Sales Development Manager

Our Purpose 

At Xero, we’re here to help you supercharge your business. We do this by automating routine tasks, surfacing actionable insights and connecting businesses with the right data, advisors and apps. When that happens, we’re not only making life better for small business, we’ll be building a stronger economy that can change the world.

How you’ll make an impact

As the Sales Development Manager you will play a pivotal role in driving our regional growth by leading a high-impact team of Sales Development Representatives (SDRs). As SDR Manager, you’ll be responsible for working alongside our SDR team to develop and execute our pipeline generation & partner recruitment strategy. Additionally, you’ll develop and execute strategy to drive adoption of Xero’s Partner Program and implement on-boarding best practices for Accounting and Bookkeeping partners.

You will lead a team of sales development representatives in Xero’s high growth, fast-paced environment. Your team will create inbound and outbound pipelines for Account Executives and Senior Account Executives. Through your coaching and execution of strategy, SDRs will have the tools and knowledge needed to meet and exceed pipeline goals.

What you’ll do

• Build and Scale a Multi-Segment Function: Develop and execute a comprehensive strategy to establish a best-in-class sales development function, with distinct sales motions that address SMB, Mid-Market, and Enterprise customer needs
• Lead and Mentor: Recruit, train, and lead a high-performing team of SDRs, providing clear guidance and support to drive individual and team success across each customer segment
• Shadow SDR’s calls to drive adoption of Xero’s Partner Program and overcome partner objections, resulting in new business pipeline
• Be the go-to person for the team on day to day operational issues
• Ownership for the escalation of issues from the team to the RD
• Motivate and assist the team to ensure monthly targets are achieved
• Partner Acquisition Strategy: Own regional new partner acquisition efforts, driving consistent growth and identifying key channels and tactics for new partnerships within each segment
• Process Design and Optimization: Establish and continuously refine segment-specific processes, workflows, and best practices to enhance team productivity and effectiveness from lead generation through hand-off to Sales
• Technology and Tooling Implementation: Weigh in on selection and integration appropriate technology and tools (e.g., automation, analytics) to support outreach and enable success through data-driven decision-making
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Marketing, Sales, and SOPS teams to align strategies, ensure seamless lead hand-offs, and support partner-centric growth initiatives that address customer needs
• Act as the conduit between the SDR team and Xero Product Development and Xero Customer Experience teams
• Engage and liaise with Account Executives (AEs) and Regional Director (RD) regarding the on-boarding of Partners, including booking Xero introductory presentations and related activities
• Ownership for the escalation of issues from the team to the RD
• Performance Analysis and Adjustment: Regularly analyze team performance, create reports, and adjust strategies to drive continuous improvement and ensure KPIs are attained
• Effective System Management: Role models the use of internal systems to effectively manage pipeline and sales activities, maintaining an accurate record whilst drawing insights from the data 
• Customer-Centric Focus: Ensure a strong focus on understanding customer needs and trends to drive meaningful interactions and relationships

Success looks like

• Building strong relationships with Partners ensuring they have a first class onboarding experience, providing education of Xero’s product offering, showcasing Xero updates and introducing these new accounts to their Account Executives. Success also looks like being a stand-out people leader and supporting the team in ways that empower them to grow and succeed.

What you’ll bring with you

• Exceptional interpersonal skills to work cross-functionally and influence without direct authority
• Ability to work with initiative and autonomously in a fast-paced, evolving environment
• Strong ability to build rapport
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills
• Solution driven mindset
• Process driven and takes ownership
• Passion and desire to make a difference
• Knowledge of CRM systems, sales engagement platforms, and other tools that drive SDR productivity and data visibility across customer segments
• Experience with systems like Salesforce, Outreach, HubSpot, or similar platforms
• Demonstrated success in building and scaling a sales development team
• Track record of exceeding acquisition targets and adapting strategies 
• Ability to develop a clear, multi-segment vision for the function and translate it into actionable steps with measurable outcomes
• Experience with systems like Salesforce or similar platforms 
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret performance data and make strategic decisions to optimize processes and team performance
• Deep understanding of the customer journey 
• Ability to develop strategies that resonate with and engage potential partners

Why Xero? 

Diversity of people brings diversity of thought, and we like that. Our human-first culture of respect, fairness, and inclusion is what helps Xeros thrive and work and beyond. Offering very generous paid leave to use however you’d like (plus statutory holidays!), dedicated paid leave to care for your physical and mental wellbeing as well as an Employee Assistance Program to access mental health care for you and your family, employee resource groups, wellbeing programming and allowances, medical, dental, vision, and disability insurance, fertility and family forming financial support, 401k contribution matching, 26 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers, an Employee Share Plan, beautiful offices with snacks and break areas, flexible working, career development and many other benefits that reflect our human value, you’ll do the best work of your life at Xero.

Research has shown that women and underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single competency or experience. If you are excited about this role, but your past experience doesn't align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be just the right person for this role and Xero. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at time of application and throughout the interview process.