Key Account Development Manager - End User Lighting Controls / Smart Building Technology Location: Ideally London / South East - regular client-site activity
Territory: UK & Ireland
Contract: Permanent, Full Time
 
The Opportunity We are working with an established global Lighting Controls manufacturer to identify an experienced End User sales professional for an important new strategic appointment.
This is not a traditional specification sales position.
The role has been created to develop direct, senior-level relationships with the organisations that own, occupy and manage significant property estates, ensuring that lighting controls and connected-building solutions become part of the conversation before a traditional project specification is written.
Projects and target organisations span major commercial property, data centres, healthcare, education, public-sector and institutional estates.
This is very much a build role.
You will not inherit a mature portfolio of established accounts. You'll identify the strategic organisations that matter, open the doors, establish senior relationships and develop structured account plans capable of creating long-term opportunities.
 
What You'll Be Doing You'll take ownership of developing a strategic End User account base across the UK & Ireland, with particular emphasis on London and the South East.
Your responsibilities will include:

• Identifying and developing strategic End User accounts across corporate occupiers, landlords and asset managers, universities, NHS estates, local authorities and data centre operators.
• Building relationships with senior stakeholders including Estates & Facilities Directors, Heads of Sustainability, Corporate Real Estate teams and Asset Managers.
• Developing a qualified pipeline of End User-generated opportunities.
• Creating and maintaining formal strategic account plans, including stakeholder mapping, estate portfolios, investment/refresh cycles, competitor positioning and growth opportunities.
• Working collaboratively with Specification Sales colleagues to ensure End User relationships and project-level specification activity reinforce one another.
• Creating demand at End User level that ultimately influences project specifications.
• Helping protect specifications through tender and value-engineering stages by maintaining strong End User engagement.

Building the Commercial Case A major part of this position is understanding what matters to building owners and occupiers.
You'll be able to move the conversation beyond lighting products and discuss the wider commercial value of connected lighting and control technology, including:

• Energy performance and payback
• Carbon reduction and sustainability commitments
• Operational building data
• Occupancy insight and space utilisation
• Maintenance efficiency
• Compliance and reporting
• Internal lighting-control standards across property estates

You'll also identify opportunities for upgrades, retrofits and estate refresh programmes, alongside service, maintenance and framework agreements that can extend relationships beyond individual projects.
Who We're Looking For We're interested in speaking with experienced, consultative B2B sales professionals who can demonstrate:

• Successful senior-level selling into corporate or public-sector estates.
• A track record of opening new relationships and building an account base, rather than simply managing inherited customers.
• Genuine strategic account-planning capability.
• Understanding of the UK construction specification chain and longer project sales cycles.
• Credibility when engaging with Estates Directors, Sustainability Leads and C-suite stakeholders.
• Commercial understanding of energy, carbon, sustainability and payback.
• The ability to work autonomously while collaborating effectively with specification and wider sales teams.

Your Background Direct Lighting Controls experience would clearly be highly relevant, but it is not the only background we will consider.
We would also be very interested in strong End User sales professionals from adjacent building technology markets including:
BMS | HVAC Controls | Energy Management | Smart Buildings | IoT
Experience with framework or multi-site agreements would also be valuable, as would familiarity with areas such as Part L, EPBD, BREEAM, NABERS UK and corporate Net Zero commitments.
 
How You'll Work This opportunity will particularly suit someone who is:

• Self-directed and comfortable creating something that doesn't already exist.
• Naturally proactive about opening doors and developing senior relationships.
• Structured and disciplined in account planning, CRM and forecasting.
• Commercially astute and able to turn technical benefits into compelling business arguments.
• Collaborative in their approach to working alongside Specification Sales and other internal teams.

Location & Travel The ideal location is London or the South East, with hybrid working and regular client-site activity.
However, for an exceptional candidate with the right specialist End User experience and relationships, location could potentially be considered further north towards the Midlands.
The position involves travel across the UK & Ireland.
Why Consider It? What makes this opportunity particularly interesting is the chance to build something rather than simply inherit it.
You'll have the autonomy to identify the End Users that matter, develop senior relationships, shape account strategy and create opportunities capable of influencing projects from the very beginning.
It's an opportunity to join an established international organisation operating within an increasingly important area of building technology, where energy efficiency, sustainability, connected buildings and operational data are becoming increasingly important to property owners and occupiers.
The employer also offers a supportive and collaborative environment with an emphasis on autonomy, professional development, learning and internal career progression.
Interested? If you have a strong track record of developing strategic End User relationships within Lighting Controls, Smart Buildings, BMS, Energy Management or a related building technology market, we'd be very interested in speaking with you
 
All conversations will be treated in complete confidence.
Mark Polloway
Aldena Associates
�� mark@aldena.co.uk
Please note: Candidates must already be based in the UK and have full, unrestricted right to work in the UK. Visa sponsorship is not available for this opportunity.