Business Development Manager
1 X Permanent Position - Province wide
1 X Temporary Maternity Cover (9 – 12 Months) Belfast/Co. Down
Attractive Salary, Benefits, Company Car, Bonus
36.5 Hour week
Field Based
Who are we?
Henderson Group are proud to be Northern Ireland’s leading foodservice provider. Our group encompasses Henderson Wholesale, Henderson Retail, Henderson Foodservice and Henderson Group Property. We employ over 5,700 colleagues and have been placed 3rd in Ulster Business Top 100 Companies 2025. We're proud to be an Investors in People accredited employer, and our culture is lived out through our four core values- Ambition, Customer First, Teamwork and Integrity.
Henderson Wholesale is a leading Wholesaler in Northern Ireland and supplies goods to over 450 stores across various brands such as SPAR, EUROSPAR and VIVO. We source from local farmers, growers and producers and are proud to contribute to our local economy and environment.
We achieved Gold accreditation against the Investors in People standard framework in 2023 in recognition of people management excellence and our commitment to investment in people.
A look into the role
Reporting to the Regional Sales Manager, the successful candidate will be responsible for providing support and guidance to a group of independent retailers within the Independent SPAR estate. Main responsibilities will include advising on promotional activity, range-review, store layout and operational effectiveness, with the primary objective of growing retailer profit through margin management, turnover growth, and cost control while maximising business available to Henderson Wholesale.
Working as Business Development Manager you will:
• Drive sales at both Wholesale and Retail levels to ensure maximum performance versus budgets.
• Develop marketing plans in your territory to help promote and grow retail sales of individual stores as required, in line with the overall Marketing Strategy.
• Manage customer loyalty and purchasing targets across all commodities, ensuring retailers purchase all products either through the warehouse or via central billing agreements, using reports to manage imagery loans and loyalty rebates.
• Monitor planning and development activity in the territory to identify retail development opportunities.
• To work with Retail Services to ensure that retail development projects are carefully managed to achieve satisfactory outcomes
• Develop and implement effective business development plans for the SPAR neighbourhood stores.
• Analyse retailers Profit & Loss accounts giving guidance on performance to allow the stores to achieve their net profit targets.
• Build relationships with other departments within the Henderson Group and establish external relationships always promoting the Company.
• Develop and coach retailers to support continual improvement, introducing effective plans to increase customer’s margins and reduce costs.
• Develop a substantial knowledge of our competitor marketplace.
Skills for Success
Joining us as Business Development Manager the minimum criteria you’ll need is:
• GCSE English & Maths (or equivalent) at Grade C or above
• Minimum 3 years’ experience of managing a store within food retail / Convenience / Supermarket sectors or at an account management level
• Experience of driving retail sales or purchases against set budgets
• Experience of NI food retail market
• Proficient in MS Office packages
• Current UK/EU Driving License
The Attributes you’ll need include:
• Influencing and Persuading skills
• Excellent Presentation and Communication skills
• Organisational & Planning Skills, setting clear objectives
• Customer-focused mindset
• Team player
• Build and maintain effective relationships with customers and colleagues
It is desirable if you have:
• Experience of dealing with independent retailers within food convenience sector
• Ability to analyse Profit & Loss accounts
Are we right for you?
As part of this role, it will be important that you feel aligned with the values that we live and work by.
Ambition – We always strive to be better. We seek new challenges and look for ways to do things better.
Customer First – We provide exceptional service. We put customers at the heart of everything and support our communities.
Teamwork – We succeed together. We help colleagues to succeed, and we share our knowledge and skills.
Integrity – We are fair, honest and ethical. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are inclusive and champion diversity.
The Reward
The impact you can make with Henderson Group goes far beyond your day to day. You will be part of a business supporting defibrillator installations and school sports days. In the last year Henderson group staff and retail stores raised over £1 million for charity partners.
Our business has been recognised externally for delivering excellence in employment. We value employee development and heavily invest in our people.
Benefits include market competitive salary, company car, bonus, contributory pension scheme, private medical insurance, life assurance, employee assistance programme, social club, Perks Offers/Discount scheme throughout UK/Ireland, staff discount (grocery/fuel) at SPAR/EUROSPAR Henderson Group company-owned stores and many more.
This is a full-time position working 36.5 hours per week. Working hours will be 8:45am-4:45pm Monday to Thursday and 8:45am-3:45pm Friday.
If you'd like to speak with us before making your application, our Talent Acquisition Specialist - Joanne McClelland would be happy to have a confidential chat with you about the role on offer - email joanne.mcclelland@henderson-group.com to get in touch.
Completed applications must be submitted online by midnight on Wednesday 18th February 2026.
We are an equal opportunities employer.