Senior Commercial Executive | LABS

ZURU; Auckland; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Culture for Growth

Health Benefits

Global Opportunities

Competitive Remuneration

Fresh fruit and coffee

Job summary

ZURU Labs seeks a Senior Commercial Executive to found and drive new category opportunities from idea to in‑market test. You will construct the commercial case, coordinate NZ and China teams, and own the P&L trajectory while leading a fast‑paced development pace.

You will manage tests with retail partners, define success thresholds, and help decide which ventures graduate into full ZURU businesses. Based in Auckland or willing to relocate, with strong financial modelling skills.

Qualifications

• 2–3 years in a high‑performance commercial, finance or strategy environment.
• Demonstrable evidence of exceptional ability: top‑tier results or rapid progression.
• Exceptional work ethic and high pace—able to sustain performance.
• Strong financial modelling and ability to defend P&L assumptions.
• Clear, concise written and verbal communication.
• Bias for action; comfortable operating with ambiguity.
• Based in Auckland, or willing to relocate to NZ.
• Nice to have exposure to consumer products, retail or FMCG.
• Nice to have experience with product development or manufacturing partners, including offshore.

Responsibilities

• Own new category opportunities end to end.
• Brief and steer concept development with NZ and China teams.
• Build the financial case and define thresholds for go/no‑go.
• Take ventures to market: organize in‑market tests with retailers and read results.
• Evaluate M&A and partnership opportunities with rigorous analysis.
• Run the central project tracker and report to leadership; manage pipelines.

Skills

Commercial experience

Proven track record

Work ethic

Financial modelling

Communication

Bias for action

Location flexibility

Job description

About ZURU

ZURU is on a mission to disrupt across industries, challenge the status quo and catalyst change through radical innovation and automation advances. This is in play in different pillars of the company: ZURU Toys are re-imagining what it means to play; ZURU Tech is shaping a better future by leading the next building revolution; ZURU Edge is pioneering new generation FMCG brands to better serve modern consumers.

Founded in 2003 by EY Entrepreneur of the Year and World Entrepreneur Hall of Fame brothers Nick and Mat Mowbray, ZURU has quickly grown to a team of over 5000 direct and indirect members across more than 30 international locations.

One of the largest toy companies in the world, globally recognised and award-winning brands include Bunch O Balloons, Mini Brands, XSHOT, Rainbocorns and Smashers. Our global FMCG brands include MONDAY Haircare, Rascals, NOOD, BONKERS, Gumi Yum Surprise, and more!

For more information, visit www.zuru.com.

Position Overview

The Senior Commercial Executive is a founding hire in ZURU Labs, ZURU's new category incubator, which identifies, tests and scales opportunities in categories the group does not yet operate in. Working directly with Alistair King (Co-Founder Rhodes Pet Science, ZURU Labs General Manager) and Nick Mowbray (Co-Founder and Co-CEO ZURU Group), the role builds the commercial case for new categories, runs in-market tests from concept through to first retail listings, and owns the analysis that decides which categories graduate into full ZURU businesses. The role is designed for someone early in their career with exceptional ability who wants unusually broad commercial exposure and real accountability from day one.

Position Impact

In the first 6 months, the Senior Commercial Executive will have taken several new category ideas from initial screen through to a live in-market test, with a clear financial case and read on each. By 12 months and beyond, they will have played a central role in identifying and building the category that becomes ZURU's next billion-dollar vertical, with at least one venture graduating from Labs into a standalone ZURU business.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Own new category opportunities end to end – Vet incoming ideas, build the viability case and present a clear go/no-go recommendation to Labs leadership. Once an idea is approved, act as its commercial owner, not an analyst handing work to others.

• Brief and steer concept development – Write project briefs, coordinate NZ design and China product teams in parallel, and hold the concept steady through development.

• Build the financial case – Model each venture's P&L from test through to scale, covering costs, pricing, margin and revenue trajectory, and define the thresholds a venture must clear to continue.

• Take ventures to market and read the results – Organise in-market tests with retail partners (listing, quantities, pricing, logistics, launch and content), track performance against pre-agreed thresholds, and publish a clear, consistent read that drives the next decision.

• Evaluate M&A and partnership opportunities – Screen acquisition and partnership targets in new categories, build the commercial and financial case, support due diligence, and apply the same disciplined thresholds and reads used for internally developed ventures, so every route into a category is judged on the same footing.

• Run the operating rhythm and pipeline – Own the central project tracker as the single source of truth, report weekly and by exception to leadership, prepare handover packs for ventures graduating into full ZURU businesses, and keep the category pipeline live through teardowns, costings, store walks, and buyer and partner relationships, including sourcing suppliers outside ZURU's existing network where needed.

• Carries out other agreed tasks as needed, and anything else ZURU may lawfully and reasonably require of you

Skills & Experience

• 2-3 years in a high-performance commercial, finance or strategy environment

• Demonstrable evidence of exceptional ability: top-tier academic results, unusually fast career progression, or a comparable track record of outperformance

• Exceptional work ethic. You set a high bar for yourself, do what it takes to hit it, and are energised rather than drained by a demanding pace

• Strong financial modelling and analytical skills, comfortable building a P&L from scratch and defending the assumptions

• Clear, concise written and verbal communication, able to turn messy inputs into a one-page recommendation leadership can act on

• Bias for action: comfortable owning outcomes with ambiguity, minimal structure and tight timelines

• Based in Auckland, or willing to relocate

• Nice to have: exposure to consumer products, retail or FMCG (buyers, listings, POS data)

• Nice to have: experience working with product development or manufacturing partners, including offshore

LIFE@ZURU

ZURU is on a quest to reimagine tomorrow. Founded in 2003, ZURU Group has rapidly grown and now spans three core divisions—ZURU Toys, ZURU Edge (consumer goods) and ZURU Tech (construction).

At ZURU, we have cultivated a high-performing culture that encourages excellence. Our team works towards ambitious goals, learning, performing, and improving together, all while having fun. We empower talented individuals to do their best work every day.

At ZURU, you get out what you put in. You are responsible for driving your own career and we provide the platform to achieve it. As ZURU is on such a fast growth trajectory, there are opportunities here that you won’t find anywhere else.

Get to know us a little better by checking out @lifeatzuru on Instagram or www.zuru.com.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Culture for Growth

• Health Benefits

• Global Opportunities

• Surrounded by an A Player Team

• Competitive Remuneration

• Lots of fresh fruit, coffee, pals fridge and more

ZURU – Reimagining tomorrow

#LI-CM2