UK Sales Team Lead (South)

For a quarter of a century, the Jellycat family have brought joy, wonder and playful fun to people of all ages, in every part of the world. Utterly original and in a class of their own, they are currently among the most loved and collected toys of their kind. How has this gentle tribe endeared themselves to so many? Perhaps it is their whimsical expressions. Or the deliciously soft fabrics. Or the beautiful way in which they sit in your hand. Whatever it is, there is something magical and unmistakeable about each one of them.

We are seeking an experienced, people-focused  South Team Lead to guide, coach and develop our Regional Sales Managers in the South of the UK. Your role is to  execute the global and UK Independent strategy , ensuring that every store in your region delivers exceptional retail standards, brand elevation, and a joyful experience for our fans. 

This role is centred on  building store culture ,  driving retail excellence , and  strengthening partnerships with our independent retailers. You will bring consistency, energy, and leadership to your team, ensuring our retailers feel supported, our brand looks outstanding, and our Regional Sales Managers are empowered to deliver their best work every day. 

You will deliver against the defined global and UK Independent plans, ensuring your team executes with excellence, attention to detail and pride. You will be a key cultural leader within Team Indies, upholding the Jellycat values, premium positioning, and bestinclass retail execution. 

You'll be;

• Leading, coaching and mentoring Regional Sales Managers to be commercially sharp, brandled, and deeply connected to their territories. 

• Building a strong team culture rooted in positivity and accountability. 

• Providing clear guidance, structured feedback, and handson support with store visits and retailer relationships. 

• Ensuring consistent delivery of Jellycat standards across all RSM territories in the South. 

• Translating the global and UK Independent retail strategy into clear priorities and execution plans for your team. 

• Ensuring RSMs deliver the agreed annual budgets, forecasts and retail expectations without compromising Jellycat’s positioning. 

• Partnering with the Head of Independents and fellow Team Leads to ensure aligned, consistent execution across the UK. 

• Championing and driving bestinclass retail culture across all independent partners. 

• Ensuring every stockist represents Jellycat with premium display, thoughtful product selection, and strong adherence to brand guidelines. 

• Supporting RSMs with instore coaching on visual merchandising, storytelling, and elevating category presence (Loveables, Baby Jellycat, Amuseables, Books, Accessories). 

• Review store execution regularly and give actionable feedback to elevate the brand’s presence. 

• Strengthening relationships with independent retailers across the South, supporting RSMs with senior interactions when required. 

• Acting as a senior escalation point for retailers, resolving challenges while protecting brand integrity. 

• Overseeing accuracy and timeliness of team reporting, forecasts, and territory administration. 

• Ensure compliance with credit terms, ordering processes, launch timelines, and brand guidelines. 

• Collaborating with operations, credit control, marketing, sales & demand planning and the broader commercial team to ensure smooth delivery for retailers. 

• Providing quarterly regional updates (commercial, operational and qualitative) to the Head of Independent Retail and broader team. 

• Sharing insights from the field to help strengthen collection planning, operational improvements and retailer engagement. 

• Working collaboratively with fellow Team Leads to ensure national consistency in execution and account experience. 

You'll have;

• Minimum 5+ years managing sales teams or leading sales managers (independent retail experience strongly preferred). 

• Strong understanding of premium retail environments. 

• Proven track record of coaching teams to deliver high standards of retail execution. 

• Experience working with independent retailers and navigating diverse retail environments. 

• Excellent people leadership with a motivating, supportive, and energetic style. 

• Strong communicator, able to influence, guide, and partner with both RSMs and retailers. 

• Highly organised with strong attention to detail; able to manage multiple teams and priorities. 

• Comfortable with Excel & PowerPoint to a high standard. 

• Great problem-solving and proactive solution-finding mentality . 

• A positive, premium, joyful, and fanfirst mindset (A true Jellycat brand ambassador )

• The ability to be calm under pressure with a resilient, “cando” approach. 

• A teamcentric mindset, collaborative and proud to support your people. 

• Passion for the store experience, retail storytelling and creating joyful discovery moments.