At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a high-performing team to drive growth and innovation in hospitality accounts.
- Company: Join Planet, a global leader in integrated technology and payments solutions.
- Benefits: Hybrid work model, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Diverse and inclusive workplace with a focus on career development.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the fast-paced tech market while developing your leadership skills.
- Qualifications: 10+ years in account management with a strong understanding of hospitality and payments.
The predicted salary is between 121500 - 148500 £ per year.
About Planet
Planet is a global provider of integrated technology and payments solutions for retail and hospitality customers. We create great experiences for the millions of people who use our payments, software, and tax-free solutions every minute of every day. Planet empowers its customers to deliver great customer experiences by combining payments and software in ways that drive greater loyalty, increase revenue and save time. Founded over 35 years ago and with our headquarters in London, today we have more than 2,500 employees located across six continents serving our customers in more than 120 markets.
Role overview:
The VP, Strategic Accounts will provide senior commercial leadership for a portfolio of strategic enterprise hospitality customers, leading an experienced Account Management team and owning the execution of ambitious revenue, growth and relationship objectives. This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for professionalising an already high-performing team, strengthening its operating cadence, and taking the function to the next stage of its development. The role will also be central to driving Planet’s geo-expansion roadmap and accelerating eCommerce innovation for the hospitality vertical, a business area receiving significant strategic investment and executive sponsorship. The successful candidate will work closely with Product, Operations, Commercial, Marketing and Executive Leadership stakeholders to convert customer needs, market opportunities and product innovation into scalable growth across existing and emerging markets.
What you will do:
- Commercial Leadership & Team Development
- Lead and develop a team of experienced Account Directors responsible for Planet’s most strategic hospitality customers.
- Own the commercial performance of the team, ensuring delivery against revenue, growth, retention and strategic account objectives.
- Establish clear objectives, performance metrics, governance structures and account planning disciplines to drive operational excellence.
- Coach and mentor team members, identifying capability gaps and creating development plans that elevate overall performance.
- Drive adoption and execution of Planet's Maintain, Grow, Explore framework across the strategic accounts organisation.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, customer advocacy and commercial excellence.
- Strategic Customer Management
- Act as an executive sponsor and trusted advisor to C-suite and senior stakeholders across strategic hospitality customers.
- Identify, develop and close complex growth opportunities across Planet’s payments, software and commerce portfolio.
- Lead executive-level customer relationships, managing escalations, commercial negotiations and strategic initiatives.
- Ensure Quarterly Business Reviews are structured, value-driven and aligned to customer and Planet objectives.
- Build long-term partnerships that support retention, expansion and customer success outcomes.
- Internal Stakeholder Leadership
- Partner closely with Product, Operations, Technology, Marketing and Commercial teams to align customer requirements with strategic priorities.
- Lead the commercial input into Planet’s hospitality geo-expansion roadmap, identifying opportunities, dependencies and growth priorities.
- Champion eCommerce innovation initiatives within the hospitality segment, translating product investment into customer adoption and measurable business outcomes.
- Collaborate with Executive Sponsors to ensure leadership visibility on customer priorities, risks, opportunities and ongoing strategic initiatives.
- Act as the voice of the customer internally and drive alignment across cross-functional teams.
- Financial Performance & Business Planning
- Own annual cross-sell, up-sell and growth targets across strategic hospitality brands and management groups.
- Drive expansion into additional business units, management companies and international markets.
- Partner with Finance and Commercial Leadership on forecasting, pipeline management and revenue planning.
- Monitor and improve signature-to-revenue conversion across strategic opportunities.
- Maintain accountability for gross profit delivery, budget planning, forecast accuracy and overall business performance.
Who you are:
- 10+ years of experience in enterprise account management, commercial leadership, strategic customer growth or related senior commercial roles.
- Proven success managing large, complex enterprise customers within hospitality, travel, payments, fintech or enterprise technology environments.
- Demonstrated experience leading and developing high-performing commercial teams.
- Strong understanding of the hospitality ecosystem, including payments, PMS, POS, commerce platforms and hospitality technology providers.
- Experience supporting international expansion initiatives, multi-country customer programmes or global enterprise rollouts is highly desirable.
- Track record of managing executive-level customer relationships and influencing senior stakeholders across multiple geographies.
- Deep knowledge of payments and commerce solutions, with the ability to translate customer challenges into compelling commercial propositions.
- Exceptional communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
- Strategic thinker with the ability to balance long-term growth initiatives with near-term commercial execution.
- Results-oriented leader with strong commercial acumen, operational discipline and customer focus.
- International mindset with experience working across cultures and regions.
- Additional language skills are advantageous.
Why Planet:
Planet is an equal opportunity employer where diversity is valued, and all employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need. Come and grow your career in the most exciting, fast paced technology market, with a business that delivers feel-good connected commerce. We would love to hear from you – Apply now. At Planet, we embrace a hybrid work model, with three days a week in the office. Reasonable accommodations may be made in order to allow for an individual to perform the essential functions of this role successfully.
VP of Strategic Accounts in London employer: Planet Payment
At Planet, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through our diverse opportunities for professional development, particularly in the fast-paced technology sector. With our headquarters in London, we provide a hybrid work model that balances office engagement with flexibility, ensuring our team members thrive both personally and professionally.
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We think you need these skills to ace VP of Strategic Accounts in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Highlight Your Analytical Skills:In the business intelligence field, showcasing your analytical skills is a must. Make sure your CV includes relevant experience with data analysis tools, programming languages like SQL or Python, and any projects where you've interpreted complex data sets to drive business decisions.
Showcase Your Business Acumen:Don't just focus on data; show us how you can apply your insights to real-world business problems. Highlight projects where you made a tangible impact on company performance, and be prepared to explain your thought process in your cover letter.
Tailor Your Documents for Us:When applying for a full-time role at Planet Payment, tailor your CV and cover letter to reflect our organisational goals and strategies. Mention specific tools and methodologies that align with what we do—this shows you’ve done your homework and are genuinely interested in our mission!
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How to prepare for a job interview at Planet Payment
✨Show off your analytical skills
In a business intelligence role, you're going to need to demonstrate your analytical prowess. Be prepared to discuss specific tools you've used, like SQL, Tableau, or Power BI. Have real-world examples ready where you’ve turned data into actionable insights – this is what makes us shine in interviews!
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✨Portfolio of Projects
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✨Know their business model
Get familiar with Planet Payment’s business model and recent data-driven decisions. Be prepared to discuss how your skills can specifically support their objectives or challenges. Understanding their landscape shows that you’re not just a data buff, but you’re also genuinely interested in how BI can impact their bottom line.
