Business Development Manager (fluent French required)
About us
Food waste is a $1 trillion problem – costing the world over 1% of global GDP. We’re dead set on solving the problem and looking for people to help us achieve our mission. We, at Winnow, believe that food is far too valuable to waste, and that technology can transform the way we produce food. Our team is made of people who all share a passion for food and technology.
Winnow was founded in London in 2013 to help the hospitality industry prevent food waste through internet of things tools in the kitchen. We have worked with thousands of sites and are operating in over 90 countries around the world supported by our offices in London, Dubai, Singapore, Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Chicago. We are a scale-up stage company with a strong base of clients who are rolling out our system globally. We have blue-chip customers including Accor Hotels, IKEA, IHG, Marriott, Compass Group and many others.
Winnow’s clients on average reduce waste by over 50% by value and sustain savings. Winnow works with hotels, universities and schools, staff restaurants, event/hospitality kitchens, buffets, pubs, and high street restaurants. Where the system is permanently adopted, pre-consumer waste value is reduced by 50% - 70% with no detrimental impact to the perceived quality or value of the offer to their customers. This represents a typical improvement of food cost savings of 3% to 8%, commonly a 40%+ increase in profitability for operations.
As the global leader in addressing food waste, we are committed to continue pushing the envelope on what technology can do to solve this problem. Winnow Vision, our new artificial intelligence-based technology, is trained to automatically track all food waste thrown away. It has won awards at the World Economic Forum and has received tremendous enthusiasm from our clients and the industry. You can read more about it on our website.
Other recent accolades saw Winnow listed in the 2025 Sunday Times Best Places to Work - a recognition based on feedback from our UK team. While this award is based in the UK, it reflects something global: a culture built on purpose, collaboration, and the belief that businesses can - and should - tackle real-world problems while being great places to work. Previous awards saw Winnow in the top 10 of the FoodTech 500 awards - the worlds first definitive list of the global entrepreneurial talent at the intersection between food, technology and sustainability, as well as winning Impact 50's most impactful companies to work for. You can read more about it here.
We are passionate about living our values and place them at the centre of everything we do. We are excited about like minded talent who share these values, joining us in our mission:
- Equal parts head and heart. We’re both passionate and measured. We carefully balance the need for quick solutions and pragmatism with the ability to step back, take in the bigger picture and build for the long term.
- Bravely honest. With each other, that means we’re a transparent organisation where healthy, respectful debate is encouraged. With our customers, we challenge them if we don’t think they’re achieving their goals, whether they be environmental or financial.
- People of action. Done is better than perfect, and we learn by boldly doing then rapidly improving. We’re breaking new ground, so we know things might go wrong. But we judge ourselves and each other on our reaction and our resilience.
- Bound by food. We’re a diverse bunch, but our belief in the value of food is the common thread in everything we do. With each other, we celebrate through our love and respect for food. With our customers, it means we work hard to develop creative tools to make it easy for chefs to value food.
- Hungry and humble. Our product is revolutionary, our people are impressive, and we’re hungry for change. But, we’re just the catalyst for a bigger movement. We stay humble regardless of our success, and make chefs the heroes in this journey.
- People and planet positive. We’re caretakers of the planet, helping to preserve and support it for now and the future. Our work already minimises the impact that the hospitality industry has on the planet, and we’re also committed to actively reducing our own footprint while doing so. We’re leaving the planet and its people better off than we found them.
This is an opportunity to join an exciting organisation and help us propel our growth at what are truly the most exciting and dynamic points in time in our business. You will work alongside a driven team who are motivated by building an exciting business and leaving the world a better place than we found it.
About the role
We are looking for a talented and motivated Business Development Manager to join our London team and lead the expansion of our enterprise client base across French-speaking markets.
In this role, you will play a key part in identifying new opportunities, building strong relationships with strategic clients, and delivering sustainable revenue growth. You will be responsible for shaping and executing the business development strategy within your territory, managing the full sales cycle from initial engagement to successful deal closure.
Working closely with cross-functional teams including sales, marketing, product, and customer success, you will contribute to expanding our presence and strengthening our relationships with key partners and clients.
This position is based in London and may require international travel, particularly to French-speaking markets.
Key objectives
- Lead the end-to-end sales process with customers in French-speaking markets.
- Develop and implement the Business Development strategy to expand the company’s presence within your assigned region.
- Build and maintain a strong pipeline of potential clients in order to drive consistent revenue growth.
- Identify new business opportunities and develop long-term relationships with key stakeholders and decision makers in target organisations.
- Develop solutions-based sales approaches that respond directly to customer needs and business challenges.
- Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, including C-suite executives and strategic partners.
- Nurture new accounts by demonstrating early success and supporting the expansion of solutions across the client’s organisation.
- Expand existing customer accounts by building on previous successes and encouraging wider adoption of the company’s products or services.
- Monitor competitor activity and market trends to identify opportunities, risks and potential collaborations.
- Represent the company at industry events, conferences and networking opportunities to strengthen market presence and develop new relationships.
- Collaborate with internal teams to ensure a smooth onboarding process and long-term success for new and existing clients.
Requirements
- Fluency in both French and English is required.
- Proven experience in business development, enterprise sales or SaaS sales.
- Demonstrated ability to manage the full sales cycle, from prospecting and lead generation to closing complex deals.
- Experience selling technology solutions or digital products to large corporate clients is preferred.
- A strong track record of consistently meeting or exceeding sales targets.
- Experience working in a high-performing sales environment, ideally within an international organisation.
- Strong understanding of B2B sales processes and strategic account management.
- Experience within sectors such as hospitality, technology or sustainability solutions would be considered an advantage.
- A university degree or equivalent professional experience is preferred.
Personal attributes
- You are highly motivated and results-driven, with a strong passion for developing new business opportunities.
- You demonstrate excellent communication and presentation skills and are confident when engaging with both small groups and large audiences.
- You are skilled at building strong relationships and are able to establish trust with senior stakeholders.
- You are well organised and capable of managing multiple priorities while meeting tight deadlines.
- You possess strong analytical skills and are comfortable using data to identify opportunities and support decision making.
- You are comfortable working in a fast-paced, international environment and adapting to evolving business needs.
- You demonstrate strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make sound and sometimes difficult decisions.
Our shared attributes
- You balance the need for fast and pragmatic action with the ability to step back and think strategically about long-term growth.
- You value transparency, collaboration and open communication when working with colleagues and partners.
- You take ownership of your work and focus on delivering meaningful results.
- You are proactive, adaptable and committed to continuous improvement.
- You demonstrate integrity, professionalism and respect in all your interactions.
Benefits
- Competitive base salary plus sales commission
- Company stock options package
- Matching pension scheme
- Eye care vouchers and eye care allowance
- Life insurance
- Company part-funded health insurance
- 2 Wellness hours per month, plus a £40 monthly wellness allowance
- Employee Assistance Programme - 24/7 helpline for your wellbeing
- Early finish Friday - log off from 3pm if you have finished all your work by then
- 25 days of paid vacation time (plus the option to buy a further 5 days annual leave) in addition to national holidays
- You will love what you do – waking up every day solving one of the biggest social problems of our generation
- Committed team members with broad experience who share a common passion to build a world class business