Who are Culina?
Culina is the UK’s leading independent specialist supply chain partner, trusted by some of the nation’s best recognised food, fast-moving consumer goods (FMGC) and retail brands. We're proud to employ over 22,000 colleagues across 100+ locations nationwide, supported by a fleet of more than 5,500 trucks and trailers delivering every day.
We currently have an exciting opportunity within Central Functions - our Central Functions are the teams that support our entire business, providing the expertise, systems and services that keep our operations running smoothly. These departments include HR, Finance, IT, Procurement, and other specialist support functions, all working together to enable business success.
Job Description
Life in this role
The Head of Business Development Excellence is a central leadership role responsible for driving a consistent, group-wide approach to business development across Culina. The role leads the development of best-in-class business development processes, market intelligence, commercial strategy support, bid management, and capability building to improve sales effectiveness and enable sustainable growth across the Group.
Key Accountabilities / Responsibilities
Business Development Process & Capability Development:
- Develop, maintain, and standardise business development enablement materials, including business case templates, proposal templates, and core sales tools.
- Create and maintain the BD Excellence knowledge base, ensuring materials are accurate, accessible, and regularly updated.
- Develop and embed standardised methodologies, guidelines, and best practices across Culina’s business development teams.
- Champion capability building by designing and rolling out training programmes across Culina sales teams.
Market Intelligence & Insights:
- Lead ongoing industry trend analysis and customer insight development to inform business development priorities.
- Lead the annual customer segmentation process, including validating business unit segmentation approaches and identifying priority growth opportunities.
- Initiate and lead transformational business development projects that strengthen competitive position and commercial performance.
Commercial Strategy, Pricing & Segmentation:
- Define customer segmentation frameworks and lead scoring guidelines to support prioritisation and consistent pipeline management.
- Work with commercial leads to establish clear pricing and commercial policy guidelines that support consistent, informed decision-making.
- Provide standardised business case and approval templates to improve governance, quality, and speed of decision-making.
Business Development Strategy:
- Lead the development of the Group’s business development strategy by identifying growth opportunities, setting targets, and constructively challenging business unit strategies.
- Promote a customer-centric approach and actively support key account management initiatives across the Group.
Bid Management Leadership:
- Lead and develop a bid management team to support large-scale tender activity
- Ensure a consistent, high-quality approach to RFI, RFQ, and tender submissions
What you’ll need ...
- Significant experience in a similar senior commercial / sales role, ideally in supply chain
- Deep understanding of end-to-end sales processes and managing the bid process for RFI and RFQ tenders
- Strong analytical and research capability
- Excellent project and programme management skills in supporting the bid process
- Familiarity and experience in the UK logistics market
What is in it for you?
If you're looking for a role where you can make an impact, develop your career, and be part of a team that works as one to achieve great results, we'd love to hear from you.
Company Bonus- we achieve more when we work together, that’s why we celebrate our shared success through our bonus scheme.
Private Medical Cover - enjoy peace of mind with access to Bupa's healthcare services.
Company car or car Allowance - providing additional support and flexibility to help you stay mobile and connected.
Salary Sacrifice Car Scheme - our salary sacrifice scheme offers a cost-effective way to drive an electric vehicle, with payments taken directly from your salary. Eligibility and salary thresholds apply.
Wellbeing Support – your wellbeing matters to us. Through our Employee Assistance Programme, you'll have 24/7 access to confidential counselling and legal support, whenever you need it.
Eye Care Vouchers – free eye tests and discounts on prescription glasses.
Reward & Recognition – we love celebrating great work, we recognise those who go above and beyond.
Everyday Discounts – our benefits platform gives you access to discounts from over 50 leading retailers, helping your money go further every day.
Skills Required
- Significant experience in a similar senior commercial or sales role
- Experience in the supply chain sector
- Deep understanding of end-to-end sales processes
- Experience managing RFI and RFQ tender processes
- Strong analytical and research capabilities
- Excellent project and programme management skills supporting bid processes
- Familiarity and experience in the UK logistics market
What We Do
Culina Group is a market leading provider of high quality logistics services for food and drink companies in the UK and Ireland. We serve a sizeable portfolio of customers - ranging from niche operators to major multinational companies - across our vast depot network, comprised of over 100 strategically located sites. We work with over 22,000 fantastic people at peak and specialise in the development and implementation of total supply chain solutions for ambient and chilled brand manufacturers and distributors. We are totally customer focused and always seek to add real value to our clients, providing a holistic solution to meet the challenges faced by manufacturers and the changing demands of the retail sector.
