Sales Director

The client

Datacenter People has been retained by a UK data centre operator providing carrier-neutral colocation and interconnection services.

What the job involves 12 responsibilities

• Sell the Volta platform as a whole – Manchester and London alike – rather than acting as a single-site or single-city leasing resource.
• Take responsibility for leasing and selling data centre space across the Manchester portfolio as the anchor of the role, alongside active selling of capacity at Volta’s London sites.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with target key accounts across the North of England, not Manchester alone, as well as the wider region.
• Source and secure suitable customers for the co-location data centre business, driving new business origination across the region’s c.4MW of available capacity.
• Understand data centre customers’ requirements and needs to offer suitable solutions and generate new business.
• Handle lease negotiations for new leases across the Manchester data centre assets, agreeing pricing in line with an approved floor price derived from acquisition cost and local market conditions.
• Handle leasing enquiries and make appropriate recommendations on available data centre space.
• Keep abreast of developments and market trends in the data centre market across the North of England and wider Europe.
• Establish a strong network with channel partners, introducers and brokers across the region.
• Prepare regular reports on pipeline status for the Regional Managing Director and wider Volta leadership.
• Work closely with the Regional Managing Director on overall commercial strategy for the region as the platform grows from its initial 2.5MW facility toward c.6MW, including jointly shaping how Manchester capacity is packaged, positioned and priced given there is no established sales motion to inherit.
• Act as a market maker for the Manchester platform – educating prospective customers and the wider market on Volta’s connectivity-led offering and why it competes credibly with Equinix, rather than selling on space and power alone.

We are looking for someone with

• More than 5 years’ relevant experience in a data centre environment, or a closely adjacent sector (e.g. connectivity, commercial real estate, critical infrastructure).
• A strong, established network of relationships spanning the North of England – not Manchester alone – this breadth of regional connectivity is a specific requirement for this hire.
• A proven, out-and-out sales track record – a genuine hunter mentality with enthusiasm for new business origination, not primarily an account management or general management background.
• Strong understanding of the customer and industry climate for data centres across the UK and Europe.
• Knowledgeable in data centre co-location services, solutions and technical acumen, sufficient to understand and translate customer requirements into suitable proposals.
• Understands what actually drives a customer’s choice of data centre beyond raw space and power – able to sell on connectivity, carrier density and network access, not just rate per kW.
• Able to translate strategic objectives into a business plan and disciplined sales pipeline.
• Genuinely comfortable selling across the platform as a whole – multiple sites, cities and regions – rather than being anchored to a single local market.
• A team player with the willingness to roll up your sleeves.
• Ability to multi-task, with a strong eye for detail.
• Self-motivated and able to work under pressure with tight deadlines.