Business Development Manager (China)

Department: Sales

Reporting to: UK Pod Lead

Employment type: Full-time

Salary: £40,000-£45,000; OTE up to £105,000

Location: Remote, UK-based, with monthly London meetups and regular periods working from China of up to 3 weeks at a time

Languages: Fluent Mandarin and professional-level English

About Gocertify

Gocertify is a bootstrapped UK tech start-up helping brands run smarter, more targeted reward campaigns.

We verify eligible audiences such as students, key workers and seniors, so brands can move away from broad discounting, protect brand value and offer the right rewards to the right customers.

We are trusted by 500+ brands, including Samsung, Sainsbury's and FARFETCH. We work with 2m+ shoppers a year, drive £125m+ in retail sales, and have grown profitably and bootstrapped since 2020.

We are a team of around 20 people, working remotely with monthly meetups in London.

Why this role exists

China is becoming an increasingly important market for Gocertify. We are already seeing strong opportunities with over 50 Chinese consumer brands looking to grow in the UK and other international markets, and now want someone focused on developing that market full-time.

Some of our strongest progress has come through events, introductions and face-to-face relationships in China. We now want to turn that early traction into a more consistent commercial channel.

Role and scope

This is a hands-on commercial role focused on building Gocertify's presence with Chinese brands.

You'll own the China new-business pipeline from identifying the right brands and opening conversations through to demo, negotiation and close. A big part of the role is building relationships directly with Chinese businesses, both remotely and during regular time in China.

You'll stay close to new partners through launch where your Mandarin, market knowledge or existing relationship helps, before Client Success takes over the ongoing relationship.

This isn't a mature territory with a fixed playbook. You'll build your own pipeline, win Chinese brands and help us work out the most effective way to grow Gocertify in China.

As our first full-time commercial hire focused on China, you'll also help shape how we approach the market as we learn what works.

What you will focus on
1. Build a pipeline of Chinese brands

You will work on
- Building and prioritising a target list of Chinese consumer brands with strong UK or international growth potential
- Creating new opportunities through outbound, WeChat, LinkedIn, email, events, introductions and relevant partner networks
- Finding and building relationships with the right contacts
- Using time in China to meet priority brands in person, attend relevant industry events and develop relationships that are harder to build remotely
- Testing which brands, messages and channels generate the strongest opportunities and adjusting your approach based on what works

2. Own and close new business

You will work on
- Owning opportunities from first conversation through discovery, demo, negotiation and close
- Understanding how prospective brands are approaching international growth, customer acquisition and promotions
- Demoing Gocertify in Mandarin and English and tailoring the commercial case to what the brand is trying to achieve
- Managing multiple stakeholders and keeping opportunities moving through clear next steps and consistent follow-up
- Negotiating commercial terms and maintaining accurate pipeline and forecast information

3. Help build a stronger China go-to-market

You will work on
- Sharing what you are learning about Chinese brands, buying processes, objections and competitors
- Improving how we position and sell Gocertify in the Chinese market
- Building useful Mandarin-language sales materials, case studies and other assets where they will help opportunities progress
- Identifying which events, networks, partners and routes into the market are producing the strongest results
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