Business Development Manager - Full time - Edinburgh
At itison we believe life is about the experience. We match our 1.9 million members with the best local experiences; create our own world class events and donate thousands of experiences to local charities.
We’re the market leader at what we do and we’re looking for the best to join our team to help make us better.
We’re looking for a proven and ambitious Business Development Manager to join our City Team and help us grow our Edinburgh business sustainably - someone who can build real momentum in the city through sourcing standout experiences with brilliant local businesses, driving commercial growth.
The role would suit someone who is well connected across Edinburgh and the East and has a strong network of hospitality, leisure and experience-led businesses they can tap into.
What you'll be doing
Our City Team (sales team) is at the forefront of delivering growth for itison, responsible for driving double-digit growth every year through sourcing and negotiating an incredible range of experiences in our local areas; from amazing hotel breaks to Michelin-starred dining or the best new spa.
To begin with, you’ll be focused on developing new business in and around Edinburgh - securing partnerships with the best operators, and building a pipeline that creates sustained momentum. Once you have built up a strong portfolio, your time will then be split between account managing your existing accounts and helping them grow, alongside continuing to generate new business.
To excel at this role, you’ll need to be smart, charming, ambitious, tenacious, diligent, resilient and organised. You will also be motivated by targets, used to working at pace, and thinking strategically to get what you want.
You should have experience in B2B sales or strong transferable experience from the hospitality or leisure industries. A network of connections within these sectors would also be beneficial.
The role will be based in our Edinburgh city centre workspace, with 3 of the 5 days of the week being field based visiting businesses/ venues. There will also be regular visits to our Glasgow HQ.
To do this role, you'll need to be flexible, have a driving license and your own transport.
What’s the role?
Growing and develop your pipeline by building amazing relationships with key people
Building on established relationships and coming up with ideas for new opportunities for existing accounts
Working with senior teams in local and global brands to develop long-term strategies based on their objectives
Using research and your own hospitality knowledge to identify the best opportunities within each business to work with itison
Maximise your time by combining scheduled meetings with drop-ins to qualified businesses
Target based - you will have targets to work to across various metrics
Key skills & traits:
A love of sales and field based business development, backed by a proven track record
Intelligent, professional, presentable, and tenacious
Excellent written and verbal communication
Ambitious, energetic, self-motivated, and driven by KPI’s
Resilient and a skilled objection handler/negotiator
An emotionally intelligent people person; brilliant at building relationships at all levels
Diligent and organised; able to follow processes and manage time effectively
Highly connected within Edinburgh and the surrounding areas, with strong industry relationships
Insider knowledge of the hospitality industry and an understanding of industry language and key considerations (i.e. profit margins).
Salary & Benefits
£30k - £38k (OTE 35k - £43k), depending on experience
Private Health Care
Employee Assistance Programme
Salary exchange smart pension scheme
15% itison discount and 50% discount at all itison-owned venues
Enhanced maternity/paternity
Learning grant
Lunchtime Pilates classes
Holiday-buy scheme
Birthday day off
Home & Tech scheme
Paid company socials
Free tickets to our major events (Drive-In Movies, GlasGLOW, and more to come)
Charity day – paid time off to volunteer for a charity of your choice
Fantastic work environment and the best equipment to do your job
Skills Required
- Proven experience in B2B sales or strong transferable experience in hospitality or leisure
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Proven track record in sales and field-based business development
- Hospitality industry knowledge, including familiarity with profit margins and industry considerations
- Strong network and connections within Edinburgh, the surrounding area, hospitality, leisure, or experience-led businesses
- Driving license and own transport
- Ability to work flexibly, manage time effectively, negotiate, handle objections, and achieve targets
What We Do
itison is an independent Scottish experiences and entertainment business that connects its 1.7 million members with local hospitality, leisure and activity providers. Its platform promotes deals and tickets for experiences such as dining, hotel breaks, attractions, spas and events across Scotland. The company also creates major events, operates restaurants and bars, and supports local charities by donating experiences to communities.
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