Business Development Manager

We’re looking for a Business Development Manager – Wine to join us on a 12 month fixed term contract to help grow LION’s premium wine portfolio across New Zealand’s On Premise market.

Preferably based in Auckland, you’ll bring together credible wine knowledge with strong commercial sales capability. You’ll be out in market building relationships, opening doors and converting new opportunities with some of New Zealand’s leading hospitality customers.

This role is about more than selling wine. You’ll also play an important part in building wine capability across our wider On Premise team, sharing your knowledge and helping our people have more confident, credible and compelling conversations with customers.

What you’ll do

• Identify, build and convert a strong pipeline of new business opportunities
• Grow the distribution, visibility and performance of our premium wine portfolio
• Build trusted partnerships across New Zealand’s On Premise and hospitality landscape
• Bring together customer, category and market insights to create compelling commercial propositions
• Share your wine expertise and help build capability and confidence across our wider sales team
• Work closely with our sales teams, customers and wine partners to unlock sustainable, profitable growth

What you’ll bring

You’ll be someone who genuinely knows and loves wine, but just as importantly, knows how to turn that expertise into commercial results.Ideally, you’ll bring:

• Credible premium wine knowledge, built through industry experience and/or relevant wine education
• Proven sales and business development experience, with a track record of winning and growing new business
• Strong knowledge of the New Zealand On Premise channel and premium hospitality environment
• Commercial confidence across negotiation, pricing, investment and customer economics
• A natural ability to share knowledge, coach others and build capability
• Strong relationship-building and influencing skills, with the confidence to engage a wide range of customers and stakeholders

You’ll be comfortable working independently and spending plenty of time out in market, while staying closely connected with the broader team.

At LION, you’ll be part of a team that’s passionate about our brands, our customers and creating memorable experiences. You’ll have the opportunity to grow your career, build your capability and make a genuine impact on how we grow our wine business in New Zealand.

We’re a certified B Corp, which means we care about people, planet and purpose—not just profit. We’re committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and we celebrate the unique perspectives that help us grow and innovate. We intentionally embrace difference and cultivate belonging every day, whether through our investment in our Reconciliation journey through our Innovate RAP, our commitment to gender pay equity or providing progressive people policies.

If you need specific support or accessibility adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know at [email protected] so we can make sure that your recruitment process is fair and we enable you to shine. This includes tailored support for First Nations people, individuals with disabilities, those who are neurodivergent, and people who identify as transgender or gender diverse as we understand the unique challenges and concerns you may face.