Head of Sales - Grocery & Out of Home

Help scale TrueStart to become the UK's favourite coffee brand!

Location: Bristol/Bath, with some hybrid working flexibility

Salary: £75,000-£100,000 depending on experience, plus 20% performance-related bonus, private healthcare and EMI share options

Reports to: Helena Hills, Co-Founder & CEO

Leadership: Member of the senior management team

About TrueStart Coffee

TrueStart Coffee is one of the UK’s fastest-growing coffee brands and we’re not slowing down. We make delicious, healthy coffee that makes people feel amazing!

Our feel-good coffee is available in over 4,000 retail distribution points across the UK with several major national customers, and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people across grocery, out of home, foodservice, wholesale and ecommerce.

We’re a small team with big energy: passionate, purpose driven and determined to build a positive, values led business and a category-leading brand.

Recently backed by JamJar Investments we have serious ambition to scale to £100m by 2030. Last year, TrueStart ranked number 13 in the FEBE Growth 100, recognising the UK’s fastest-growing, profitable, founder-led businesses across all sectors.

You will have direct access to the founders, a clear voice in business decisions and ability to shape our sales strategy and team. Your work will have a big impact on the scale, profitability and future of TrueStart. In return, we offer a competitive salary, performance-related bonus, private healthcare and EMI share options, giving you the opportunity to share in the future value you will help create.

Do you want to take real ownership of the UK's future favourite coffee brand? We’d love to meet you.

The Opportunity

This is a very important role for TrueStart’s next stage of growth and we want to find the best person to join us on the growth journey.

As Head of Sales, you will own the strategy, team and commercial delivery across our Grocery & OOH sales channels. Your job is to turn the opportunity into substantial, sustained and profitable growth: winning major new business, increasing sales through our existing customers, and building a sales team capable of delivering at a much greater scale.

Success will mean more people buying TrueStart, more often, in more places, with strong commercial returns behind that growth.

Reporting directly to Helena (Co-Founder & CEO) and sitting on the senior management team, you will help shape the direction of the business and take responsibility for a major part of its performance. You will work closely with Ecommerce, Marketing, Finance and Operations to focus our people, investment and effort on the opportunities that can make the biggest difference.

We’re looking for someone who has delivered significant growth in branded FMCG and understands what it takes to scale a challenger brand. You will bring the strategic judgement to make good choices, the credibility to lead major customer relationships and the drive to turn ambitious plans into results.

This is a hands‑on role that requires someone who is obsessed with winning new business. You will personally lead important pitches and negotiations, stay close to the numbers and coach the team to deliver.

What you will own

• Profitable sales growth. Take accountability for revenue and commercial profitability across grocery and out of home, translating the business ambition into clear annual targets, customer plans and consistent delivery.
• Channel and customer strategy. Decide where and how we can grow most effectively across grocery, foodservice, wholesale, workplaces and hospitality, prioritising the opportunities with the strongest potential.
• Major new business wins. Build and convert a focused pipeline of opportunities, personally leading the relationships, pitches and negotiations that can materially grow the business.
• Growth within existing customers. Drive rate of sale, distribution, range expansion and repeat orders. Build strong joint business plans and make sure listings, promotions and customer investment deliver results.
• Commercial discipline. Own customer negotiations, terms and promotional plans, with a clear understanding of margin, cost to serve and return on investment.
• Forecasting and performance. Produce reliable forecasts and clear reporting by channel and customer. Spot gaps, risks and opportunities early, and take action quickly to deliver growth in distribution, customers and product listings.
• A high‑performing sales team. Lead, coach and develop our brilliant team, setting clear expectations and building the capabilities and structure needed as we scale.
• Excellent execution. Work closely with Marketing, Ecommerce, Finance and Operations to deliver effective customer plans & successful launches.
• Wider business leadership. Bring sound commercial judgement to the senior management team, helping shape priorities, investment decisions and the long‑term direction of TrueStart.

About you

You bring:

• A proven track record of delivering substantial revenue and margin growth within branded FMCG, with clear examples of the results you personally led.
• Strong experience across UK grocery and foodservice or out of home, and an understanding of the different approaches these channels require to win.
• Experience growing existing national accounts as well as winning and successfully launching major new customers.
• Strong negotiation skills and the confidence to lead senior customer relationships and complex commercial discussions.
• Commercial and financial fluency: you understand the numbers behind growth and know how to turn them into better decisions.
• A track record of developing people, raising performance and building effective sales teams.
• Experience in an entrepreneurial or high‑growth business, where priorities move quickly and resources need to work hard.
• The confidence to work closely with founders, contribute to senior management discussions and constructively challenge when needed.

How you work matters just as much

• You are ambitious and accountable. You enjoy stretching targets, take ownership of results and act when performance needs to improve.
• You lead with clarity and positive energy. You set high standards, give straightforward feedback and help people do their best work.
• You combine strategy with action. You can build a clear growth plan and get directly involved in delivering it.
• You focus on what matters. You make deliberate choices about where the team spends its time and bring structure without unnecessary bureaucracy.
• You are resilient, resourceful & never give up. You solve problems, keep momentum and find ways forward when things do not go to plan.