We are recruiting for a Head of Sales on a full time (40 hours), permanent contract to join our senior leadership team in the Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 area.
As Head of Sales, you will drive the strategic growth of Glanmore's school meals business and broader commercial opportunities, shaping the direction of the national sales function, developing a high-performing sales team, and delivering sustainable, profitable growth.
You will play a key leadership role within the organisation, working closely with the Senior Leadership Team and Compass Group Ireland to align sales strategy with operational capabilities, financial targets, and long‑term growth ambitions. Through strong leadership, commercial discipline, and a customer‑centric approach, you will support Glanmore's mission of Better Lunches, Better Learning.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities
* Lead the national sales function, driving growth, customer acquisition, retention, and long‑term commercial success.
* Develop and execute Glanmore Foods' sales strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives and operational capability.
* Lead, mentor, and develop a high‑performing sales team, building a culture of accountability, customer focus, and commercial discipline.
* Drive tendering, bidding, and proposal development for school meal contracts and new commercial opportunities to maximise win rates.
* Manage governance across all sales processes, including CRM utilisation, reporting accuracy, compliance controls, and customer engagement standards.
* Shape and deliver national business development plans, identifying growth markets, emerging trends, and strategic opportunities for expansion.
* Build and manage senior relationships with key external stakeholders including school leaders, education bodies, and procurement partners.
* Collaborate cross‑functionally with operations, production, quality, and finance to ensure sales commitments are deliverable, profitable, and aligned with service excellence.
* Oversee key account management to ensure contract compliance, service quality, customer satisfaction, and revenue optimisation.
* Provide strategic leadership and full accountability for the mobilisation of all newly awarded contracts, ensuring a seamless transition from commercial agreement to operational delivery.
* Monitor competitor activity, market trends, pricing developments, and policy changes within the education sector to inform commercial strategy.
* Produce accurate forecasting, KPI reporting, pipeline insights, and executive‑level commercial analysis to support strategic decision‑making.
* Lead continuous improvement initiatives across the sales function to enhance processes, customer engagement, and commercial capability.
* Ensure effective adoption of digital sales tools and CRM systems to improve efficiency, reporting quality, and team performance.
* Play a key role in marketing and communications activity and driving high‑quality sales collateral, events, and activations that strengthen brand awareness and support pipeline growth.
* Promote a collaborative, customer‑centric, high‑performance culture across the sales organisation.
* Contribute to Glanmore's wider strategic roadmap, ensuring sales initiatives align with Compass Group Ireland's national strategy and growth ambitions.
About You
* An experienced senior sales leader with a proven track record in Head of Sales, Commercial Lead, or equivalent roles.
* Demonstrated success leading national sales teams, securing major contracts, and driving sustained revenue growth.
* Strong experience with tendering, bidding, and contract acquisition‑ideally in food services, education, FMCG, or contract catering.
* Commercially and financially astute, with the ability to analyse performance, shape pricing strategies, and optimise margins.
* A strategic thinker capable of translating organisational goals into actionable commercial plans.
* An influential and credible leader with the ability to coach, develop, and inspire sales teams.
* Exceptional stakeholder engagement skills, with experience influencing senior decision‑makers and building long‑term collaborative relationships.
* Skilled in CRM systems, digital sales tools, pipeline management, and sales reporting frameworks.
* Data‑driven, analytically strong, and comfortable presenting insights to senior leadership.
* Highly organised, resilient, and comfortable working at pace in a growing, mission‑driven organisation.
* Experience in regulated, multi‑site, or contract‑based environments is beneficial but not essential.
* Passionate about delivering value, service excellence, and meaningful outcomes for customers – particularly within education.
At Compass Ireland, our people are our business. When you join the Compass Group you will be joining a supportive network of incredible individuals, each united by their passion for going the extra mile for the organisations we partner with. We are building a team who care about providing a great customer experience and want to grow and develop as we do. We are dedicated to investing in every colleague joining us and pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer; we celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all our colleagues. We consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.
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Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive – because diversity is our strength!
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