Commercial Director

Advocate Group; England; Sur place; GBP 100 000 - 150 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Advocate Group is seeking a Commercial Director to lead the UK go-to-market for a well-funded, early-stage functional drinks business ahead of its 2027 launch. You will own the strategy, secure initial distribution and build the commercial team from the ground up.

This is a builder role, not just account management. You’ll forge senior retailer relationships, shape pricing and propositions, and scale the commercial function as listings grow across Convenience, Forecourt and other channels.

Qualifications

• Senior commercial experience within Drinks
• Proven track record of personally winning new customers and building distribution
• Experience launching or scaling a challenger brand or early-stage business
• Strong relationships with UK retailers and understanding of their buying cycles
• Ability to operate between strategy and hands-on execution
• Credibility working closely with a founder while building a commercial function

Responsabilités

• Own and execute the UK commercial and go-to-market strategy from launch.
• Lead initial expansion across Convenience, Forecourt, Travel and premium Impulse, before developing into wider channels.
• Personally open doors, build senior buyer relationships and secure significant new distribution.
• Use understanding of retailer buying cycles to build the right customer pipeline ahead of launch.
• Shape pricing, customer propositions, channel prioritisation and longer-term commercial strategy.
• Build the commercial team during Year 1, adding resource as distribution develops.
• Remain focused on strategy, new business and senior negotiations as day-to-day account management moves into the wider team.

Connaissances

Senior commercial experience

New customer wins

Challenger brand launch

Retailer relationships

Strategy to execution

Autonomy with founder

Description du poste

Rare opportunity to join a well-funded, early-stage functional drinks business ahead of its UK launch and take ownership of building the commercial operation from the ground up.

With the product developed, tested and launch planned for Q1 2027, the business is now looking for an exceptional Commercial Director to define the UK go-to-market strategy, secure initial distribution and build the commercial team as the brand scales.

This isn't an opportunity to inherit a ready-made customer base. You'll be the person who builds it.

The Role

• Own and execute the UK commercial and go-to-market strategy from launch.
• Lead initial expansion across Convenience, Forecourt, Travel and premium Impulse, before developing into wider channels.
• Personally open doors, build senior buyer relationships and secure significant new distribution.
• Use your understanding of retailer buying cycles to build the right customer pipeline ahead of launch.
• Shape pricing, customer propositions, channel prioritisation and longer-term commercial strategy.
• Build the commercial team during Year 1, adding resource as distribution and customer requirements develop.
• Remain focused on strategy, new business and senior negotiations as day-to-day account management moves into the wider team.

About You

We're looking for a builder, not simply a manager of established accounts.

You’ll bring:

• Senior commercial experience within Drinks with strong exposure to Convenience, Forecourt, Impulse and/or Wholesale.
• A demonstrable track record of personally winning new customers and building distribution.
• Experience launching or scaling a challenger brand, new proposition or early-stage business.
• Strong relationships across relevant UK retailers and a detailed understanding of how and when they buy.
• The ability to operate without a large corporate infrastructure around you – comfortable moving between commercial strategy and hands‑on execution.
• The credibility and autonomy to work closely with a founder while building a commercial function around you.

Challenger, SME and scale‑up experience is essential, with candidates being confident in demonstrating what they personally built, launched or changed.

Why Join?

This is an opportunity to get involved before the first major listings are secured.

The foundations are in place: a well-funded business, a developed and tested functional drinks portfolio and significant ambitions for UK and international growth.

What isn't already built is the commercial machine.

You’ll have the mandate to decide where the brand goes first, which customers matter, how distribution is built and what the future sales organisation looks like.

Significant national customer travel should be expected.

If you’ve built brands rather than simply inherited them – and fancy doing it again with considerably more ownership – we’d love to hear from you.