Head of Champagne - London
Liberty Wines Jobs
Head of Champagne – London
Liberty Wines is one of the most dynamic wine companies in the UK, supplying a wide range of premium wines to all sectors of the trade including restaurants, independent wine merchants and specialists. We continue to flourish in a challenging market and this growth has been driven by the quality of our wines, our service and our people.
We are looking for the right candidate to lead our Champagne team. Managing a team of six, their primary objectives will be to work successfully with our sales team to meet the ambitious targets we have for the Champagne Houses we exclusively represent and to create and implement brand plans that strengthen each of those brands in the market. Our exclusive portfolio of Champagne encompasses B-Corp certified Piper-Heidsieck; the esteemed Charles Heidsieck; IWC Champagne Trophy 2023 winner Rare Champagne; renowned grower Pierre Péters; Champagne Devaux; and Fleur de Miraval.
The successful candidate will grow high-quality distribution for our Champagnes. They will draw upon their network in the trade, support our sales team to succeed, and lead the brand development managers to identify and seize opportunities. The Head of Champagne will also be responsible for setting strategic direction for the Houses we represent in the UK market through setting brand and business plans and leading the Champagne team to execute brand plan to the highest standard, taking an agile and creative approach to ensure brand building activity has the greatest impact. They will monitor brand performance to ensure goals are met and take appropriate action when required, alongside managing stock and A&P budgets effectively. These objectives will be achieved through strong team management: setting clear expectations, supporting development and a creating culture of commercial intensity, sharing expertise and a commitment to excellence.
The successful candidate will:
- Have relevant experience in the UK wine industry, including good general wine knowledge and experience working with premium on-trade, independent off-trade and multiple off-trade customers
- Have great knowledge of Champagne – the region, the wines and the category
- Be proactive and persuasive with strong prioritisation and ability to influence/network. A strong team leader and manager.
- Possess strong commercial awareness. Able to build detailed and robust business proposals and long-term volume/investment plans. Reviews performance to inform planning.
- Take a results-driven, agile approach to marketing. Able to take a strategic approach to setting objectives and building plans and to lead creative, relevant, 360 activation that will generate the biggest impact.
- Be a capable user of Excel and PowerPoint
- French language skills would be a significant advantage
What you can expect:
- Salary commensurate with experience
- An incentive scheme based on achieving team targets
- Personal bonus of up to 5% of salary, based on performance against key objectives
- Participation in company bonus
- 25 days holiday excluding public holidays, accruing additional days after 2 years’ service (up to a maximum of 28 days annual holiday)
- Stakeholder pension scheme matching contributions up to 5%
- Cycle to work scheme
- Season ticket loan
- Travel insurance
- A staff discount on wine from Liberty’s award-winning portfolio.
Located in Clapham North, south-west London, and accredited by Investors in People, Liberty Wines is an award-winning company which offers excellent opportunities for training and development alongside a great working environment (and an even better coffee machine). We encourage all our employees to further their wine knowledge alongside building skills and experience over the course of their professional development.
If you’re organised, self-motivated and ready to join an energetic team, apply with a cover note and CV to [email protected]
💬 Let the recruiter know you found this job on Wine Jobs UK.
🔍 Find more new jobs on Wine Jobs UK.