Business Development Manager

Business Development Manager

Are you a proven enterprise seller who thrives on closing high-value deals with Tier 1 brands? Do you have a track record of owning complex sales cycles and converting strategic opportunities into long-term partnerships?

Venture Forge is growing at an exciting rate, with an increasing number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 brands onboarding our services. As we enter our next phase of growth, we are looking for a commercially driven individual to take a leading role in shaping and scaling our new business function.

This is not a typical Business Development role. This is an opportunity to own and close high-value opportunities (£150k+ annually), working directly with senior stakeholders and positioning Amazon as a core growth channel for leading brands.

You'll have the autonomy to build, own, and deliver a pipeline in the way you know best - making a real, measurable impact on the trajectory of the business.

The Role

With this being a critical role in our next phase of growth, we are looking for someone who can take full ownership of enterprise-level new business.

As our Business Development Manager, you will be responsible for identifying, developing, and closing high-value opportunities with brands that meet our ICP - owning the entire journey from initial engagement through to signed partnership.

You will operate at a senior level, engaging C-suite and Director-level stakeholders, navigating complex procurement processes, and leading strategic sales conversations.

You will focus specifically on engaging brands with £4m+ Amazon revenue and significant advertising investment, where Amazon is treated as a core commercial channel with clear internal ownership and growth ambition.

While you'll be supported by an SDR to generate meetings and build top-of-funnel activity, you will also be expected to proactively create and develop your own opportunities through networking, outreach, and industry engagement.

Key Responsibilities

End-to-End Ownership: Own the full sales cycle from initial engagement through to signed contract - taking full responsibility for progressing and closing all opportunities, regardless of whether they are self-generated or SDR-supported. This includes leading discovery, shaping the opportunity, managing stakeholders, and driving the deal to close.

Enterprise Pipeline Development: Build and convert a pipeline of Tier 1 and Tier 2 brands through a combination of SDR-supported activity, personal outbound efforts, networking, and leveraging your existing relationships.

Proactive Market Engagement: Actively generate opportunities through industry events, networking, and direct outreach - ensuring a consistent flow of high-quality conversations beyond SDR-generated meetings.

ICP Qualification & Deal Focus: Quickly qualify opportunities against Venture Forge's ICP, focusing on brands with the scale, structure, and commercial mindset to become long-term strategic partners. Prioritise high-value opportunities and actively disqualify low-fit prospects.

Multi-Stakeholder Relationship Management: Engage and influence multiple stakeholders across marketing, eCommerce, commercial, finance, and procurement functions.

Commercial & Strategic Selling: Lead commercially driven conversations that position Amazon as a core revenue and profit channel, helping brands unlock growth through increased advertising investment, DSP adoption, and full-funnel optimisation.

Commercial Structuring: Develop and negotiate tailored proposals, including retainer and performance-based models aligned to client goals.

Market Presence: Represent Venture Forge at industry events, trade shows, and within your network to drive awareness and opportunity.

Internal Collaboration: Work closely with internal teams to shape compelling proposals and ensure a seamless transition from sale to delivery.

Sales Function Development: Contribute to the evolution of our sales strategy, helping define how we scale new business effectively.

Qualifications and Experience

• Proven track record of personally closing £150k+ annual deals within a marketing agency, eCommerce, or digital environment
• Experience selling retained services (£10k+ per month)
• Strong experience working with Tier 1 consumer brands
• Demonstrated ability to manage long, complex sales cycles
• Experience navigating multi-stakeholder buying processes, including procurement
• Strong commercial acumen, with experience structuring and negotiating deals
• Ability to build pipeline independently through a mix of outbound activity and existing relationships
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders (Director / C-suite level)
• Experience selling solutions tied directly to revenue growth, commercial performance, or P&L impact, rather than purely marketing outputs
• An established network of relevant brand-side contacts is highly advantageous

Our Values – Does This Sound Like You?

Empowered Ownership: We take responsibility for ourselves and our outcomes. We have a hunger for excellence and take pride in what we achieve. We hold ourselves to account, drive progress and commit to making things happen.

Dynamic Innovation: We challenge assumptions, question the norm and create better solutions. We're agile, curious and analytical, making decisions on solid insight and continuously evolving how we work.

Bold Integrity: We do what we say we will with authenticity, candour and transparency. We are direct, honest, and act in the best interests of our clients and each other.

One Team: We collaborate closely, communicate openly and support each other to achieve great outcomes for our clients and our business.

What You Get…

We reward and incentivise our people to create a culture where results, ownership, and impact are recognised.

The Basics

• Competitive salary aligned to seniority of the role
• Remote working - with the requirement for travel
• 25 Days Holiday + UK Bank Holidays + Celebration Day
• Company pension scheme
• £500 personal training budget per year
• £25 monthly Deliveroo allowance
• Quarterly off-site days with the entire team
• 24/7 medical and wellbeing support
• Flexible personal benefits programme
• All necessary tools to excel in your role

The Differentiators

• Full ownership of high-value deals, not just pipeline generation
• A balanced model of SDR support + self-generated opportunity
• A clear focus on high-value, ICP-aligned clients only
• A genuine opportunity to support and input to our continued sales approach
• Focus on strategic, long-term partnerships, not transactional sales
• A fast-growing business where your impact is visible and valued
• An entrepreneurial environment with low hierarchy and high autonomy

What Success Looks Like

• Closing high-value retained partnerships (£10k–£20k/month + media spend)
• Building a pipeline through a mix of SDR-generated and self-sourced opportunities
• Consistently winning and converting high profile clients aligned to Venture Forge's ICP
• Establishing Venture Forge as a trusted strategic partner among Tier 1 brands
• Contributing to a scalable, repeatable new business engine