JOB OVERVIEW |
JOB TITLE | Sales Manager, Europe & Africa |
JOB LOCATION | Hybrid – Milton Keynes, UK. | COUNTRY / REGION | Continental Europe & Sub-Saharan Africa |
DATE OF CREATION | October 19, 2026 |
POSITION SUMMARY | VitalSource® is hiring a Sales Manager for Continental Europe and Africa. Institutions and publishers across Europe and Africa are moving to digital course materials at different speeds, in different languages and under different buying models. This role sells to both: directly to universities, colleges and professional bodies, and to the publishers whose content they use. It owns new business and growth across markets including the Nordics, Benelux, the DACH countries, France, Central and Eastern Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa, led by South Africa. The Middle East and North Africa are covered separately. The ideal candidate has a strong record in consultative B2B sales across several European markets, adapts easily between cultures and buying processes, and speaks at least one European language in addition to English. |
DIVISION/DEPARTMENT | International Sales | REPORTS TO NAME: | Aine Rice |
EEOC CATEGORY | | REPORTS TO TITLE: | Head of UK, Europe & Africa and LATAM |
POSITION DETAILS |
STATUS | Full-Time | HOURS PER WEEK | 40 | IS THIS A NEW POSITION? | Backfill of existing headcount, redesigned for the 2027 structure |
POSITION CLASSIFICATION | |
DETAILED JOB DESCRIPTION | Business development across publishers and institutions - Owns new business and account growth in Continental Europe and Africa as a generalist, selling to publishers and directly to institutions.
- With publishers: distribution and fulfilment through VitalSource, codes and eCommerce, Explore terms, courseware (Area9), Bookshelf+ and platform agreements, and usage data back to the publisher.
- With institutions: Sylla syllabus intelligence, Explore collections and perpetual library licences, fulfilment and enterprise agreements, Bookshelf® and LMS integration, and renewals that show return on investment.
- Prospects for new customers through outreach, networking, events and lead follow-up; qualifies them against VitalSource's ideal customer profile.
- Runs the full sales cycle: discovery, solution design, proposals, pricing, negotiation and close, working through Deal Desk and the contract request process.
- Owns the renewal and expansion strategy for every account in the territory and protects recurring revenue; the UK-based Inside Sales team handles renewal administration, order processing and onboarding paperwork.
- Builds a market-by-market plan for the territory, prioritising countries by revenue potential and route to market (direct, publisher-led or through resellers).
- Takes over and grows existing accounts in Spain, Italy and Portugal through a structured handover from the LATAM team, alongside the rest of the territory.
Publishers and partners - Supports the regional plan for strategic publishers whose relationships are owned by the International leadership team, and co-sells with those publishers' local academic and sales teams; agreements with them are led by the relationship owner.
- Directs smaller publishers to VitalSource's aggregator partners (CoreSource and Bookwire) rather than direct agreements, in line with the International operating model.
- Develops local publishers, distributors and resellers across Europe and Africa, including national and language-specific publishers, to extend VitalSource's reach into markets it does not cover directly.
Pipeline, forecasting and collaboration - Meets or exceeds quarterly and annual revenue targets for the territory.
- Keeps Salesforce complete and current: opportunities, next steps, close dates, contract requests and activity, so forecasts are accurate.
- Delivers VitalSource capability presentations and product demonstrations to buyers, academics, librarians and publisher teams.
- Works with Customer Success, Product, Marketing, Finance and Legal to onboard customers and publishers and resolve issues.
- Shares market and competitor insight with the Head of region and the wider International team.
- Plans travel to make the most of each trip, combining customer, publisher and event meetings with clear objectives and follow-up.
- Represents VitalSource at regional conferences and trade events, including the Frankfurt Book Fair.
How success is measured - Net sales against the territory plan, split between new business and growth in existing accounts.
- Pipeline coverage of at least three times the next two quarters' target, with a written next step on every open opportunity.
- Renewal retention across the account book, with no renewal lost for lack of contact.
- Forecast accuracy and Salesforce hygiene reviewed weekly with the Head of region.
- In the first six months: a completed handover of inherited accounts, an account plan for each top-20 account and publisher, and an agreed territory plan.
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WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS | Knowledge, Skills and Abilities - Proven record of meeting or exceeding revenue targets in B2B sales or business development.
- Experience selling to institutions (universities, colleges or professional bodies), publishers, or both; the role covers both.
- Knowledge of higher education, publishing, edtech or SaaS, including how institutions and publishers buy.
- Consultative selling skills: understands customer challenges and explains technology and business models clearly to non-technical audiences.
- Strong negotiation, proposal writing and presentation skills.
- Disciplined pipeline management and forecasting in Salesforce or a comparable CRM.
- Organised and self-directed; manages a full territory with sound judgement and attention to detail.
- Builds trusted relationships and works well in a team across time zones.
- Experience selling across several European markets; knowledge of African higher education markets (especially South Africa) is an advantage.
- Excellent written and spoken English required. An additional European language, particularly Spanish, is highly desirable
- Cultural awareness and the ability to adapt approach to local buying processes and languages.
- Proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and video-conferencing tools.
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EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS | - Bachelor's degree or equivalent directly related experience.
- 5+ years of B2B sales or business development experience, ideally in higher education, publishing, edtech or SaaS.
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PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS | - Hybrid role based in Milton Keynes (remote within Europe considered for the right candidate).
- Ability to travel extensively across Europe and Africa, around 50% of working time, including overnight and multi-day international trips and attendance at conferences and trade events.
- Right to work in the United Kingdom, or in the European country where the candidate is based.
- Valid passport and the ability to travel freely across Europe and Africa.
- Ability to work effectively using a computer, phone and video-conferencing equipment for extended periods.
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