Business Development Executive – Food To Go (Sales)
Attractive Salary, Benefits, Company Car & Bonus
36.5 Hour week (Flexibility required)
Field Based
Who are we?
At Henderson Group, we are proud to be Northern Ireland’s leading foodservice provider. Our group encompasses Henderson Wholesale, Henderson Retail, Henderson Foodservice and Henderson Group Property. We employ over 5,500 staff and have been placed 5th in Ulster Business Top 100 Companies 2024.
We're a family-owned team that cares about our people and the community in which we live. Our leaders care about employees and our employees succeed together and celebrate the success of others. We are interested in your aspirations, interests and skills and we strive to support and inspire you to do well.
A look into the role
Henderson Food Service is the leading supplier to the food service industry in Ireland. We source and supply a range of thousands of products to customers including hotels, restaurants, and public sector organisations such as hospitals and offices.
Following another year of record growth, our team continue to exceed targets and deliver sales across N.I. and R.O.I. Our team will offer you a positive and supportive environment to enjoy success within our market leading brand.
We achieved Gold accreditation against the Investors in People standard framework in 2020 in recognition of people management excellence and our commitment to investment in people.
The Purpose of the role:
Due to continued growth, Henderson Foodservice is expanding its team and seeking a Food-To-Go Business Development Executive to join us on a full-time, permanent basis.
In this role, you’ll drive sales within a designated territory, focusing on hot and cold deli, coffee, and non-food offerings across independent retail customers and branded outlets.
You’ll establish Henderson Foodservice as the Partner of First Choice by building strong relationships, providing hands-on support, and delivering best-practice training to maximise customer loyalty.
Working as Business Development Executive you will:
* To achieve sales and margin targets for designated territory/accounts.
* To actively prospect, seek out and identify new business opportunities within the existing customer base.
* Develop strong relationships with key decision makers in each account and involve line manager in regular review meetings.
* To partake in staff training both at store level & designated head office sessions to maximize effectiveness of deli staff within each outlet.
* To carry out regular business reviews and prepare a focused Retail Sales Development Plan for specific individual customers.
* To support, liaise and work with the Management Team, Telesales, Trading, Re-order, Transport, and Finance on customer needs and to build strong cross functional relationships within the business.
* To liaise closely with the Trading Dept. on product range, issues, and requirements.
* To forecast accurately to the re-order team volume requirements for specific customers and/or new product requests.
* To ensure clear communication of relevant business issues and competitor activity always.
* To participate fully in resolving relevant customer service and complaint issues.
* To make presentations to customers, other members of the sales team and management as and when required.
* To coordinate appropriate supplier / end-user accompaniment schedules and programmes in support of the sales plan.
* To attend and make positive and supportive contributions to relevant meetings within the sales and other company teams.
* To comply with HFS regulations and policies.
* To safeguard HFS property and maintain confidentiality on all information.
* To build positive working relationships with other departments within HFS and the John Henderson Group.
* To build relationships outside of the company, which assist in promoting the business at all, times, eg relevant trade bodies
Skills for Success
Joining us as Business Development Executive the minimum criteria you’ll need is:
* GCSE in Maths and English (Grade C or higher) or an equivalent qualification
* Demonstrable experience with MS Office packages particularly Excel
* Ability to demonstrate experience of effectively managing and achieving targets
* Ability to demonstrate knowledge of calculating profitability & understanding factors impacting sales & margin in a food environment
* Commercially aware of the fresh food and food-to-go service market and ability utilise that knowledge to drive sales performance
* Full, valid, clean UK/EU driving licence
The Attributes you’ll need include:
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills
* Strong customer focus with the ability to motivate and inspire others to deliver the highest levels of customer service
* Ability to work within a team as well as working independently
It is Desirable if you have:
* Previous experience in food preparation and sales within a convenience store, small supermarket, quick service food environment or similar
* Previous Field sales experience
* Familiarity with Henderson Group Food to Go concepts
Are we right for you?
As part of this role, it will be important that you feel aligned with the values that we live and work by.
Ambition – We always strive to be better. We seek new challenges and look for ways to do things better.
Customer First – We provide exceptional service. We put customers at the heart of everything and support our communities.
Teamwork – We succeed together. We help colleagues to succeed, and we share our knowledge and skills.
Integrity – We are fair, honest and ethical. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are inclusive and champion diversity.
The Reward
The impact you can make with Henderson Group goes far beyond your day to day. You will be part of a business supporting defibrillator installations and school sports days. In the last year Henderson group staff and retail stores raised over £1 million for charity partners.
You will have the balance necessary to enjoy your job and your life. We will help you to feel proud of what you do and achieve. And we will be here to celebrate your success.
Our business has been recognised externally for delivering excellence in employment. We value employee development and heavily invest in our people.
Benefits include market competitive salary, company car or allowance, bonus, contributory pension scheme, healthcare, life assurance, employee assistance programme, social club, Reward Gateway Employee Recognition & Discount Scheme throughout UK/Ireland, staff discount (grocery/fuel) at SPAR/EUROSPAR Henderson Group company-owned stores and many more.
This is a full-time position working 36.5 hours per week. Working hours will be 8:45am-4:45pm Monday to Thursday and 8:45am-3:45pm Friday. Hybrid and flexible working arrangement available.
If you'd like to speak with us before making your application, our Talent Acquisition Specialist - Joanne McClelland would be happy to have a confidential chat with you about the role on offer - email joanne.mcclelland@henderson-group.com to get in touch.
*Applicants should note that we reserve the right to apply the desirable criteria if required at shortlisting stage
Completed applications must be submitted online by midnight Sunday 13th April 2025
We are an equal opportunities employer.