SDR Manager

Summary

Join UpGuard's Marketing team as an experienced and results-driven SDR Manager to lead and expand the APAC Sales Development Representative (SDR) team. This fully remote role based in Australia offers flexibility to work from anywhere in the country. You will drive pipeline generation, optimize sales processes, and foster a high-performing team in a fast-paced cybersecurity environment. Leverage your expertise in sales leadership, analytics, and modern sales technologies to achieve and exceed business objectives. You will build and train a high-performing SDR team, coach and mentor SDRs, define and analyze KPIs, develop an onboarding program, assist with recruiting, foster a culture of continuous learning, partner with Marketing and Sales leadership, and implement AI-powered tools and automation workflows. This role requires proven experience managing and growing a sales development team, preferably within a SaaS environment, and a strong analytical mindset. UpGuard offers a competitive compensation package and benefits.

Requirements

• Proven experience successfully managing and growing a sales development or inside sales team, preferably within a SaaS environment
• Demonstrable experience with CRM software (HubSpot strongly preferred) and other sales enablement tools
• A strong analytical mindset with a track record of using data to drive performance improvements and strategic decisions
• Exceptional coaching, mentoring, and communication skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate a team
• Deep understanding of sales processes, lead generation, and pipeline management
• Passion for technology and a keen interest in cybersecurity
• Obsessed with making customers happy and an acute understanding of prospect pain points during initial contact
• Experience or strong understanding of implementing AI and automation solutions to enhance sales development activities (e.g., AI-driven lead scoring, automated sequencing, conversational AI)

Responsibilities

• Build and train a high-performing SDR team to identify, contact, and create qualified opportunities, with a strong focus on the APAC market
• Coach and mentor SDRs through regular shadowing, role-playing, performance reviews, and continuous feedback to enhance their prospecting, qualification, and communication skills
• Define, track, and analyze key performance metrics (KPIs) for SDRs, implementing data-driven strategies to optimize team performance and achieve targets
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive SDR onboarding program ensuring new hires are quickly ramped up on UpGuard's product offering, sales methodologies, and market positioning
• Assist with recruiting, interviewing, and hiring top SDR talent, contributing to the strategic growth of the sales development function
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the SDR team, encouraging knowledge sharing and adoption of best practices
• Partner closely with Marketing and Sales leadership to align on integrated campaigns, strategic business initiatives, and demand generation efforts, ensuring a consistent and effective message to the market
• Develop and implement creative marketing and sales tactics leveraging outbound prospecting tools and techniques to engage multiple buyer personas and effectively introduce UpGuard's value proposition
• Manage and optimize SDR reports and dashboards to provide transparent and actionable insights on pipeline generation, conversion rates, and team performance to stakeholders across the company
• Ensure Sales Accepted Opportunities (SAOs) are sourced in accordance with company targets, guaranteeing a healthy and productive pipeline for the sales organization
• Collaborate with Sales and other SDR Leadership team members to continuously improve opportunity management, qualification processes, and hand-off procedures
• Implement and optimize AI-powered tools and automation workflows within the SDR function to enhance prospecting efficiency, personalize outreach at scale, and streamline repetitive tasks
• Leverage CRM (HubSpot preferred) and other sales enablement technologies to track activities, manage leads, and report on performance, ensuring data integrity and actionable insights
• Contribute to the development and refinement of sales playbooks and messaging strategies, incorporating market trends and competitive intelligence
• Identify and implement new technologies and processes to increase SDR productivity and effectiveness
• Work in close collaboration with the Product and Sales teams to ensure SDRs have the most up-to-date product knowledge and messaging
• Provide market feedback and insights from customer interactions back to relevant internal teams to inform product development and marketing strategies

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive experience scaling an SDR team in a B2B SaaS company
• Prior experience in cybersecurity or a related technical product
• Experience with sales operations and/or marketing automation software beyond just CRM
• Demonstrated ability to innovate and integrate new technologies (like AI) into sales development workflows

Benefits

• Monthly Lifestyle subsidy: use this for financial, physical and mental wellbeing
• WFH set-up allowance: to ensure you have the right environment to work in, we will help you get set-up within your first 3 months at UpGuard
• $1500 USD annual Learning & Development allowance: to support your career development all team members will be able to expense development opportunities against this allowance
• Generous Annual Leave/PTO allowances: time to recharge your batteries
• 18 weeks paid Parental Leave: irrespective of parenting role
• Personal Leave allowance: this includes sick & carer’s leave
• Fully remote working environment: whilst we have physical offices in Sydney & Hobart, we do not mandate compulsory attendance
• Top spec hardware: all team members will be provided with top-spec laptops for their role