Sales Operations Manager

Who we are

We are an organisation that exists to drive progress. That's the “red thread” that connects everyone at The Economist Group (TEG). Our businesses share a devotion to innovation, independence and rigour in their fields of expertise. We empower people to understand and tackle the critical challenges and changes facing the world. Our analytical rigour, global expertise and evidence-based insights enable individuals and organisations to make sense of these shifts and chart a course through them.

We deliver analysis and insights in many formats to subscribers and clients in 170 countries through our four businesses, The Economist, Economist Impact, Economist Intelligence and Economist Education, which uphold our global reputation for excellence and integrity. 

The Sales Operation Manager is a sales operations professional with demonstrable experience in creating a strategy to support sales teams and sales leadership in their day to day work by ensuring they have the tools, data and processes that enable them to be effective and achieve their sales goals.  In this role, the Sales Operations Manager will lead the sales operations team to provide the data insights, analysis, process improvements, coaching and leadership that optimises sales performance and drives outstanding customer service.    

The Sales Operation team works across sales teams and business units to help them run more efficiently and effectively.  The Sales Operation team undertakes the bulk of sales related administrative tasks to allow sales teams to focus on revenue-driving activities and sales leaders to concentrate on coaching and supporting their teams. The sales operations team generates data-driven insights, forecasts strategy plans, and makes sure that all of the necessary systems and tools are in place to enable customer facing teams to maximise their performance.  The Sales Operations Manager leads the team to achieve these business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate on the implementation of sales enablement tools and technologies, including Salesforce CRM.  Working across the organisation, and with Technology, to ensure sales tools and processes are fit for purpose and support the objectives and key business outcomes required by The Economist Group (TEG) sales organisation 
• Play a key part in the central Commercial operations and Enablement team, to balance creating a Centre of Excellence for The Economist Group, while partnering closely with the Impact Partnerships and Events Business Unit, to maintain strategic alignment 
• Monitor the sales organisation's compliance with required standards for maintaining CRM data working closely with TEG sales leadership and Technology to ensure data integrity and quality is maintained 
• Support the accuracy and distribution of sales reports and other intelligence essential to the sales organisation. Recommend ways to adopt and provide insights from to existing reports, or assist in the development of new reporting tools as needed
• Drive the adoption and effective use of sales tools across all sales teams
• Collaborate with the Marketing Operations team to support and optimise the lead management process and ensure data integrity across the marketing process is aligned with sales  
• Partner with TEG sales leaders and managers to help make data-driven decisions and recommendations for improving the sales funnel and process
• Provide input to TEG senior leadership in the development and administration of sales incentive compensation programs
• Proactively identify opportunities for sales process improvement. Working closely with TEG leadership to inspect sales process quality and prioritise opportunities for improvement. Identify process bottlenecks and inconsistencies and facilitate a culture of continuous process improvement
• Define data governance process for sales data and undertake activity to maintain and promote compliance  
• Maintain data quality across sales and associated finance systems, maintain the data for customers (accounts) 
• Support territory management activity
• Design and deliver the education and training of sales teams to ensure that everyone is able to use sales systems, tools and data effectively
• Define and implement a communication strategy to all of the sales teams to deliver updates, training and drive engagement
• Support the RFP process by building and maintaining a library of reusable RFP/Tender components, templates, and processes to reduce response time and improve quality on future bids
• Provide hands-on leadership for TEG Sales Operations team, setting goals and driving team performance
• Provide development opportunities for TEG Sales Operations team to broaden and enhance their skill sets, working with the team to ensure they have Individual development plans to stretch and grow their skills

The ideal experience for this role is:

• Experience of defining and implementing sales process improvement to drive agreed business outcomes
• Deep understanding of Salesforce capability and usage, and experience of defining requirements for enhancements and working with teams to deliver upgrades that enable and support improvements in the sales process and ways of working 
• CRM data hygiene best practice definition and implementation of processes to maintain data quality and integrity 
• Sales operations best practice 
• Business experience in a sales operations role, ideally in a global sales organisation 

The ideal skills for this role are:

• Sales process improvement based on lean and CI principles 
• Salesforce / CRM management 
• CRM data hygiene 
• Data manipulation and analysis using tools such as spreadsheets, databases and Data Loader
• Sales pipeline management, forecasting and reporting
• Building Salesforce dashboards and reports
• Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive experience
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Proactive working style with the ability to adapt to change
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.

The ideal professional attributes for this role are:

• A strong communicator with an ability to agree goals and set expectations 
• An ability to multi-task and to correctly prioritise tasks based on criticality 
• Detail oriented, able to work with large datasets, find the answers and make clear recommendations based on data insights 
• Customer focused, always considering the experience of both internal and external customers  
• An ability to manage diverse stakeholders and build credibility and integrity with  senior leadership as a trusted advisor 

Qualifications (preferred, not essential):

• Salesforce Admin Certification (ADM 201)
• APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ)

#LI-Hybrid

What we offer

Benefits
We offer excellent benefits including an incentive programme, generous annual and parental leave policies, volunteering days and well-being support throughout the year, as well as free access to all Economist content. Country specific benefits are also offered.

Our Values
Our values are a collective set of beliefs and behaviours that strengthen The Economist Group's purpose and demonstrate where we want to be as an organisation. They reflect on our mission to pursue progress for individuals, organisations and the world.

Independence
We are not bound to any party or interest and encourage exploration and free-thinking. We champion freedom, both within our organisation and around the world.

Integrity
We are bold in our efforts to uncover the truth and stand up for what we believe in. We inspire trust through our rigour, fact-checking and transparency.

Excellence
We aspire to the highest standards in all we do. We are ambitious and inquisitive in our pursuit of continuous progress and innovation.

Inclusivity
We value diversity in thought and background and encourage healthy debate with a breadth of perspectives. We treat our colleagues and customers fairly and respectfully.

Openness
We foster a collaborative and empathetic culture conducive to the interests, wit and initiative of our colleagues. New ideas are our lifeblood.

The Economist Group values diversity. We are committed to equal opportunities and creating an inclusive environment for all our colleagues and potential colleagues regardless of ethnic origin, national origin, gender, gender identity, race, colour, religious beliefs, disability, sexual orientation, age, marital status or any other status.