International Account & Business Development Manager (French Speaking) in Exeter

About the role

The International Account & Business Development Manager is a hybrid role, split approximately 60% account management and 40% new business development. You will manage a portfolio of UK and international accounts, including French-speaking fleets, building trusted relationships, driving retention and growth, and ensuring Lightfoot continues to deliver measurable value.

Alongside this, you will identify and close new business opportunities, with a particular focus on expanding Lightfoot’s presence in France and other French-speaking markets.

Reporting to the Account Director, you will be the primary commercial contact for your customers, working closely with Sales, Product, Operations, Marketing and Finance to deliver a consistent, high-quality experience.

This role suits a commercially minded, fluent French speaker who enjoys both developing existing relationships and winning new business, and who is comfortable travelling regularly across the UK and internationally.

Location:

Home-based, with regular travel throughout the UK and internationally.

Hours:

Full-time, Monday to Friday.

Key Responsibilities

Account Management

• Manage and develop a portfolio of UK and international customer accounts, including French-speaking fleets.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels and act as the lead point of contact in English and French.
• Drive retention, renewals, upsell and cross-sell, identifying opportunities to expand Lightfoot’s solutions.
• Use customer data and regular business reviews to demonstrate value and provide actionable recommendations.
• Support onboarding, training and ongoing customer engagement to embed Lightfoot within customer operations.
• Promote Lightfoot’s key differentiators, including Driver Rewards and Gamification.
• Support international customers with onboarding, communications and training, adapting materials for French-speaking markets where required.
• Act as the voice of international customers, feeding market-specific insights and requirements back into the business.

Business Development

• Own and deliver agreed new business targets, with a focus on France and other French-speaking markets.
• Build and manage a high-quality pipeline through inbound leads, referrals, partners and self-generated opportunities.
• Prospect, qualify and convert new customers using a consultative, value-led approach.
• Sell the full Lightfoot product and services portfolio and clearly articulate our competitive differentiators.
• Develop relationships with partners, referral networks and key influencers across the UK and Europe.
• Lead or contribute to tenders, proposals and commercial negotiations, including in French.
• Drive opportunities through to close and ensure a smooth handover into the account management lifecycle.

Reporting & Collaboration

• Forecast renewals, upsell and new business opportunities accurately.
• Maintain clear and accurate customer and sales activity in Salesforce.
• Balance account management and business development priorities effectively.
• Work closely with Account Management, Sales, Product, Operations, Marketing and Finance to deliver solutions that meet customer expectations.
• Represent Lightfoot professionally as a brand ambassador with customers and partners.
• Ensure customer-facing activity follows company procedures and relevant compliance, data protection and quality standards, including ISO 9001 and ISO 27001.

Key Skills, Experience & Qualifications

• Essential - fluent written and spoken French and English.
• Proven experience in account management, customer success or business development, ideally within B2B, SaaS or technology.
• Track record of growing existing accounts through renewals and upsell, as well as winning new corporate customers.
• Experience managing customers or selling in international markets, ideally including France or other French-speaking regions.
• Experience in complex, solution-based sales involving multiple stakeholders and longer sales cycles.
• Strong communication, presentation, negotiation and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Commercially astute, organised and able to balance retention and growth priorities.
• Comfortable using CRM systems, preferably Salesforce, and interpreting data to demonstrate value.
• Self-motivated and able to manage competing priorities effectively.
• Willingness to travel regularly across the UK and internationally, including occasional overnight stays.

Desirable: Experience in telematics, fleet or technology sectors, and knowledge of ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 standards.

#J-18808-Ljbffr