Business Development Representative

Kota
Dublin +1 more
HybridCareer-pivot friendly

Who this role is best for

Aimed at early-career sales professionals seeking a fast-paced, startup environment where they can build relationships and drive growth through cold outreach, with opportunities for internal progression and exposure to a regulated benefits market.

Best fit for

  • Early-career sales professionals eager to develop skills in a high-growth startup with a focus on cold outreach and relationship-building.
    — “It's a genuinely good seat for someone early in their sales career.”
  • Candidates who thrive in a regulated market and are comfortable learning complex products through hands-on experience.
    — “exposure to a complex product in a regulated market”
  • Individuals who value a collaborative, small-team culture and want direct access to leadership and Account Executives.
    — “direct access to our AEs, CRO and founders. What you say gets heard”

Things to consider

  • Cold outreach is a core requirement, so candidates must be prepared to initiate conversations independently.
    — “you'll learn to open cold rather than ride inbound demand”
  • The role demands a minimum of two in-office days per week, which may affect remote flexibility.
    — “Hybrid, London or Dublin, minimum 2 days per week in office”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize your ability to build trust and relationships in your resume and interview responses.
    — “Build genuine, trusting relationships with prospects rather than working them as a list”
  • Highlight your experience with lead qualification and tech stack tools like HubSpot.
    — “Keep your pipeline and activity accurate in HubSpot”
  • Showcase your proactive mindset and initiative in identifying and pursuing new opportunities.
    — “Proactively seek out new business opportunities in the market”
  • Demonstrate a willingness to provide feedback and insights from market interactions.
    — “Feed back what you're hearing. You'll be closer to the market than anyone”
  • Position yourself as a self-motivated, independent worker who takes ownership of outcomes.
    — “Independent, ambitious and self-motivated. Nobody will be filling your calendar for you”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · LowAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • consistent, self-generated meetings booked with the right companies and the right people
Typical background
sales experiencetenacious personality

Skills & requirements

Required

SalesCold CallingLead GenerationCRM UsageProspecting

Preferred

Startup ExperienceFast-paced Environment

Stack & domain

LeadershipCommunicationCold CallingEmail MarketingLinkedin MarketingSalesRelationship BuildingProactivePrioritizationLearning

About the role

Original posting from Kota via Ashby

WE'RE PROUD TO BE RANKED AS THE 12TH FASTEST GROWING STARTUP ON THE SIFTED 250 LIST! 🚀

👉Read about it here https://www.kota.io/blog/sifted-250-2026

Location: Hybrid, London or Dublin, minimum 2 days per week in office

Type: Full-time, permanent

Reports to: GM - Platform

ABOUT KOTA

Kota is the only broker that runs employee benefits for you. Combining health cover, pensions, protection, spend cards, and flexible perks with HRIS integrations, Kota replaces spreadsheets, manual admin, and once-a-year broker calls with one connected system - backed by a team of benefits experts behind every recommendation.

Kota powers benefits for more than 100,000 employees, across companies from fast-growing scale-ups to global HR and payroll platforms.

Investors include Eurazeo, EQT Ventures, Northzone, Frontline Ventures, 9Yards, and Plug and Play Ventures. The Kota team includes experts who previously led at global financial services firms and fintechs such as Airwallex, Stripe, Bolt, Revolut - as well as insurance and benefits providers such as Aviva, Allianz, AXA, and Smart Pension.

THE ROLE

Benefits is a category where the incumbent experience is brokers, spreadsheets and email chains. Most HR leaders don't know there's a better option, which means the first conversation is usually ours to start.

That's this job. You'll own the top of the funnel: finding the right companies, getting through to the right person, and earning Kota a meeting worth having. You'll work closely with our Account Executives, who take it from there, and you'll be judged on the quality of what you hand over, not just the quantity.

It's a genuinely good seat for someone early in their sales career. Kota isn't a brand HR leaders already know, so you'll learn to open cold rather than ride inbound demand. You'll get exposure to a complex product in a regulated market, and the people you'd learn from are in the building rather than three layers up.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

  • Source and qualify leads within our ICP using our tech stack
  • Prospect through cold calls, email and LinkedIn to book meetings for our Account Executives
  • Present Kota to potential clients and identify what they actually need
  • Build genuine, trusting relationships with prospects rather than working them as a list
  • Proactively seek out new business opportunities in the market
  • Keep your pipeline and activity accurate in HubSpot, so the team can see what's working
  • Feed back what you're hearing. You'll be closer to the market than anyone, and we want your read on what's landing and what isn't

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

  • Tenacious. You enjoy being driven by targets and you want to beat them, not just hit them
  • You raise the bar. You go the extra mile without being asked and hold a high standard for your own work
  • Comfortable at pace. You do well in a fast-moving environment, previous startup experience is a plus
  • Ownership mentality. You look for ways to improve Kota's prospects, including in areas outside sales
  • Independent, ambitious and self-motivated. Nobody will be filling your calendar for you
  • Good with people. What you're like as a person and how you treat people matters a lot to us. You're helpful, generous with your time and knowledge, and people enjoy working with you
  • Strong prioritisation. You spend your time on the things that make a real difference rather than spreading yourself thin
  • Always learning. You want to grow personally and professionally, and you help others do the same by sharing what you know

You don't need benefits, insurance or pension experience. You do need to be genuinely willing to pick up the phone.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

  • Consistent, self-generated meetings booked with the right companies and the right people
  • Meetings your AEs are glad they took, measured by how many convert into real opportunities
  • A pipeline you can talk about accurately, without needing to check
  • Outreach that improves month on month, because you're testing and learning rather than repeating

WHY JOIN US?

  • A real market to open. Benefits are unmodernised and most of our prospects don't know a better option exists. You get to be the first person who tells them
  • You'll learn to sell properly. No brand to hide behind means you develop skills that travel
  • Progression that's real. We're growing, and the path from BDR to Account Executive is one we want people to walk
  • Proximity. Small team, direct access to our AEs, CRO and founders. What you say gets heard
  • Culture. We care about how people treat each other as much as what they deliver

Our Values

  • Have Integrity. We care deeply about our why and it won’t jeopardise our how.
  • Care Deeply. Our products are our story, we look at the details, go the extra mile to delight customers.
  • Own Your Ship. Ask why, do the work, get the data, solve the problem, be an owner.
  • Raise the Bar. We continuously look to push past good enough. Expect more, move faster, and never stop raising your and the team’s standards.
  • Play to Win. We exist because we decided to say no to the norm – now we do this everyday.

Kota Benefits

  • Attractive stock options to share in the success of Kota
  • Health Insurance
  • Life assurance (country dependent)
  • Up to 5% matched contribution to a Workplace Pension (country dependent)
  • WFH stipend to support your home office needs

We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Source: Kota careers (Ashby)

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