Head of Sales - Europe
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What you'll do
- Provide strategic and operational leadership to the European sales organisations, managing a portfolio of approximately £17M+.
- Establish clear performance metrics, structured scorecards and rigorous pipeline governance across the UK and Europe.
- Lead territory design, segmentation, coverage models and structured account ownership to maximise market penetration.
- Optimise and execute the go-to-market strategy, prioritising high-value segments such as Food & Beverage and Warehouse Automation.
- Replicate successful commercial blueprints, applications and value propositions across regions.
- Define and execute the partner strategy and programme across distributors, manufacturer representatives and strategic partners.
- Actively manage and evaluate distribution partners and major accounts against clear, mutually agreed growth targets.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with key decision-makers in major client organisations.
- Lead hiring plans, onboarding, succession planning and professional development for the region, addressing performance gaps directly and constructively.
- Partner with Operations, Technical Support, Segment Leaders and global colleagues, and report regional performance, forecasts, risks and mitigation plans to the executive team and board.
What they're looking for
- Proven track record leading B2B sales teams selling complex, highly engineered or regulated technical products.
- Experience leading multi-country sales teams across Europe, including remote and culturally diverse teams.
- Knowledge of the industrial automation, machine safety, warehouse automation, robotics or systems integration sectors.
- Experience managing both direct and channel/distribution sales models.
- Demonstrated ability to deliver sustainable growth through structured sales leadership, channel management and value-based selling.
- Highly structured and process-driven, with strong command of CRM governance, pipeline forecasting, performance scorecards and structured sales methodologies.
- Strong strategic, analytical and financial acumen, with the ability to build data-driven business cases, model market targets and structure commercial agreements.
- Managerial courage: the ability to have difficult conversations, address underperformance, restructure territories and drive cultural and organisational change.
Nice to have
- An engineering background or technical sales experience.
- Experience selling into Food & Beverage, Warehouse Automation or Intralogistics end markets.
- Additional European language skills.
- Experience within a multinational group or matrixed organisation.
Summarised by NextRaise from the employer’s description, which follows in full below.
Full description from employer
Head of Sales – Europe
Location: Based from Wolverhampton, West Midlands (WV4 6FB) – Hybrid / On-site presence is required
Contract: Permanent, full-time
Salary: £90,000 – £110,000 + £25,000 OTE + car allowance (£710 p/m, +10% uplift for EV)
Travel: Regular UK and European travel required
Reports to: Global Sales Director
About the opportunity
Fortress Safety are the experts in machinery safety and interlocking. Since 1977 we have protected people and equipment in hazardous environments worldwide, from our Wolverhampton HQ and operations across the USA, Europe, Australia, China and India. We are part of Halma plc, a FTSE 100 company with more than 8,000 people across 50+ subsidiaries globally.
This is a high-impact commercial leadership role for a structured, data-driven sales executive with a background in engineered products. You will lead, structure and hold accountable our internal and external sales organisations across the UK and Europe, delivering accelerated and sustainable growth across our key segments and core industries.
What you'll be doing
- Provide strategic and operational leadership to the European sales organisations, managing a portfolio of approximately £17M+.
- Establish clear performance metrics, structured scorecards and rigorous pipeline governance across the UK and Europe.
- Lead territory design, segmentation, coverage models and structured account ownership to maximise market penetration.
- Optimise and execute the go-to-market strategy, prioritising high-value segments such as Food & Beverage and Warehouse Automation.
- Replicate successful commercial blueprints, applications and value propositions across regions.
- Define and execute the partner strategy and programme across distributors, manufacturer representatives and strategic partners.
- Actively manage and evaluate distribution partners and major accounts against clear, mutually agreed growth targets.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with key decision-makers in major client organisations.
- Lead hiring plans, onboarding, succession planning and professional development for the region, addressing performance gaps directly and constructively.
- Partner with Operations, Technical Support, Segment Leaders and global colleagues, and report regional performance, forecasts, risks and mitigation plans to the executive team and board.
What you'll bring
Essential
- Proven track record leading B2B sales teams selling complex, highly engineered or regulated technical products.
- Experience leading multi-country sales teams across Europe, including remote and culturally diverse teams.
- Knowledge of the industrial automation, machine safety, warehouse automation, robotics or systems integration sectors.
- Experience managing both direct and channel/distribution sales models.
- Demonstrated ability to deliver sustainable growth through structured sales leadership, channel management and value-based selling.
- Highly structured and process-driven, with strong command of CRM governance, pipeline forecasting, performance scorecards and structured sales methodologies.
- Strong strategic, analytical and financial acumen, with the ability to build data-driven business cases, model market targets and structure commercial agreements.
- Managerial courage: the ability to have difficult conversations, address underperformance, restructure territories and drive cultural and organisational change.
Desirable
- An engineering background or technical sales experience.
- Experience selling into Food & Beverage, Warehouse Automation or Intralogistics end markets.
- Additional European language skills.
- Experience within a multinational group or matrixed organisation.
What we offer
- Salary of £90,000 – £110,000 plus £25,000 OTE
- Car allowance of £710 per month (+10% uplift for electric vehicles)
- 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
- Option to work a 9-day fortnight (compressed hours)
- Pension with employer contribution up to 10.5%
- Company bonus scheme
- Annual Halma share vesting scheme
- Life assurance cover
- Bike to work scheme, eyecare support and airport parking discounts
- Long service recognition
- Hybrid working from our Wolverhampton HQ
Inclusion and belonging
At Fortress, we don't just accept difference — we celebrate it. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all colleagues and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and experiences. If you require any adjustments or accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know and we will do everything we can to support you.
Apply / next steps
If you're ready to lead commercial growth across Europe for a business with genuine purpose, we'd love to hear from you. Submit your CV through the apply link and a member of our Talent Acquisition team will be in touch to discuss the role in more detail.
#LI-SF4 #Fortress
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