Sales and Proposals Director
Application Deadline: 8 May 2026
Department: Business Development
Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time
Location: Sunderland
Description
Our Business
pxFairport (pxF) is a project delivery specialist offering full turnkey EPC and OEM solutions to the bulk material handling and plant processing markets. Our services cover the aggregates, processing, tunnelling, mining, quarrying, alternative fuels, waste‑to‑energy, ports, and food sectors, globally. With unrivalled industry expertise, pxF manages, specifies, engineers, designs, supplies, installs, operates, and maintains market leading equipment for complex material handling needs, guaranteeing performance excellence, reliability, and optimal operating costs.
The Opportunity
We are now recruiting for a Sales and Proposals Director to join the Sunderland Fairport office.
Reporting to the Group Sales and Proposals Director, the Sales Director provides leadership and is responsible for the sales pipeline and business development activities, along with supporting the proposal management of the bid team to ensure that the generation and active progression of opportunities is significant enough to support and achieve the booking and sales targets year on year. Responsible for developing and implementing tools and processes that aid the progress of business development into new business sectors, manage sales pipeline producing accurate forecasting tools and reports for business planning, highlight and manage risk at the front end of all opportunities, generate accurate costing material that is in conjunction with other departments ensuring high throughput of enquiries and effective and efficient handover. The Sales Director must effectively communicate the vision of the business, driving accountability, ownership, and measured performance. Translating the overarching business deliverables into clearly defined KPIs. Overall responsibility for controlling and accurately reporting the sales pipeline, win/lost data, and proposal activity. The role also supports the Group Sales & Proposals Director and Manager Director with delivering the business plan and support of all other operational elements as required, as well as the overall P&L of the business.
You’ll be supported with personalised on the job training, coaching, mentoring and twice‑yearly development and performance reviews to help maintain & develop your contributions and competence.
Key Responsibilities
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Provide Line Management to Sales and Proposals team for the allocated business areas.
- Present and chair meetings with senior representatives from all customers to ensure that our offer is well received and understood.
- Accountable for all sales negotiations and discussions with customers, ensuring that risk, commercial and contractual obligations are accounted for and that safeguard the business.
- Accountable for reporting weekly & monthly sales pipeline, forecasting and hot opportunities to the Group Sales & Proposals Director, including agreed metrics, Go/Get probability, close dates, project timings, resource allocation, Cost, Cashflow, Scope, Risk.
- Provide sales direction for the business through detailed business development and analysis of markets to ensure sustainability.
- Drive best practice techniques within the sales and proposals teams.
- Accountable for all sales activities to ensure that the business has a healthy pipeline of opportunities supporting the financial targets set.
- Accountable for successfully achieving the sales and booking targets set by group.
- Accountable for the management, governance and reporting of monthly sales and proposals performance to the Group Sales & Proposals Director, including agreed metrics, OTD of bids, forecast reports, pipeline status.
- Ensures 100% compliance and governance with business policy and procedures.
- Contributing to the implementation and then ongoing compliance with quality systems to ISO standards 9001, 14001 and 45001, or equivalent, including planning, preparation, and participation of external audits.
- Drive continuous improvement strategies with the Senior sales and proposals personnel along with other key stakeholders: process improvement, costing sheet progression, cost reductions, sales material, standardisation of conveyors.
- Provide effective support for the Sales and proposals team, ensuring technical and commercial support is available as required to ensure all proposals are sufficiently reviewed, approved and achievable, in‑line with the proposals process.
- Work with fellow Directors driving collaborative strategies for the group relating to standardisation of policy, process and systems and shared resources.
- Drive strategy for best practice across all areas of the business, providing leadership, mentoring and guidance to the management team.
- Develop the Sales and Proposals teams to be more commercially aware of opportunities for competitive advantages, strategic positioning, high risk potentials so that mitigation or reduction measures can be actioned.
Minimum Requirements:
The job holder will have:
- Degree qualified in a technical or business management discipline.
- Experience in a technical sales management or proposal Management role.
- Experience of owning sales targets, forecasting and pipeline management.
- Critical and analytical thinker, sound decision maker, assertive.
- Able to mentor/lead management teams effectively.
- Experience and understanding of heavy engineering and/or material handling products/processes.
- An ability to solve problems and work with velocity and direction.
- Strong people management skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and with attention to detail.
- Personal rigour and resilience.
- Strategic and pragmatic.
- Highly organised and able to prioritise workload in a multidisciplinary environment.
- Ability to project strategy clearly, setting goals and objectives for Managers/Senior Managers.
- Excellent presenting skills, capable of presenting to board level / senior level clients.
- Able to motivate, lead and encourage others – setting high professional standards.
- Exceptional leadership, visible, approachable, and with consistency across all business areas.
- Commitment to profitable growth by driving continuous improvement, a culture of accountability and results focused against measurable KPIs.
- High degree of commerciality.
- Adhere to the business’s core values through working relationships, attitude, and behaviour.
- Ability to travel to clients’ sites when necessary to add senior leadership support.
What you will receive from us:
- 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
- Contribution towards eye test and glasses
- Online company discount benefits site including cinema tickets and gym membership discount
- Long Service Awards
- Employee recognition scheme – ELITE Awards
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Flexible Benefits Package
- Onsite parking
We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.
Please note this role may close early or be extended depending on the volume of applications.
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