Sales Manager - Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe

JobsCloseBy Editorial Insights

Penguin Random House is seeking an ambitious Sales Manager to drive growth across Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe. Reporting to the Regional Director, you’ll lead a small high‑impact team (two direct, one indirect) and craft a clear sales strategy to maximise turnover and exceed targets. Expect autonomy with hands-on territory management, plus close collaboration with internal teams to shape promotions, supply chain and market insights. Essential are strong commercial acumen, international sales experience, people leadership, superb communication and a growth mindset. Apply with a tailored CV and a concise cover letter, a crucial part of our assessment, detailing plans for Israel, Norway, Iceland and UK exporters. Deadline 11:59pm Wednesday 17 February. Salary circa £57k plus bonus; hybrid London three days a week.

We’re looking for an ambitious Sales Manager to join our International sales team and play a key role in driving growth and performance across Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe. Reporting to the Regional Director, you’ll lead a small but high-impact team, with responsibility for two direct reports and one indirect report, and develop a clear, effective sales strategy to maximise turnover and consistently exceed sales targets. 

Working with a high degree of autonomy, you’ll balance people leadership with hands-on territory and product management, while collaborating closely with the Regional Director to build a positive, high-performance sales culture. You’ll also provide regular commercial insight to the wider business — sharing feedback on key account performance, market competition, and developments in local-language publishing — helping to shape strategy and keep the team ahead in a dynamic marketplace. 

Key responsibilities: 

Territory Sales Management 

• Day-to-day management of key territories/accounts Israel, Norway, Iceland and UK exporters, with some travel expected depending on market conditions.  
• Regular meetings with customers online or in person to present the list. 
• Attend bookfairs. 
• Work closely with key accounts to plan strategic growth through partnerships, exclusive deals or innovative promotions.
• Continually review catalogue opportunities specific to that territory or key account.
• Deliver increased territory sales performance against budget. 
• Evaluate market trends and provide feedback to the director and the wider team that can lead to an increase in sales and/or opens new opportunities. 
• Be able to articulate a strategy and vision for each area in their span. 

Although a high degree of autonomy is expected, the Sales Manager will also collaborate with other teams internally to achieve their goals; working with international comms on retailer promotions; with distribution and operations teams to ensure an efficient supply chain; or with business development to create bespoke retailer editions   

People Management  

• Day to day management of the highly experienced key account team in Europe NSE. Working with them to deliver a challenging budget, drive retail promotions and increased market share. 
• Support team culture and foster collaboration across the whole team of territory managers, key account managers and the team key account executive, cultivating accountability and a growth mindset.
• Provide regular feedback and appraisals for the KAMs, train and develop talent.
• Help to shape team focus and strategy in collaboration with the director and the wider Europe NSE sales team.
• Lead sales meetings on a regular basis. 
• Manage team away days and social events. 

Product Management 

• Working closely with one publishing division within PRH, the sales manager will quickly become a trusted voice for International Sales within the division, bringing a commercial and international perspective to deliver on international budgets and increase market share globally.
• Fully contribute to and influence the acquisition process, publishing strategy, budgeting and author meetings including the provision of detailed market information.
• Represent international market needs in areas such as pricing, scheduling, critical path, design and formats to achieve optimum sales results across all markets.
• Contribute to and influence marketing meetings, bringing a market facing perspective to drive increased sales.
• Evaluate market trends including genres and pricing giving feedback to the publishing division.  

What you’ll bring:

Essential criteria: 

• Strong commercial acumen with a proven track record of growing sales. 
• A sociable and inspiring team player with demonstrable experience of people management.
• A confident communicator with a clear, inclusive and personable presentation style.
• Experience in international sales with a working knowledge of open market issues.
• Highly organised with the ability to multitask and handle competing priorities.
• Strong analytic and negotiation skills.
• Flexible and resilient with a good-humoured management style. 
• Works collaboratively and fosters an inclusive team environment.
• Strong influencing skills at all levels
• Fosters a growth mindset that prioritises continuous learning.
• Is self-aware and understands the impact of their actions.
• Shows curiosity and considers diverse perspectives. 

Disability Confident: 

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are listed as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview. We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing [email protected]. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request. 

Application instructions: 

Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on Wednesday 17th February.  

Please ensure you include a cover letter, as it is a crucial part of our assessment process. The cover letter offers an opportunity to show how your experience and interests align with the role requirements. Typically, we expect the cover letter to be no more than one or two pages in length.  

Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team. 
 
We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself! While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you. 

Salary: 

Circa £57,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.  

Hybrid working: 

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role we expect that you will work from our office in London three days per week.  

 Company: The Random House Group Limited | Job ID: 286409