Senior Travel Business Development Manager - UK (m/f/d)

ABOUT US

Pliant is a modular B2B payments platform that combines commercial card issuing, payment accounts, FX, and spend management in one system — adapting to existing setups rather than requiring customers to replace them.

Businesses across industries such as travel, e-commerce, and insurance use Pliant to manage complex payment workflows with cards, backed by credit lines Pliant underwrites itself.

Fintechs and software platforms embed Pliant's payment infrastructure into their own products, from API-based Cards-as-a-Service to fully white-label solutions. Banks use Pliant's Card & Spend OS, the customer-facing interface, on their own infrastructure to run card programs.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Berlin, Pliant serves 5,000+ businesses and 40+ partners across Europe and the United States. A principal member of Visa and Mastercard, Pliant issues commercial cards in 13 currencies across 32 countries — under its own European e-money license and with licensed partners in the UK and US.

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ABOUT THE ROLE

You will support our UK and Ireland Sales team at Pliant as a Senior Travel Business Development Manager - UK (m/f/d) and accelerate our expansion in one of Pliant’s most strategic verticals: travel. You’ll be focused on identifying, engaging, and converting travel-focused businesses that can benefit from flexible credit, virtual cards, and automated spend controls.

You’ll work closely with our commercial and product teams to tailor messaging and solution design for OTAs, travel operators and B2B travel marketplaces.

This role will be UK based (remote) however if you are based in London or Manchester, we have co-working spaces there to work from.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Travel Industry Acquisition: Source and qualify new prospects across the B2B travel space, including OTAs, travel operators and B2B travel marketplaces.

• Pipeline Management: Oversee the full sales cycle from prospecting and qualification to negotiation and closing. Ensure you follow a structured, efficient process and consistently achieve targets.

• Industry Messaging & Positioning: Tailor your outreach and conversations to address travel-specific pain points (e.g., payment delays, reconciliation, fraud risk, chargebacks).

• Thought Leadership: Serve as a market expert for Pliant, representing the brand at industry events, networking opportunities, and client meetings. Advocate for Pliant’s vision and technology within the UK.

• Market Understanding: Stay up to date with the latest developments in the UK fintech & travel landscape, competitors’ offerings, and customer needs. Provide valuable market insights and recommendations for product enhancements and go-to-market strategies.

• Go-To-Market Strategy: You are spearheading the UK expansion and helping define our local strategy as well as shape the product for specific market needs.

• Collaboration & Reporting: Work closely with sales, growth and RevOps teams to ensure alignment with business goals. Regularly report progress, insights, and results to senior management.

• Partner with Marketing: Support go-to-market campaigns targeting the travel industry and contribute to event presence, case study generation, and co-marketing.

WHAT YOU`LL BRING

• Proven experience (5+ years) within sales or business development experience with clients in the travel industry or adjacent verticals (e.g., hospitality tech, payments, B2B platforms)

• High interest in financial technology landscape, as well as the underpinnings of credit, lending, and B2B payments

• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact effectively with stakeholders at all levels

• Experience in launching and scaling products or services in new markets, ideally within the UK

• Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach to problem-solving and customer acquisition

• Familiarity with CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce) and sales methodologies such as SPIN, MEDDIC, or Challenger

• Self-motivated and goal-oriented, with the ability to work autonomously in a fast-paced startup environment

• Strong analytical and reporting skills, with the ability to assess market opportunities and identify key growth levers

• Fluency in English (written and spoken) is required

WHAT WE OFFER

• The opportunity to work in a growing team with big responsibilities that thrives on a strong exchange of knowledge and excellence

• Attractive remuneration

• Your choice of preferred OS, Windows or Mac

• Flat hierarchy and transparent communication in a relaxed, professional atmosphere

• Opportunity to develop your talent in a dynamic team with ambitious goals

• Flexibility and possibility to work remotely

• Pliant Card with monthly credit to explore the product and enjoy food with colleagues

Pliant is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities, and are committed to an inclusive hiring process. If you need any accommodations during the interview process, please let us know.

At Pliant we use the Ashby AI Criteria to assist with looking over resumes against our job qualifications for this role. All final decisions are made by our Talent Team and Hiring Team.

A human is behind these processes. Ashby does not automatically reject candidates or make final hiring decisions. Our teams review all results and make the final hiring decision with every candidate that applies.