Our client is a private equity owned business that specialises in the manufacture of bespoke products into the Food Service, Food to Go, and Food Manufacturing channels. It has a turnover of approximately £50m, generating strong levels of EBITDA. The business is a highly entrepreneurial, innovation-led foods producer based in the UK. It manufactures a range of premium products and is a leading partner to their customer base.
- Salary: Strong package including an exciting equity deal.
- Location: Open
The Role
The individual will have responsibility for leading the Commercial function of the business. They will be accountable for shaping and enacting the business's strategic growth plan whilst also operating as a key contributor and leader at Board level. Key headlines include:
- Agreeing the vision and enacting the strategic plan to achieve rapid and sustainable profitable growth.
- Accountable for delivering market share, profit contribution and sales targets, through building and maintaining strategic partnerships with customers.
- This is a hands-on, customer-intimate role.
- Creating a resilient and high performing, collegiate Commercial team with a clear and focused agenda.
- Ensuring the senior management team continue to be developed and coached to become even more effective leaders.
- Ensuring that the business culture, with people and product as its cornerstone, remains embedded within its DNA even as the organisation grows.
- Driving a wide breadth and depth of profitable distribution.
- Ensure the business is capable of delivering the very highest quality standards, continues to innovate way ahead of its competitors, and is seen as the clear aspirational choice of both customers and consumers.
- Being a highly visible figurehead for the business, both internally but equally across the wider stakeholder population, such as with the professional advisory firms and investors.
- Enhance the use of consumer insight to deliver an innovation pipeline capable of ensuring successful category and channel development.
- Take personal responsibility for developing a broad and deep understanding of the wider business, thereby becoming an increasingly important leader at Board level.
- Playing a key role supporting the PE firm on an ad-hoc basis with their investment strategy.
The Person:
You will ultimately have a huge impact on the business, playing an integral role as it grows and evolves.
- Substantial Commercial leadership experience; an expert in inspiring a team, preferably within a fast-paced, UK food environment.
- A commercially astute, highly strategic leader with a strong and intimate focus on the customer.
- Deep expertise in business-building, ideally within a UK food context. This is a fast-paced business so time spent in the chilled and frozen space would be advantageous.
- Strong financially, with excellent budgetary, forecasting and future planning skills.
- Experience of managing a substantial growth programme and offer a strong project management mind set. It would be highly advantageous if this was within a P/E context.
- Sharp intellect and well developed analytical and critical reasoning skills. Natural self-confidence and awareness, combined with extremely high levels of emotional intelligence.
- Strong leadership, coaching, development and change management skills.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. A willingness to roll-up-the-sleeves, when appropriate, and lead from the front.
- An appreciation of the challenges of manufacturing a premium food product would be highly advantageous, albeit direct personal manufacturing management experience is not necessary.
- High levels of drive, energy and resilience.
- Ideally located, or willing to be based, in the Midlands.
If you have the skills and experience and are looking for a new challenge, we would be delighted to discuss this opportunity further.