Business Development Manager

Business Development Manager

An exciting opportunity for an ambitious, driven BDM who wants to take the lead in growing the Liv-ex member portfolio on an international scale

Location: Borough, London SE1

With regular travel to territories under management

Competitive salary dependent on experience plus performance-related bonus, healthcare insurance and wellbeing benefits.

With customers in 50 countries, Liv-ex is the leading fine wine exchange globally. Our vision is to make the wine market more transparent, efficient, and safe, for the benefit of our members and wine lovers everywhere. Our culture is hardworking, entrepreneurial and friendly. Founded in 2000, Liv-ex’s trading, data and market intelligence platform is used by wine businesses around the world to better understand the market and execute buying and selling opportunities. We’re at an inflection point in our journey, embarking on a transformational phase that will redefine how the wine industry operates, trades, and leverages data intelligence. Despite our market leadership, we remain an agile, entrepreneurial, focused organization where senior leaders are involved in driving execution and delivering results.

Summary Purpose

The Business Development Manager is responsible for generating and converting high-quality new member opportunities across assigned territories. Territory coverage may vary depending on business priorities and can include the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and support for the US market where required

Reporting to a Senior Business Development Manager, the role combines pipeline generation, consultative selling and disciplined opportunity management. The Business Development Manager works closely with Account Management, Customer Success, Broking, Marketing, Product, Data, Finance and Operations teams to ensure prospects understand Liv-ex's value and transition smoothly into membership.

Responsibilities

• Research, identify and prioritise new business prospects that fit Liv-ex's ideal customer profile and have a realistic path to value.
• Generate pipeline through a disciplined mix of outbound calling, email, social outreach, events, referrals and marketing-led opportunities.
• Qualify prospects rigorously, understanding their trading model, regions, stock profile, current processes, decision-makers, budget, timing and success criteria before progressing opportunities.
• Lead discovery, pitch and demo meetings that connect Liv-ex's Exchange, data, settlement, logistics and LWIN capabilities to clear commercial outcomes for the prospect.
• Manage opportunities from initial engagement through proposal, negotiation, close and handover, using judgement to hold value and protect commercial quality.
• Maintain an accurate, current pipeline forecast and use evidence to focus time on the opportunities most likely to convert.
• Keep CRM complete and up to date, ensuring all accounts, contacts, activity, next steps, close dates and decision criteria are captured consistently.
• Collaborate with Account Management, Customer Success, Broking, Marketing, Data, Product, Finance and Operations to shape credible proposals and ensure smooth onboarding for new members.
• Travel as required to meet prospects, attend relevant wine trade events and build relationships across the assigned territory.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

• Proven experience in B2B business development, new business sales or a closely related commercial role, ideally in wine, marketplace, data, SaaS, trading or another relationship-led B2B environment.
• Track record of building and converting pipeline, meeting targets and managing opportunities through a consultative sales process.
• Strong communication, questioning, presentation and negotiation skills, with the ability to adapt style to different buyers and cultures.
• Commercially curious, organised and resilient, with strong time management and the confidence to lead outbound activity, follow up consistently and close cleanly.
• Comfortable using CRM systems, and committed to accurate data, clear next steps and disciplined pipeline management.
• Wine trade knowledge is desirable; genuine interest in fine wine, trading models and the commercial realities of merchants, brokers, producers and collectors is important.

Desirable

• Experience in marketplace, SaaS, technology, data, trading or subscription businesses.
• Experience using HubSpot.
• Knowledge of the wine trade, fine wine market or luxury goods sectors
• Additional languages, particularly French or Chinese, would be useful.

What Success Looks Like

• Owns their territory with confidence: spots issues early, comes with options and challenges existing processes where they do not serve member needs.
• Builds enough qualified pipeline to support target delivery, with clear evidence of ICP fit, customer need and a realistic route to close.
• Runs structured, insight-led discovery and captures the buying picture before progressing an opportunity.
• Sells on value and outcomes, not price, and can explain how Liv-ex helps prospects improve trading access, pricing confidence, operational efficiency and market visibility.
• Forecasts honestly, keeps pipeline hygiene high and records activity so the wider team can rely on the data.
• Works constructively with colleagues, shares craft and knowledge, gives and receives direct feedback, and supports smooth handover once a prospect becomes a member.