Sales Development Manager
Location: London, UK (Oval)
Type: Full Time (5 days in office - remote working options during school holidays)
Salary: up to £40,000 - £50,000 (OTE)
Hi, I’m Nick, the Head of Sales Development at Zen Educate.
I’m searching for a Sales Development Manager to take a leading role within our high-performing SDR team. You’ll set the standard, share your experience, and help train and mentor, while uplifting those around you.
If you have proven success in outbound sales or experience in EdTech/Education Recruitment, and you’re ready to make an impact in the education space, this could be the role for you.
Why this matters
Zen is a Social Enterprise that is transforming the Education staffing space. UK schools spend over £2bn a year on supply staff, £600m of that goes straight to recruiters.
We built a better way: a tech-driven platform that connects schools with teachers directly, saving time, money, and stress.
Since launching in 2017, we’ve saved schools over £30 million, and we’re just getting started. In 2024, we closed the largest EdTech funding round in Europe and are expanding fast across the UK and US.
As a Sales Development Manager, you’ll play a vital role in growing our impact, while helping shape and support the team around you.
What you’ll actually do
Let’s get specific. Here’s what you’ll be doing day-to-day:
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of SDRs through regular one-to-one sessions, call coaching, deal reviews, and feedback
- Design and deliver structured onboarding, ongoing training, and group coaching sessions
- Set clear expectations around activity, quality, and outcomes, leading by example
- Run daily stand-ups, weekly team meetings, and performance reviews
- Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and peer learning
- Track and analyse key SDR metrics including activity, conversion rates, and meeting quality
- Use data to identify performance gaps and coach individuals towards improvement
- Provide clear reporting and insights to senior sales leadership on team performance and trends
- Support performance management conversations where required
- Actively participate in outbound sales development by prospecting, qualifying, and booking meetings for Account Managers and AEs
- Manage your own pipeline and outreach activity using the Zen platform
- Demonstrate best-in‑class outbound behaviours that the team can learn from
Why this role is unique ⭐️
You’ll lead from the front, balancing hands‑on sales development with coaching and developing a growing SDR team. This is a role for someone who enjoys setting the standard, not managing from the sidelines.
You’ll have meaningful input into how the SDR function operates, from training and messaging to outreach strategy and performance standards, helping shape the next phase of the team’s growth.
As Zen continues to grow, this role offers a strong pathway into senior sales leadership or commercial roles, with increased responsibility as the team and market expand.
What makes you a great fit
You’ll thrive here if you:
- Have strong experience in outbound sales, ideally within B2B SaaS, EdTech, or a similar consultative sales environment
- Are a proven high performer who has consistently hit or exceeded sales development targets
- Have experience coaching, mentoring, or leading SDRs, whether in a formal management role or as a senior team member
- Enjoy balancing hands‑on sales activity with developing others and leading by example
- Are confident running one‑to‑ones, delivering feedback, and facilitating group training or team sessions
- Are comfortable using data and metrics to understand performance, diagnose issues, and drive improvement
- Communicate clearly and credibly with senior stakeholders, both internally and externally
- Are naturally collaborative and enjoy working closely with peers across sales and commercial teams
- Are motivated by results, ownership, and continuous improvement
- Care deeply about doing work that has purpose and impact, and are excited by Zen’s mission
- Thrive in a fast‑paced, office‑based team environment and enjoy being part of a highly engaged sales floor
What won’t work here
Let’s be honest — this isn’t for everyone:
- You expect results without putting in consistent effort
- You’re not open to feedback or learning from mistakes
- You prefer rigid, slow‑moving environments