Sales Operation Manager
hace 2 días
Reading
Job Title: Sales Operation Manager Location: Reading (initially 3 days per week onsite and later 1-2 days per week) Duration: 12 months contract initially Max. Budget: £80k - £98k per annum + paid holidays + pension or £400 - £513 per day Inside IR35 Job Description: • The dedicated Sales Operations owner for the Partnerships & Retail business, will manage forecasting, performance tracking, budget oversight, and operational cadence for the global retail rebate programme., • Partnering closely with Sales, Finance, FP&A, Global Ops, Partner Ops and our external Vistex agency you will ensure the business runs on a consistent set of KPIs, with an accurate forecast, and a tight payment process ., • In this global individual contributor role, you will adapt your schedule across Americas, EMEA, and APAC time zones. You will operate with minimal supervision in a fast paced, evolving environment. What You Will Do: Forecasting & Planning • Own the operational forecast for the retail rebate budget — building scenario-based models (low / mid / high) that incorporate price changes, product transitions, partner mix, macro factors and historical performance., • Continuously refine forecast methodology to drive accuracy improvements (target ±5%) and reduce unplanned variances or executive escalations., • Translate promotional plans into multi-quarter financial outlooks, with clearly documented assumptions and buffer zones, working alongside Sales and Finance., • Drive the operational input into the annual Pricing Action Request (PAR) cycle and any in-year amendments, ensuring forecasts and approvals stay aligned. Performance Reporting & Analytics • Run the bi-weekly and monthly performance review cadence — preparing standardised views, surfacing actuals vs. forecast and call-outs across KPIs (Sell-Through NIR, GNARR, Redemption ARR, Cost-of-Sale)., • Define and maintain a single source of truth performance dashboard, partnering with data science / partner ops to integrate multiple data sources (e.g., Databricks, SAP, partner sell-through and Vistex spend)., • Establish clear escalation triggers (Green / Amber / Red) and translate variances into actionable insight for leadership., • Develop deeper partner-, product- and geo-level analytics to inform commercial and promotional decisions. Operational Process & Governance • Own the operational cadence between Sales, Finance, APC Ops and Vistex — ensuring PO/PR raising, accruals, rebate processing and partner payments happen on time, every quarter., • Track PO balances against forecasted obligations and Vistex spend; partner with APC Ops to trigger PO amendments before issues surface., • Maintain documentation, SOPs and playbooks so the process is durable, auditable and not personality-dependent., • Identify automation and tooling opportunities (reporting automation, RPA, AI-assisted analysis) to reduce manual effort and cycle time. Stakeholder Engagement & Narrative • Be the operational glue across a multi-stakeholder ecosystem: Retail Sales, Finance / FP&A, Rev Ops, Global Sales Ops, Partner Ops, APC Ops and Vistex., • Package performance, variance and spend stories into clear narratives for SVP+ leadership reviews — connecting numbers to commercial reality (ARR growth, incrementality, partner dynamics)., • Support quarterly executive reviews and QRF submissions with Sales and Finance leadership, ensuring a single, aligned outlook. What You Will Need to Succeed: • 5+ years in a Sales Operations, Revenue Operations, Channel Operations or FP&A role — ideally with exposure to channel, retail, partner or contra-revenue businesses., • Direct experience owning forecasting, budget management and performance reporting for a sizeable budget line or P&L. Analytical & Technical Skills • Strong financial and commercial acumen, with the ability to build complex scenario models in Excel and translate output into clear business decisions., • Comfort working with large, imperfect datasets across multiple systems (SAP, Databricks, partner files, finance systems). SQL or equivalent querying experience an advantage., • Hands-on experience building and maintaining dashboards in Power BI, Tableau or equivalent. Communication & Stakeholder Management • Outstanding written and verbal communication skills — able to distil detailed analysis into a crisp, one-page narrative for senior leadership., • Demonstrated ability to influence and align across business units, finance partners and external agencies without direct authority., • Confident facilitating recurring reviews, driving decisions to closure and holding cross-functional partners to commitments. Operating Style • Self-starter attitude — comfortable defining your own operating model, building the playbook as you go, and working independently., • Strong project / program management approach (plans, turning points, owners, dates) with a controls / audit-ready attitude on financial processes., • Process improvement orientation — an instinctive feel for what should be standardised, automated or eliminated. Nice to have: • Prior exposure to subscription / SaaS commercial models and indirect routes-to-market., • Familiarity with client’s commercial model, products and internal systems.