Commercial Director

Commercial Director / Head of Sales — Luxury Travel Tech

£90,000–£120,000 base + bonus + equity Remote-first · London regularly required · Full-time

Recruiting on behalf of a client. The hiring company isn't named in this advert; full details will be shared with shortlisted candidates.

The business

Our client is an early-stage B2B SaaS and data business in the luxury travel sector. Its AI organises and enriches hotel-approved content, and it distributes that content to the trade today, with adjacent channels next.

They're past idea stage: signed customers, an engaged user base growing without paid acquisition, and a product-led growth engine piloted and ready to launch. A funding round is underway to build the commercial and product teams.

The role

Our client will hand you the revenue target. You'll build the plan to hit it, work out what and who is needed within the budgets available, and then deliver it — in partnership with the founders.

Until now, every customer has come through the founders: their own network and the occasional cold email. It got them here. Now they need a system.

From day one this is both a strategy role and a selling role. You'll design the go-to-market engine — who to target, the ICPs, the channels, the plan to the ARR target — then be in front of customers from your first week, running demos, building the business case, negotiating and closing yourself, with targets from month three.

As revenue milestones are hit, you'll build the team. Once the engine works, your Account Executives take the day-to-day, your personal target moves to enterprise and API deals, and you stay accountable for the overall number.

What you'll own

The number. The revenue plan, forecast and delivery — including generating leads, not just converting them.

The go-to-market engine. ICP and qualification model, stakeholder mapping, channels, the sales process in HubSpot, and the leading indicators that show early whether things are on track.

The team. Account Executives, performance marketing and customer success, hired as revenue milestones are hit.

Pricing and the big deals. Packaging for single sites, groups and API access. You'll personally lead group, enterprise and API deals.

Retention and expansion. Customers who don't onboard don't renew.

Product and the board. Bring what the market tells you into the roadmap, and stand beside the CEO with the board and investors.

The first year

First 90 days: go-to-market strategy set and signed off by the board, funnel and unit economics diagnosed, stalled pipeline re-qualified, deals closing — all while selling.

By month six: a repeatable sales engine with known costs and conversion rates, monthly new-ARR targets being hit, the self-serve upgrade engine converting free users to paid, a revised pricing model in market, and a forecast that holds.

By month twelve: revenue on plan with churn below 1% a month, first hires delivering, paid API revenue live, a first distribution partnership signed, and named enterprise accounts in active conversation.

Who they're looking for

You've led a commercial team that grew recurring revenue at least threefold at a B2B SaaS, data or travel-tech business — ideally from under £1m to £3m+ ARR — and can show where ARR, CAC, conversion and sales cycle started and finished, and what you personally changed.

You've sold enterprise and API deals into large multi-site organisations or platforms, worked an account from site level up to head office, and won over the CTO and procurement.

You've personally built AI systems that cut operating costs or sharpened qualification and go-to-market execution, and can show them working.

You've partnered with founders in a fast-paced startup, take ownership, and push back with evidence.

You're strategic and analytical from week one — diagnose before you prescribe, build the growth model yourself, and change your mind when the data says so.

You understand how luxury hospitality buys: personal, relationship-driven and shaped by peers. In a small market, a no handled well is a yes next budget year.

Also required: right to work in the UK (no visa sponsorship available), being in London regularly and at short notice, and international travel several times a year.

What's on offer

£90,000–£120,000 base plus a performance bonus tied to annual and quarterly revenue targets, with significant upside if you beat the plan.

Meaningful equity through an HMRC-approved EMI share option scheme.

A seat at the leadership table and in front of the board, with a clear path to an executive role.

Remote-first working with an AI-first, experienced team that works at pace.

The hiring process

Shortlisted candidates will work through an anonymised extract of the client's pipeline data, and walk through an AI system they've built: what it does, what they personally built, and the results.