with finance on budgets, management accounts, forecasting and long-term planning
• Creating a more proactive sales culture across the team
• Using data and reporting to identify opportunities and drive better decisions
• Supporting recruitment, training, retention and team development
• Ensuring health & safety, compliance and site standards are maintained

What we’re looking for in a Sales & General Manager

We’re looking for someone commercially sharp, proactive and hands-on. You’ll probably come from snacks, wholesale, FMCG, vending, foodservice, delivered sales, convenience, cash & carry, hospitality supply or a similar route-to-market business. You do not need to have done the exact same job before, but you must have strong sales experience, people leadership experience and the confidence to take ownership of a trading business. You’ll suit this role if you are someone who likes responsibility, enjoys being close to customers and knows how to get the best out of a team.

You’ll need to bring:

• Sales leadership experience in wholesale, snacks, FMCG, vending, foodservice or a similar sector
• A proactive, hands-on approach
• Experience leading, motivating and developing people
• Strong commercial awareness and confidence with numbers
• The ability to manage customers, operations and performance together
• A track record of growing sales or improving commercial results
• Confidence working with senior stakeholders
• Good judgement, pace and accountability
• A practical approach – this is a hands-on role, not a remote corporate management position

Why this could be a great move

This is a rare opportunity to step into a role where you are not just managing a sales team – you are helping lead and shape an entire business. You’ll be joining a profitable, established snacks business with a loyal customer base, but with plenty of room to improve how it sells, grows and operates. For someone ambitious, this gives you the chance to take on more responsibility, own the numbers, lead the people and build something stronger. The package includes a basic salary of up to £70,000, a company car and the opportunity for performance-related reward linked to future business growth. If you’re from a wholesale, snacks, FMCG or route sales background and want a bigger leadership opportunity, this Sales & General Manager role could be an excellent next step.