Client Development Manager- Education

Overview Client Development Manager for South West region Are you a B2B Sales professional? Do you get job satisfaction from partnering with your customers to give them great service? Do you have experience working with food or in the education sector? You need to be happy working independently to achieve your objectives whilst being a true collaborator, adept at balancing your customer's aims with commercial objectives. Although this is a remote role, you will frequently work with colleagues across the education team, a cohesive team culture is really important to us. This role is suited to a real self-starter, after a thorough induction you will be responsible for managing your own diary and allocating your time wisely to ensure your customers are happy and delivering on growth opportunities across your customer base of c.40-50 customers. You'll visit your schools to help them achieve operational efficiency in their kitchens, as well as sharing our expertise in children's nutrition and running tasting sessions for school staff, parents and of course children! You'll prioritise your time based on customer needs as well as revenue and growth opportunities within your estate. apetito has seen significant growth within the Education sector, through a clear focus of providing exceptional quality meals to students in Academies, Independent Schools, and Special Schools. Our proposition is genuinely revolutionising school catering with the highest quality food, which is the safest in the market and coupled with the broadest range, offering something for everyone. We help schools overcome cost and recruitment barriers through our UK-first pre-prepared system, allowing schools to save money and reallocate funds to improve learning. The Client Development Manager is the face of apetito and is crucial to the success of apetito partnerships. Your territory will cover Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire (west) so you'll need to be located to be in easy reach of your customers. Travel to Jersey (multiple nights a week, circa every 6-8 weeks) may be required as well as domestic overnight stays 1-2 nights per week. Due to the nature of this role an Enhanced DBS will be required. Who we are apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings. Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness. Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK. Responsibilities Growing business with existing customers Being a genuine partner to your customers and ensure their continued satisfaction Meeting sales targets Launching new customers Training catering staff Improving the dining experience for pupils Sharing our expertise in food and nutrition Helping the nursery/school manage its food budget Working on business development opportunities Contributing to a positive team environment Working effectively alone and in a team About you Essential skills & Experience: Highly organised approach to time management Good commercial and analytical acumen Able to identify operational issues quickly and plan an effective solution A consultative approach to influence people and outcomes First rate communication, both written and verbal Confidence presenting in meetings Adaptable to relate and engage with staff at all levels including C-suite Proven background in training Experience in Catering industry Experience of the Education sector Desirable: Experience of food/nutritional standards Good Networking experience Degree qualification Food Hygiene training Nutritional training (Dietician, Nutritionist, SALT etc.) Field based account management experience Personal Qualities Able to demonstrate gravitas and credibility with senior level stakeholders Resilient and tenacious in pursuit of achievement Strong influencing, negotiating, listening and communicating skills Strong team working skills at all levels within an organisation, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and excellence in delivery Must display a passion for this role and the business that we operate Due to the geography of this role and the nature of working with customers in school and nursery settings, flexibility with working hours will be needed. Travel to customers across the region and to national events, including overnight stays, will be a regular requirement. A company car is provided to facilitate this and a clean (or virtually clean) driving licence is essential. As this role involves working in settings with children it is exempt from The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and requires an Enhanced DBS. Company Benefits Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer Company car 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year Generous annual bonus scheme Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 5% Life assurance scheme worth 2x annual salary Free turkey or voucher at Christmas apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts Our Values As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of. We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers. We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people. We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040. Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer.Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future. We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds. Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.