The Role
Lead and grow the SMB sales segment to hit a £2m quota. Act as a player/coach: manage deals, forecast, build playbooks, hire and ramp AEs, run 1:1s and pipeline reviews, and work cross-functionally to ensure strong top-of-funnel and tight hand-offs.
Summary Generated by Built In
Zinc is building the most trusted background-check and employment-history platform in the market. Our SMB business is the engine - high volume, fast-moving, and growing. We're looking for a Sales Manager who knows how to win in that environment and who can build a team that does the same. This is a permanent role, initially stepping in to cover a period of maternity leave and leading an established team from day one.
You'll own the SMB segment end to end: pipeline, process, people, and performance. This isn't a purely strategic role - you'll be in the deals, on the calls, and leading from the front.
Current Team: 2 Associate AEs + 2 MM AEs Hiring Plan: +1–2 headcount Sep/Oct Segment: SMB · £10k–£50k ACV Quota: £2m annually
Key Responsibilities 🗝️
- Own the SMB number - pipeline health, conversion rates, forecasting accuracy, and revenue delivery against a £2m target.
- Player/coach from day one: cover deals when reps are out, join key calls, and model the behaviour you want to see.
- Build and maintain best-in-class SMB playbooks, KPIs, and processes - including pipeline development, forecasting, enablement, and performance management.
- Hire well and ramp fast - plan for +1–2 AEs in Sep/Oct and own the full hiring and onboarding process.
- Lead with kindness, not niceness - have the hard conversations early, hold the bar, and protect the culture of the team.
- Work cross-functionally with marketing, partnerships, and outbound to ensure the top of funnel is healthy and the hand-offs are tight.
- Coach reps individually: weekly 1:1s, pipeline reviews, call coaching, and clear development plans tied to quota attainment.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise 🚀
Required
- At least 1 year of sales management experience, with direct responsibility for quota-carrying reps.
- Proven track record selling and scaling in the SMB segment (£10k–£50k ACV).
- Comfortable as a player/coach - not just managing from a dashboard, but in the work.
- Strong process builder: you've created or meaningfully improved a sales playbook, not just followed one.
Preferred
- 2+ years of management experience, ideally at a SaaS or HR-tech company.
- Several years at a single org - depth of experience in one GTM motion over job-hopping.
- Experience hiring, onboarding, and ramping AEs in a fast-growth environment.
- Familiarity with background screening, compliance, or HR-tech buying cycles.
What we offer 🍉
Zinc offers a chance to work on a product that brings a fresh perspective on data ownership in hiring
- £60k Variable
- 24 days holiday + Bank Holidays + your birthday off 🎉
- £1200 annual benefits allowance (ThanksBen, from month 2)
- Early finish Fridays (16:00)
- Yearly company retreat abroad ✈️ (This year Turin)
- 30 days to Work from anywhere 🌍
- Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, and Adoption Leave
- Statutory pension with NEST (3% employer, 5% employee)
- Zinc shares, issued through the EMI Scheme
- Unlimited access to MoreHappi coaching
- Company socials, quarterly team socials Free Monday lunches
- Nursery workplace benefit scheme (Yellownest)
- Option to lease an electric car through Electric Car Scheme
- Celebrated Zinc anniversaries 🥳
About
Who we are ⚡Zinc builds automated reference and background checking tools designed to improve candidate experience and set new industry standards. Founded in 2017 by a team with extensive HRTech experience, Zinc is an early-stage startup rapidly growing as it redefines efficiency, transparency, and fairness in background checks.📚Read more about our story here: https://zincwork.com/missionWe're a culture first company, by this we don't just mean an active calendar of both company and team organised events 🍔🍻🎯 (which we do have 🤩),Zinc's culture is defined by a respectful and autonomous approach to all employees, fostering support for new ideas, promoting a flexible work environment, and operating within a flat structure. While socials, lunches, and events enhance the experience, the core of Zinc's culture drives employees to embrace innovation, share successes, and feel motivated about the company's future.🪴We recently redefined our company values:🧩The pieces that make Zinc: Pragmatic, Integrity, Empathy, Collaborate, Empowered, Speed.
Skills Required
- At least 1 year of sales management experience with direct responsibility for quota-carrying reps.
- Proven track record selling and scaling in the SMB segment (£10k-£50k ACV).
- Comfortable as a player/coach — joining calls and covering deals, not only dashboard management.
- Strong process builder — created or meaningfully improved a sales playbook.
- 2+ years of management experience, ideally at a SaaS or HR-tech company.
- Several years at a single organization demonstrating depth in one GTM motion.
- Experience hiring, onboarding, and ramping AEs in a fast-growth environment.
- Familiarity with background screening, compliance, or HR-tech buying cycles.
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The Company
What We Do
Zinc builds automated reference and background checking tools designed to improve candidate experience and set new industry standards, offering automated pre-screening employment software for HR and recruiting teams to verify candidates' backgrounds and hire at scale.
