Customer Sales Manager

• Location: Birmingham, UK                                         
• Working Period: Full Time      
• Reports to: Residence Manager
• Salary: £38,000

Overview

Yugo is the trusted name for student housing globally. Every day we connect young people to opportunities and students to amazing spaces. Here at Yugo, we like to do things differently. It's about people, planet, and passion.

Our Customer Sales Managers are responsible for driving occupancy, revenue growth, student retention and arrears performance across their residence. They are commercial leaders within the property, focused on securing bookings, maximising conversions, building local partnerships and delivering an exceptional customer journey from enquiry through to arrival and beyond.

Working closely with the Residence Manager and Assistant Residence Manager, the Customer Sales Manager is accountable for delivering occupancy targets for the 2026/27 academic year and future leasing cycles, while ensuring effective management of student accounts and arrears performance.

This is a hands-on role requiring strong commercial awareness, relationship-building skills and a proactive approach to sales and customer engagement.

Key Responsibilities

1.       Deliver Occupancy and Revenue Targets

• Lead the delivery of occupancy, leasing and revenue targets for the residence.
• Develop and execute local sales strategies to achieve budgeted occupancy levels.
• Own the customer journey from enquiry through to booking, ensuring a market-leading conversion experience.
• Monitor enquiry pipelines and ensure prompt follow-up of all sales opportunities.
• Conduct in-person and virtual property tours, converting prospects into residents.
• Drive annual re0booking campaigns to maximise resident retention.
• Identify opportunities to increase revenue through room upgrades and ancillary services.
• Support the Residence Manager in achieving NOI and GOI targets.
• Monitor local market conditions, competitor activity and pricing strategies to maximise performance.
• Provide recommendations on local initiatives to drive leasing performance.

2.       Manage Student Accounts and Arrears Performance

• Take ownership of the residence arrears process and debt management strategy.
• Monitor student accounts to ensure payments are received in accordance with tenancy agreements.
• Proactively contact residents regarding overdue payments and outstanding balances.
• Negotiate and manage payment plans where appropriate.
• Work closely with guarantors and sponsors to assist with account resolution.
• Produce weekly arrears reports and collection action plans.
• Support legal and escalation processes relating to unpaid accounts.
• Work collaboratively with the Finance team to minimise bad debt exposure.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and procedures regarding payment collection.
• Deliver debt reduction targets and support overall cash collection objectives.

3. Develop University and Strategic Partnerships

• Build strong relationships with local universities, colleges and student support services.
• Develop relationships with university accommodation teams to generate referrals and future bookings.
• Attend housing fairs, university events, open days and student-facing activities.
• Build and maintain relationships with education agents and referral partners.
• Identify opportunities to attract new customer segments and increase market share.
• Act as a key ambassador for Yugo within the local student community.
• Work with central Sales and Marketing teams to deliver local campaigns and initiatives.

4. Drive Customer Experience and Retention

• Ensure prospective and current residents receive an exceptional customer experience.
• Monitor customer feedback and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Support effective complaint resolution relating to sales, bookings and student accounts.
• Lead customer retention initiatives to maximise renewals and referrals.
• Work collaboratively with operational teams to improve student satisfaction and retention.
• Champion the Yugo brand values and customer experience standards.
• Support the delivery of YugoEco, YuGrow and YuPro initiatives within the residence.

5. Sales Reporting and Business Performance

• Maintain accurate records within CRM and operating systems.
• Produce weekly and monthly sales performance reports.
• Analyse occupancy trends, conversion rates and booking activity.
• Forecast occupancy performance and identify risks and opportunities.
• Track marketing and sales campaign effectiveness.
• Provide regular updates and recommendations to the Residence Manager.
• Ensure reporting deadlines are consistently achieved and data integrity maintained.

6. Support the Residence Leadership Team

• Act as a member of the residence leadership team alongside the Residence Manager and Assistant Residence Manager.
• Collaborate with operational teams to ensure a seamless resident experience.
• Support the delivery of site objectives and strategic priorities.
• Participate in leadership meetings, planning sessions and business reviews.
• Support key initiatives from Sales, Marketing, Finance, Data & Analytics, Systems and Operations teams.
• Provide holiday and operational support where required.

Key Performance Indicators

Revenue Performance

·       Occupancy Target (%)

·       NOI Performance

·       GOI Performance

·       Booking Conversion Rate

·       Re-booking Rate

Student Account Performance

·       Arrears Target

·       Debt Reduction Performance

·       Payment Plan Compliance

·       Bad Debt Performance

Customer Performance

·       Customer Satisfaction Scores

·       Referral Bookings

·       Resident Retention

·       Online Review Scores

Business Development

·       University Referral Volumes

·       Partnership Activity

·       Agent Bookings

·       New Business Opportunities Generated

Key Skills and Capabilities

Commercial Awareness

Able to identify opportunities to drive occupancy, revenue growth and customer retention through proactive sales activity.

Relationship Building

Develops strong working relationships with students, universities, agents, partners and colleagues.

Customer Focus

Passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences and resolving issues effectively.

Communication Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence and negotiate positively.

Analytical Thinking

Comfortable analysing sales data, forecasts, occupancy trends and arrears performance to make informed decisions.

Organisation and Planning

Able to manage multiple priorities, deadlines and performance targets in a fast-paced environment.

IT Skills

Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications including Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and CRM systems.

 

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Minimum 3 years' experience in a sales, leasing, customer account management or revenue-focused role.
• Proven track record of achieving occupancy, sales or revenue targets.
• Experience managing customer accounts, payment plans or arrears processes.
• Strong customer service and relationship management skills.
• Experience using CRM systems and reporting tools.
• Excellent negotiation and influencing skills.
• Ability to analyse performance data and create actionable plans.
• Resilience, adaptability and strong commercial awareness.

Desirable

• Experience within PBSA, hospitality, residential leasing or accommodation sectors.
• Previous experience working with universities, education providers or student-focused services.
• Knowledge of tenancy agreements, student accommodation operations and debt management processes.
• Experience managing local partnerships and referral networks.
• Financial awareness and understanding of budget performance.

The Yugo team is a force for good, our mission is to harness this passion to deliver an extraordinary living experience that supports the transition to and from student life.

As part of the Yugo team, you'll have access to a great range of benefits, including:

•        25 days' annual leave, plus bank holidays (Pro rota if part time)

•        Life Assurance at 4x your annual salary

•        One YU Day each year to use however you choose

•        Two paid volunteering days each year

•        Company pension scheme

•        Optional Medicash healthcare cash plans

•        Cycle to Work scheme

•        Private medical insurance