General Manager

Arden Personnel; Stratford-upon-Avon; On-site; GBP 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A recruitment agency is seeking an experienced General Manager in Stratford-upon-Avon. This role involves overseeing commercial growth and operational excellence while collaborating with the CEO. Required qualifications include senior leadership experience, financial acumen, and emotional intelligence. The position offers a competitive salary with additional benefits like a company car and pension.

Benefits

Company car

Pension

Qualifications

• Proven senior leadership experience in operations and commercial management in FMCG, wholesale, or consumer products.
• Strong track record in sales leadership, pricing strategy, and margin protection.
• High systems literacy with ERP and CRM tools.
• Strong financial acumen: budgets and cost control.
• Emotionally intelligent leader with good communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Drive sales performance and pricing strategy.
• Oversee supply chain and warehouse management.
• Develop strategic operational plans with measurable KPIs.
• Recruit, coach, and develop a small team.
• Ensure customer satisfaction is central to decision-making.

Skills

Senior leadership experience

Sales leadership

Financial acumen

Emotional intelligence

Clear communication

Tools

Sage 200

Salesforce

Job description

Stratford-upon-Avon HQ - Circa £50,000 pa, EV company car and pension

The Company

Our client is an award-winning, design-led consumer brand with a strong international presence. Supplying premium hospitality and retail markets worldwide, they have built a reputation for quality, creativity, and customer excellence. With multi-warehouse logistics, long-term supplier partnerships, and a focus on innovation, they are poised for their next stage of growth.

The Opportunity

This is a rare and exciting opportunity for an experienced General Manager to take the reins of both commercial growth and operational excellence. You’ll work directly with the CEO to set direction, driving sales performance and pricing strategy while ensuring smooth day-to-day operations across the business.

You’ll be expected to balance strategic oversight with hands-on leadership — motivating teams, making commercially sound decisions, and fostering a positive, accountable culture. Emotional intelligence is a must: this role calls for someone who can inspire trust, communicate clearly, and lead with empathy, all while ensuring performance and profitability remain front and centre.

Key Responsibilities

Sales & Pricing Leadership

• Lead annual pricing reviews and ensure governance across ERP, B2B, and multi-currency price lists.
• Partner with Sales and Finance to safeguard margins and drive profitable growth.
• Provide data-led insight on sales performance, customer accounts, and market trends.
• Build strong customer and partner relationships, supporting business development and commercial negotiations.

Strategic & Operational Management

• Translate business goals into clear operational and commercial plans with measurable KPIs.
• Run cross-functional reviews with Sales, Operations, and Finance to align business performance.
• Oversee supply chain, warehousing, and logistics operations, ensuring stock availability, efficiency, and service standards.
• Support new product launches and manage discontinuations with minimal disruption.

Financial & Commercial Oversight

• Partner with Finance to oversee budgets, cashflow, forecasting, and cost control.
• Monitor sales data, forecast demand, and balance stock levels with commercial priorities.
• Drive efficiencies while protecting margin integrity.

People & Leadership

• Recruit, coach, and develop a small team across operations and commercial support.
• Lead with empathy and emotional intelligence, creating a culture of trust, accountability, and motivation.
• Clearly communicate business goals, provide feedback, and celebrate success.

Customer & Market Focus

• Ensure customer satisfaction is central to decision-making.
• Support marketing and business development initiatives to retain and grow accounts.
• Stay close to industry trends, feeding insights back into commercial and operational planning.

Compliance & Risk

• Act as Responsible Person for Health & Safety, risk assessments, and compliance.
• Oversee facilities, IT, and security.

Key KPIs

• Sales growth vs target
• Gross margin integrity and pricing accuracy
• Stock availability and inventory turns
• Pick/pack accuracy and turnaround
• Customer satisfaction and retention rates
• Cashflow management and cost control
• H&S compliance

What We’re Looking For

• Proven senior leadership experience in operations and commercial management (FMCG, wholesale, or consumer products preferred).
• Strong track record in sales leadership, pricing strategy, and margin protection.
• High systems literacy (ERP e.g. Sage 200, CRM e.g. Salesforce).
• Strong financial acumen: pricing governance, margin analysis, budgets, and cost control.
• An emotionally intelligent leader who inspires trust and brings out the best in their teams.
• Supply chain and warehouse management experience, including imports/exports.
• Clear, confident communicator who can balance detail with big-picture thinking.
• Clean UK driving licence.

Desirable

• Experience in homewares, consumer lifestyle products, or adjacent design-led sectors.
• B2C and B2B ecommerce operations experience.
• Exposure to multi-currency pricing and external audits.

Why This Role?

This is a fantastic opportunity to step into a senior leadership position within a growing, internationally recognised brand. You’ll have the chance to shape both commercial strategy and operational delivery, working closely with a CEO who values fresh thinking, accountability, and collaboration.

If you’re looking for a role that combines strategic influence, commercial impact, and people leadership, while offering scope to make a lasting mark on the business, this could be the perfect fit.

Interested?

We’re reviewing CVs now! Apply today or contact Arden Personnel for more information. Send your CV to [e-mail]. Call us on 01789 532220 (Alcester) or 01527 911700 (Redditch).

Arden Personnel – Connecting Talent with Opportunity
Arden Personnel is a local independent recruitment agency with offices in Alcester, Warwickshire and Redditch, Worcestershire.

We recruit for companies based in Alcester, Evesham, Bidford-on-Avon, Stratford-upon-Avon, Henley-in-Arden, Leamington Spa, Redditch, Bromsgrove, and Studley. We want your experience with using a recruitment agency to be good and will always endeavour to get back to all applicants. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for all updates of live vacancies. Arden Personnel is an equal opportunities employer that welcomes applications from all age groups. We recruit in the following sectors: Administration, PA/Executive Assistants, Secretarial, Reception, Marketing, IT, HR, Finance, Customer Services, Purchasing, Supply Chain, Engineering and many others.