Sales and Marketing Director – Bookspeed in Edinburgh

At Bookspeed, we're on a mission to put more books into the world. We believe in the power of books and the role they play in society, and our passion lies in matching the right books with the right retailers to enhance their offer and drive their commercial success. Bookspeed is the leading supplier of books to the UK gift, tourism, and heritage markets. We are a fun, creative, and customer‐focused business, curating and supplying beautiful book ranges to an eclectic mix of retailers.

Our customers range from quirky, owner‐led boutiques to well‐known national brands such as Oliver Bonas and Moonpig, as well as independent farm shops, garden centres, and many of the UK's leading heritage sites and attractions, including the National Trust, Historic Environment Scotland, and the Natural History Museum. We work hard to make Bookspeed a great place to work, placing real emphasis on wellbeing, inclusion, flexible working, and enjoyment in what we do.

The Role

Bookspeed has bold plans to grow. We're seeking a people‐centered, creative, and commercially minded leader, to motivate and support our established and talented sales and marketing team to deliver these ambitions. Reporting to the Managing Director, you will be part of the Leadership team and be responsible for driving commercial success across all customer sectors.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead and develop our successful sales and marketing teams, building a positive culture that delivers sustainable growth, strong customer relationships, and consistent performance against targets.
• Own customer growth and retention, leading on structured new business development initiatives and existing account growth while working closely with marketing to strengthen the brand, customer experience, and market reach.
• Provide clear commercial leadership through strong market insight, cross‐functional collaboration, and robust reporting, ensuring sales and marketing strategies are aligned with the wider business goals.
• Explore opportunities and deliver plans to expand into new markets and introduce new products to our existing customers.
• Oversee effective sales and marketing operations, leveraging technology, data, forecasting, and budgeting to deliver efficient processes and excellent customer experience.
• Act as a senior ambassador for Bookspeed, representing the business with key customers, prospects, and industry partners to strengthen relationships and enhance the brand's profile.
• Contribute to the strategic development of the organisation as a member of the Leadership Team and the Board.

Bookspeed has embarked on a digital transformation project that will see the company move to a new B2B eCommerce platform in 2026 and implement a CRM system. This project presents numerous opportunities to build further on our market‐leading customer experience and enable our team to deliver even greater impact and value to our customers.

About you

We're looking for someone who thrives in an inclusive, collaborative, and partnership‐based sales environment. You'll bring a genuine curiosity about retail and a passion for helping customers succeed. Bookspeed's success is built on long‐term customer relationships; many of our customers have worked with us for decades. We consistently achieve an NPS score of over 88, reflecting our commitment to exceptional customer experience and meaningful partnerships. At Bookspeed, we value collaboration, kindness, curiosity, and warmth. In this role, you will lead a highly experienced team with a deep knowledge of our products, markets, and customers. Success will be achieved with them, and through them. We are seeking a leader who can inspire, motivate, and align a team around a shared vision and clear direction.

You will ideally bring:

• Senior leadership experience within sales in the retail supply chain, book industry, gift/homewares sector, or a B2B wholesale environment.
• A genuine interest in retail and a curiosity about what makes a great retailer.
• A strong understanding of business‐to‐business marketing and its relationship with sales.
• A collaborative, values‐led leadership style with the ability to engage and develop teams.

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a purpose‐led business with a genuine love for books and the role they play in society.
• Enjoy a flexible, hybrid working model with a strong focus on wellbeing, inclusion and balance.
• You'll have access to our staff benefits platform and salary sacrifice schemes, as well as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for wellbeing support.
• We invest in your learning and development.
• We offer enhanced paid leave and benefit policies.
• Monthly perks like pizza, yoga, and much more!

Working pattern

This is a full‐time, permanent role working 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Bookspeed supports flexible working. Colleagues are expected to work onsite a minimum of one day per week, with homeworking supported for the remainder of the working week following an initial onboarding period. Candidates should be comfortable leading and managing teams in a hybrid working environment and enabling teams to thrive within this model.

How to apply

We believe diverse workforces make successful working environments, but research has shown that some people from under‐represented backgrounds won't apply for jobs if they feel they don't tick every box. If you think that might be you and you'd like to work for us, we encourage you to apply. Please submit an online application OR send a copy of your CV with a covering note to https://www.bookspeed.com/jobs/ by 18th January 2026. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to an initial interview. If you haven't heard from us within three weeks once the advert is closed, unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. We want to make applying for our vacancies accessible to all. If you need support to complete your application, please email with your request to recruitment@bookspeed.com.