Head of Commercial

About the role

We are seeking a hands‑on, experienced and strategic Head of Commercial to lead our commercial operations and drive business growth. The role sits within a UK‑based Language Service Provider that delivers interpreting, translation, transcription, British Sign Language and accessibility services to public‑sector and professional clients.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the day‑to‑day commercial operating cadence across the commercial team.
• Own pipeline quality, opportunity stages, quote follow‑up, CRM hygiene and commercial reporting.
• Collaborate with the Bid Coordinator to improve tender selection, submission discipline and learning from wins and losses.
• Work with Client Services and Operations to identify retention risks, growth opportunities and service‑line issues affecting margin or client confidence.
• Introduce practical pricing and margin guardrails with the General Manager and Finance to ensure profitable, sustainable growth.
• Develop account growth and reactivation plans for named clients and sectors.
• Support targeted outbound and campaign follow‑up, especially where phone and direct relationship‑building are critical.
• Coordinate with the BSL/accessibility specialist lane to manage accessibility growth commercially.
• Personally contribute to selected major opportunities, important client conversations and commercial problem solving.

Required profile

• Commercial leadership or senior commercial management experience in a service‑led B2B environment.
• Proven ownership of revenue and gross profit outcomes, not just sales activity.
• Experience improving pipeline discipline, forecasting, account ownership or CRM quality.
• Experience managing or coordinating people across sales, account management, bids, sales support or customer‑facing teams.
• Understanding of public‑sector procurement, tenders, frameworks and evidence‑led sales processes.
• Confidence working with pricing, margin, discounting, commercial judgement and strong negotiation and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proactive approach with strong analytical abilities.

Required skills

• CRM