Group HEAD OF FRANCHISE

Peoples is an award-winning, multi-franchise automotive group – BYD Retailer of the Year, EVA accredited across all sites, Ford President’s Award winners and DEI Gold Standard within the Diversity Framework. We have been recognised as Ford Dealer Marketing Team of the Year (twice) and OMODA|JAECOO Marketing Team of the Year and Global Brand Award winners.

We are recruiting a Group Head of Franchise to lead our Sales team across all OEM brands, both in PV and CV.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, this pivotal role will be responsible for managing and growing the franchise operations for the Group. The role will lead and execute the Group Sales strategy, development, growth and profitability across the Peoples franchise network whilst ensuring brand consistency, excellent customer experience and long-term, influential relationships with our OEM partners – Ford, BYD, OMODA|JAECOO and Maxus.

Key Responsibilities

• Execute the strategy, structure and performance for Passenger Vehicle and Commercial Vehicle, providing clear direction and leadership for the Sales team and driving performance, growth and revenue across all locations and brands.

• Build and maintain senior relationships with our OEM partners, using your automotive sales expertise to influence allocation, support and local flexibility while protecting Group profitability. You will be the primary point of contact between the company and our OEMs.

• Work closely with Sales Managers to coach and drive the performance of the sales team and identify opportunities for training and upskilling to ensure our teams are confident to deliver a seamless sales experience. Use data and insight (volumes, margins, F&I, EV mix, stock, NPS/CSI, OEM scorecards and other KPIs) to drive timely decisions and corrective action.

• Challenge and support the Sales Managers, responding quickly to issues with a solutions-first approach, clear expectations and robust action plans.

• Work closely with the Head of Used Vehicle Sales to ensure stock mix and requirements are aligned to support the overall performance of the Group.

• Implement and improve standardised sales processes that deliver a seamless, compliant customer experience while maximising revenue and sustainable profit across all sites and brands.

• Lead our response to the EV/new-energy transition, ensuring sales targets, OEM EV qualifiers and profit are met across all brands.

• Work with Marketing, CX and site leaders to integrate digital and showroom journeys – enquiry management, online experience, remote/video selling, lead follow-up and conversion.

• Champion a high-performance and drive talent development in Sales: attract, develop and retain high-calibre, diverse leaders and teams; drive coaching, training and sharing of best practice; ensure effective performance management; and build a strong internal pipeline for future leaders.

• Ensure all sales activity complies with legal, regulatory and OEM requirements (including FCA, Consumer Duty, financial promotions, add-ons and GDPR), with strong controls on pricing, discounting, documentation and customer communications.

The Ideal Candidate

This role requires strong, passionate leadership that develops our people, delivers the numbers and drives both performance and customer excellence.

• Proven experience of senior management in automotive sales
• Multi-site leadership experience, ideally across multiple brands
• Strong track record of delivering volume and profit across New Vehicle sales, with a clear understanding of stock, F&I and add-on income.
• Experience working with OEM partners, ideally across multiple brands.
• Strong digital and data awareness, using dashboards and analytics to understand performance drivers and improve conversion across online journeys, lead management and remote selling.
• A leadership style that develops people, delivers the numbers and models our DEI commitments, creating an inclusive environment where diverse teams perform at their best.

Rewards and Benefits

• Salary competitive and dependent on experience
• 5-day working week
• 30 days’ annual leave
• Company car
• Private health
• Discounts on all company products and services, including friends and family discounts
• Instant access to Peoples Rewards, with thousands of online retail discounts and no spending limits
• Location: Primarily Merseyside, with regular travel to Scotland. The candidate must be based in/around the North West of England.