Vice President, Sales Operations & Commercial Development

Overview

As a key member of the Sales leadership team, the Vice President, Sales Operations & Commercial Development will help shape how HarperCollins Sales operates and grows. Reporting to the President of Sales, this leader will drive operational excellence, sales effectiveness, and commercial development by building scalable processes, enhancing technology and business capabilities, and fostering strong cross-functional partnerships. The role will also identify new opportunities to leverage HarperCollins' infrastructure, expertise, and relationships to create value for customers and support long-term growth.

Responsibilities

Sales Operations & Organizational Effectiveness

• Lead Sales Operations and Administration, ensuring the sales organization has the processes, tools, and support needed to maximize customer engagement and revenue growth.
• Drive operational excellence by simplifying workflows, standardizing processes, and eliminating organizational friction.
• Establish performance metrics and governance to improve productivity, service levels, and execution across sales channels.
• Lead change management efforts associated with new processes, technologies, organizational structures, and ways of working.

Systems, Technology & Data

• Serve as the senior Sales business owner for sales systems, technology, automation, and data capabilities.
• Partner with IT and business leaders to define and execute a roadmap that improves sales productivity, decision-making, and operational efficiency.
• Identify opportunities to leverage automation, AI, and emerging technologies to reduce manual work and enhance performance.
• Champion data integrity, adoption of business tools, and effective use of insights across the Sales organization.

Commercial Development & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Identify and develop new commercial opportunities that leverage HarperCollins' sales, distribution, and operational capabilities.
• Lead complex cross-functional initiatives from concept through implementation, establishing scalable operating models and measurable business outcomes.
• Partner with Finance, Supply Chain, Customer Service, IT, Publishing, and Marketing to resolve operational challenges and improve customer experience.
• Represent Sales on company-wide strategic initiatives involving systems, processes, data, and operational transformation.

Leadership & Team Development

• Build and lead a high-performing Sales Operations organization with strong capabilities in process improvement, project execution, and business support.
• Foster a culture of accountability, service, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the President of Sales and senior leadership, providing strategic guidance on operational priorities, organizational effectiveness, and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Sales Operations, Commercial Operations, Business Operations, or a related field.
• Proven success improving sales effectiveness, operational performance, and organizational productivity.
• Experience leading large-scale cross-functional initiatives, business transformation efforts, and change management programs.
• Strong understanding of sales systems, CRM platforms, business intelligence, automation, and emerging technologies.
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing teams through growth and change.
• Strong commercial acumen with a track record of identifying and developing new business opportunities.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and driving outcomes across functions without direct authority.
• Exceptional communication, strategic planning, project management, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience in publishing, media, consumer products, or another complex multi-channel business preferred.
• Deep understanding of the relationship between sales, operations, customer experience, and profitability.

Leadership Profile

The successful candidate will be:

• Strategic: Balances long-term growth opportunities with operational execution.
• Operationally Excellent: Brings discipline, structure, and continuous improvement to complex organizations.
• Commercially Minded: Identifies opportunities to create value, improve profitability, and support growth.
• Technology Forward: Leverages systems, automation, AI, and data to improve decision-making and efficiency.
• Collaborative: Builds strong partnerships and aligns stakeholders across functions.
• Change-Oriented: Leads organizations through transformation with clarity and credibility.
• Customer Focused: Maintains a strong focus on both customer experience and sales effectiveness.
• Trusted Advisor: Exercises sound judgment and serves as a valued partner to senior leadership.

HarperCollins Publishers is a company full of people who are passionate about books.  When you apply for a position, we want to know why you want to work here, and why you are interested in the job. That’s why cover letters are strongly preferred.

The salary range for this role is $210,000-$250,000. We recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. The quoted salary range represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect, and we tailor our offers within the range based on the selected candidate's experience, industry knowledge, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the interview process.  

In addition to cash compensation, the company provides a comprehensive and highly competitive benefits package, with a variety of physical health, retirement and savings, caregiving, emotional wellbeing, transportation, and other benefits, including "elective" benefits employees may select to best fit the needs and personal situations of our diverse workforce.     

HarperCollins Publishers is an equal opportunity employer.

HarperCollins Publishers is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities, in our job application and/or interview process. If you need assistance or accommodation in completing your application, due to a disability, email us at [email protected]. Note: we will only respond to accommodation requests.