Sales Director in London

Are you a strategic sales leader with a passion for driving market growth and championing commercial success? We have a rare and exciting opportunity for a Sales Director to drive the growth of our business with a particular focus on our Pan division. In this role, you will help shape the sales strategy for several of our major retail partnerships, playing an active part in bringing our published titles to a broad audience.

Your team: You will be joining our Group Sales team, which brings together the collective expertise of our UK and International sales teams to maximize the impact of our publishing lists. You will focus on managing and maintaining strategic relationships with major retail accounts and trade buyers across both markets. While the ways readers discover and buy books are constantly shifting, our collaborative team navigate these changes together. We pitch new titles, secure optimal placement and visibility, and work collectively to push our reach further, connecting our authors and illustrators with the widest possible readership.

Your role: Reporting to the Group Sales Director, you will take particular responsibility for the Pan division and provide strategic guidance to help shape the future of our Group Sales team. You will oversee commercial strategies across major UK channels to maximize the market presence of our titles. You will balance the management of key retail accounts with the development of your team, collaborating widely across the business to support our authors and illustrators and achieve long-term sales success.

Your key responsibilities:

• Collaborative sales leadership: Guide the Pan division’s sales strategy, working closely with other Sales Directors and Heads of Sales to optimize market reach across UK and International.
• Account relationship management: Cultivate positive and productive relationships with key retail accounts to maximize product visibility and performance.
• Financial oversight & planning: Manage the Pan UK sales budget, taking accountability for accurate forecasting, cost management, and margin preservation.
• Acquisition support & author care: Contribute to acquisition strategies by participating in pitch meetings and ensuring high-quality author care, while coordinating print runs and stock levels with the wider team.
• Strategic partnerships: Lead negotiations and strengthen long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with major trade retailers and wholesalers.
• People development & mentorship: Support and develop our core retail and account management teams, ensuring team members have the training, resources, and motivation to achieve their goals.
• Commercial innovation: Identify and implement fresh, innovative approaches to sales and promotion, utilizing digital tools and AI as well as market insights to improve workflow efficiencies and discover new growth opportunities.

Essential experience, abilities, knowledge and values you’ll need to succeed:

• Sales leadership & market insight: Demonstrated experience in a leadership sales role within trade book publishing, supported by clear knowledge of the UK and International markets.
• Financial & commercial acumen: Proficient budget-management skills, with the ability to handle accurate forecasting and analyse market trends effectively.
• People management & collaboration: A supportive approach to managing and developing teams, with a focus on building an equitable, motivating, and collaborative working environment.
• Relationship-building skills: Excellent communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to build trust and adapt your approach when working with customers, internal stakeholders, and authors.
• Operational agility & prioritisation: Excellent organizational oversight with a demonstrated ability to navigate complex business challenges, implement effective solutions, and balance competing commercial priorities across the division.
• Commercial innovation: A proactive interest in emerging industry trends, digital tools and AI, with a demonstrated ability to champion fresh approaches to sales, promotion, and workflow efficiencies.
• Inclusion and representation: An active dedication to promoting diverse voices and inclusive practices, taking personal responsibility for ensuring our workplace and publishing reflect the communities we serve.
• Community: A collaborative approach to building a supportive and vibrant environment.
• Curiosity: A strong drive for learning and a readiness to embrace different perspectives.
• Integrity: A foundation of openness and honesty, taking responsibility for actions and learning from mistakes.

What you’ll get in return: In return, you will have the opportunity to work with the very best authors, illustrators, and copyrights in the world within a supportive and collaborative environment, alongside a competitive salary and excellent benefits package.

Some of the benefits we offer:

• 28 days’ annual leave increasing with years of service + bank holidays
• Generous pension scheme
• Discounted private medical insurance or health cash plan
• Group income protection scheme
• Enhanced family pay and leave
• Flexible working hours and summer hours (early finish on a Friday during summer months)
• 2 Volunteer Days per year
• 75% off all Pan Macmillan books and regular staff book sales (highly reduced rates)
• Season ticket loan/advance
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounts on shopping and gym memberships; Christmas club savings
• Daily free breakfast and monthly company lunch

How to apply & eligibility: Our process: All applications must be submitted via our careers site to be considered. We are unable to accept CVs or applications sent via email. Our timelines: We review every application thoroughly and with care, and therefore our shortlisting process can take some time. We appreciate your patience and will be in touch as soon as we have an update on your application. Right to work: All applicants must be able to demonstrate the right to live and work in the UK in order to be considered for this role.

Our commitment to diversity & inclusion: At Pan Macmillan, we are committed to publishing a wide range of voices that reflect the full breadth of the communities we serve. Joining us means playing an active role in bringing our titles to life as part of a team that champions inclusion at every level. We are dedicated to building a workplace that is as diverse and welcoming as the stories we tell, ensuring all perspectives are celebrated across everything we do. We welcome applications from all individuals, including any age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. Our efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are ongoing, and we continually strive to learn and improve.

Disability confident scheme: As a Disability Confident employer, we actively encourage applications from disabled candidates and people with long-term health conditions, aiming to offer an interview to everyone who meets the essential criteria for the role and chooses to apply under the scheme. The essential criteria can be found under our ‘Essential experience, abilities, knowledge and values you’ll need to succeed’ section.

Please remember that you are never required to disclose a disability to us, and you only need to share what you feel comfortable with. Adjustment & support: We want to ensure that all candidates are supported throughout the recruitment process. If you have any reasonable adjustments or accessibility requirements, please contact Kayelle Danyluk (Head of Talent Acquisition).

Privacy notice: All personal information which we process in connection with your application will be treated in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice.