Technical Sales Manager

Technical Sales Manager - Textiles BU

Location: Manchester, Brighouse or Huddersfield
Hybrid: Typically 3 days office / 2 days working from home – with flexibility
Salary: Competitive + bonus and benefits
Travel: Up to 25%, predominantly international

An exciting opportunity to combine technical expertise with international commercial growth

Our client is a well-established specialist chemical business with an exciting opportunity for a technically minded Technical Sales Manager to lead its Textiles Business Unit.

Following an acquisition in 2024, the business is continuing to develop its presence in specialist chemical markets, and this role offers the opportunity to play an important part in that growth, heading up the Textiles Business Unit.

This is not a conventional sales role. We are looking for someone who genuinely enjoys understanding chemistry, materials and applications, but who also gets a real buzz from working with customers, developing opportunities and finding commercial solutions.

The successful candidate will work across a mixture of direct customer accounts, agents and distributors, with an international focus and travel of up to 25%.

What makes this opportunity particularly interesting?

The current incumbent is highly technical and is due to retire towards the end of the year. Importantly, he is able to remain with the business for a period of time to share his considerable technical knowledge and help develop the successful candidate.

That makes this a particularly attractive opportunity for someone who has the commercial capability and technical curiosity to take ownership of the role, whilst benefiting from a valuable handover and knowledge transfer.

The business is open to considering candidates at different stages of their career. This could suit an experienced technical sales professional with strong commercial and technical credentials, someone who has moved between customer technical service (CTS) and sales, or potentially a more junior candidate with a relevant degree in Chemistry, Materials Science or a related discipline, who is keen to build a career in technical sales.

The Role

You will be responsible for helping drive profitable growth across the Textile Business Unit, combining technical understanding with commercial development.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Developing and implementing commercial and sales plans for the Textile Business Unit
• Managing and developing key customer relationships
• Developing new business opportunities and expanding market presence internationally
• Working closely with agents, distributors and strategic partners
• Providing a strong technical and consultative approach to customer requirements
• Managing sales forecasting, pipeline development and CRM activity
• Working closely with R&D and Marketing on product development, innovation and market opportunities
• Supporting the development of sales materials, promotions, trade shows and conferences
• Monitoring Business Unit performance against commercial objectives
• Representing the Business Unit both internally and externally

The role will initially have no direct reports, although there is scope for the successful candidate to develop into a broader leadership position as the business continues to grow.

About You

We are looking for someone who is technically curious, commercially driven and genuinely passionate about what they do.

Ideally, you will bring:

• Experience within technical sales, applications, customer technical service or a related commercial/technical role
• A strong understanding of chemistry, materials science or chemical applications
• Experience working with customers and developing long-term commercial relationships
• Strong consultative selling and negotiation skills
• Experience in international sales and business development, ideally within the chemical industry
• The ability to understand technical challenges and translate them into commercially viable solutions
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills
• A proactive approach to identifying and developing new opportunities

Experience within flame retardants would be a significant advantage, as would experience of textile chemistry, finishing chemistry, polymers, coatings, adhesives or elastomers.

A degree in Chemistry, Materials Science, Business, Marketing or a related discipline would be advantageous, although relevant commercial and technical experience will also be considered.

The Opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity to join a growing specialist chemical business at an interesting point in its development.

For the right person, the role offers the chance to become a genuine technical and commercial specialist within a niche market, develop international customer relationships and play a meaningful role in growing the Textiles Business Unit.

With the opportunity to learn directly from an exceptionally experienced technical incumbent, this could suit both an established technical sales professional looking for their next challenge and an ambitious technically qualified individual looking to take the next step into a customer-facing commercial career.

Competitive salary plus bonus and benefits, with some flexibility depending on experience and overall fit.

For further information, or a confidential discussion about the opportunity, please contact Choice Associates.