Account Executive - Direct Sales

There's over a trillion pounds in UK pensions, but the industry is full of traditional providers with outdated products and poor service. Penfold is dragging pensions out of the dark ages with a platform built on modern technology.

We're a focused team of 70, based mainly across London and Tallinn, and we've raised over £25m from some of the best FinTech investors around. We manage nearly £1bn in pension assets for over 100,000 savers and thousands of businesses, and we're growing fast.

The role

As an Account Executive, you'll turn qualified businesses into Penfold customers. You'll own the sales process from the first real conversation through to close, working directly with HR, Finance and other senior decision-makers. You'll also build and work a meaningful share of your own pipeline through outbound, rather than relying only on meetings via inbound or handed off by our Sales Development Reps (SDRs).

Your goal is simple: win trust, create conviction, and turn conversations into customers.

This is a consultative B2B sales role. It suits someone who enjoys engaging senior stakeholders, gets energy from uncovering real business needs, and is just as comfortable prospecting for their own opportunities as working ones they're handed.

What you'll do

• Build and manage your own pipeline through outbound (calls, email, LinkedIn), alongside SDR-sourced meetings
• Engage directly with HR, Finance and senior business leaders
• Run high-impact discovery meetings to understand a customer's needs, challenges and priorities
• Explain clearly why Penfold is the right pension for their business and their people
• Build relationships with everyone involved in the buying decision
• Consistently hit or beat your monthly and quarterly revenue targets
• Own the sales process from first meeting to close, including tailored demos, objection-handling on risk, regulation and switching, and building a commercial case for change
• Partner closely with SDRs on handover quality, and with Marketing and Product on what's working in the market
• Keep your pipeline and forecasting accurate and up to date in our customer database (CRM)

Who this is for

You'll do well here if you enjoy selling directly to businesses and senior decision-makers, like complex trust-based conversations, want to understand a problem before pitching a solution, and are comfortable selling a regulated product where credibility matters. You should be someone who's happy owning a number and being accountable for it, and who wants to help shape how the sales function grows, not just work within it.

Must-haves

• Proven experience as a B2B Account Executive or similar closing role
• A track record of generating your own pipeline through outbound, not just working inbound or SDR-sourced meetings
• Experience selling directly to businesses and decision-makers
• A track record of hitting or beating targets in a consultative sales environment
• Strong discovery, objection-handling, presentation and closing skills
• Confidence engaging senior stakeholders across HR, Finance and other business functions
• Confidence selling a regulated, trust-based product

Nice-to-haves

• Knowledge of UK pensions, auto-enrolment or workplace benefits
• Experience selling SaaS, FinTech, accounting software or financial services
• Experience selling into HR, Finance or People teams
• Experience in a scale-up or high-growth environment

What success looks like

• You consistently hit or beat your revenue targets through direct customer acquisition
• Qualified meetings and self-sourced opportunities convert into new Penfold customers
• HR and Finance leaders understand Penfold's value and buy with confidence
• You build and manage a healthy, predictable pipeline
• Penfold keeps growing its direct employer customer base

Our hiring process

1. Screening call with our People team: a quick chat on your background, motivation, and the practical basics (right to work, salary expectations, notice period)
2. Hiring manager interview: a deeper conversation on the role, your experience, and how you approach it
3. CRO interview: a deeper conversation with our CRO on how you sell, your track record, and how you'd operate in the role
4. Task interview: a short practical exercise relevant to the role, followed by a discussion
5. Culture interview: meeting a small panel from across Penfold to check we're a good fit both ways

Benefits

• A competitive salary; we proactively review salaries to make sure you get what you deserve
• Meaningful share options – you'll own a part of Penfold and share in our success
• 10% pension contribution each month that you don't need to match (on top of your salary)
• Medical insurance, through Vitality
• Unlimited holiday – we're interested in your output, not how many holidays you take
• Hybrid working – a couple of office days a week to collaborate, with flexibility on where you do your best work
• Great community office space near Borough Underground station
• Free tea, coffee, soft drinks and snacks
• Free company lunch every week (e.g. Borough Market, Mercato Metropolitano)
• Laptop and any WFH equipment you need
• Option to buy a bike tax free through the cycle to work scheme
• Learning and professional development support, including courses, events and coaching
• Quarterly company socials and regular meet-ups throughout the year
• Plus a host of other benefits – see here: https://getpenfold.com/careers

We are 100% committed to building a diverse and representative team. Whatever your race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability – we want to hear from you. If you have questions about the role or the company or the interview process, please let your recruiter know and we're happy to answer these anonymously if that makes you feel more comfortable.

We're all about giving every candidate the best chance to shine. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the job description, application, or selection process, just let us know, we'd be happy to help. When it comes to hiring, we focus only on your skills, experience, and how you live our values.

As part of our hiring process, we may record your interview and use AI tools to generate notes. This helps us capture details accurately and ensures a fair review by our hiring panel. By attending an interview with Penfold, you consent to the use of recording and AI-generated notes for this purpose. If you have any concerns or would prefer not to be recorded, please let us know in advance.

As we're a regulated business, any offer (and ongoing employment) depends on passing the usual pre-employment and regulatory checks, which are started before your first day.