Commercial Manager (France)

Sponsorship: We welcome applications from international candidates and are able to provide sponsorship under the UK Skilled Worker visa route for this role.

About us: Every refrigerated truck and trailer moving goods across the country has relied on diesel for decades. It's polluting, expensive, and the technology hasn't changed. Two companies have dominated the market, selling the same legacy technology with minor updates. Sunswap makes the electric refrigeration that's replacing it - zero emissions, lower operating costs, built from the ground up for how fleets actually operate. We've gone from founding to manufacturing at scale globally in just six years. We built our own production facility in Surrey. We are trusted by major brands like Tesco, Ocado, Birds Eye, and Happy Eggs every single day. With units operating across the UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Chile, and Australia. We've been named Sunday Times Best Place to Work 2024 and 2025. We've won awards for innovation, technology, and marketing excellence. We've secured backing from BGF, Barclays, and Clean Growth Fund. We've got the customers, the traction, and the momentum. Now we're taking this British-engineered product global. Scaling manufacturing. Opening new markets. Building the team that will make legacy polluting technology obsolete across the world. If you want to be part of a company that's setting new standards for the industry and scaling internationally, this is it.

Benefits:

• 30 days of annual leave plus Bank Holidays! (includes a Wellbeing Day)
• Sabbatical (after 3 years of working with Sunswap)
• 5 free counselling sessions per year
• Family leave ranging from 4 weeks to 4 months
• Free Monthly Lunches & Quarterly Socials!
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Free Sunswap merch

Job overview: The Commercial Manager (France) will spearhead Sunswap's strategic launch in France. You will be responsible for setting up commercial and operational functions for the territory to ensure commercial success, focusing on customer acquisition and building out the aftermarket support network. This is an excellent opportunity to be part of building an early-stage business that is taking on a global duopoly.

Key responsibilities:

• Developing and implementing strategic plans for the country, aligning with the company's overall goals.
• Map out the customer and maintenance service partner landscape.
• Manage the end-to-end sales cycle (virtually and in person): lead generation, prospecting, negotiation, submitting proposals/tenders, and closing deals via different sales and marketing channels.
• Maintain a healthy customer and partner pipeline, take ownership of your target sectors and regularly report progress to the broader business.
• Achieve OKRs, maintain the CRM and follow Sunswap’s processes.
• In collaboration with the EU Aftermarket Manager, identify, validate and contract with maintenance service partners.
• Create and present detailed proposals to secure trial agreements, orders and partnership agreements.
• Lead multi-million pound negotiations for contracts, agreements, and partnerships, ensuring favourable terms and conditions while mitigating risks.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with prospective and existing partners, understanding their needs and providing tailored solutions to meet their requirements. This involves hosting & attending industry events.
• Collaborate with our marketing team and agency to generate inbound leads, develop sales materials and foster relationships.
• Recruit, develop and manage a team to meet the company’s objectives.
• Keep abreast of the competition and sector developments through regular market analysis.

Qualifications & experience:

• Fluent in French and English, with strong communication skills in both languages.
• Over 7 years of enterprise sales experience, consistently exceeding performance expectations.
• More than 3 years as a Country/Regional Manager, successfully representing and expanding a business in foreign markets.
• Proven leadership in team management, driving results through collaboration and strategic direction.
• Successfully launched new products into new markets, ensuring growth and strong market presence from the ground up.
• Proven track record in consistently meeting or surpassing revenue targets and achieving ambitious business development goals.
• Highly proficient in CRM software, the Microsoft Office Suite, and other key business tools for streamlined operations.
• Flexible and open to travelling throughout Europe to drive business growth and maintain client relationships.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong relationships and influence decision-makers at all levels.
• Strong background in maintaining accurate sales records, including contracts, amendments, addendums, and related correspondence, ensuring clear and compliant documentation throughout the sales process.

Advantageous:

• Fluent in German, Italian or Portuguese.

Apply for this role: Ready to make a difference? Apply now and help shape the future of transport refrigeration.