Managing Director

Fashion eCommerce
c£100,000 plus executive package & medium-term wealth creation

This is a truly exciting opportunity to join an impressive, high-growth, market leading eCommerce fashion business. 

Not yet 10 years old, this amazing business has grown from the founder’s university bedroom to become a £10m business, and now about to commence international growth which will accelerate their already exponential growth. 

With a recent expansion of their board of Directors, the business recognises the need (and opportunity) to recruit an experienced ‘growth-mindset’ Managing Director to bring increased structure to this young board, further drive their growth plans and allow the founder/owner of the business to step-back to pursue other avenues.

This is unquestionably one of the most exhilarating Managing Director opportunities we have undertaken, a pivotal role offering unparalleled opportunity both personally and professionally. 

The MD will inspire, lead and develop the management team with clear objectives and focus, seeking to maximise profitable growth. The current board covers all key aspect of day-to-day leadership, with class-leading finance, operations, marketing, fulfilment and creative design all very well represented, however the opportunity to take both a strategic and collegiate leadership role captaining this impressive team is set to yield unprecedented results with the right employee. 

This will be a role driven by engagement, mirroring the culture already so evident within the business. You will continually improve all aspects and function within this entrepreneurial, ideation-rich environment, driving operational standards and commercial performance, working with all members of the SLT to optimise both opportunities and performance. 

Key to the role will be the development of commercial performance, different formats, growing and sustaining competitive advantage and maximising business development opportunities all whilst ensuring optimised operational performance and ensuring perfect communication across this lithe, modern business.

Primary functions:

• Strategy and Business Planning
• Employee Direction and Leadership
• Business Performance against all metrics & KPIs set
• Financial & Commercial
• Trading
• Marketing
• eCommerce (B2C) & wholesale (B2B) Operations

Main Responsibilities include:

• Provide effective leadership and oversight of business operations to ensure smooth running of all departments in compliance with the company direction 
• Spearhead key projects vital in the growth of the business, constantly re-evaluating resource, and budgets to follow strategies, playing a critical role in ensuring the business performs to expectations and within budget.
• Drive business development and expansion strategies to strengthen the company’s market position/International growth
• Provide effective leadership and oversight of business operations to ensure smooth operation of all departments in compliance with the company direction 
• Guide and develop the company working closely with the SMT to deliver the strategy for the business 

Key accountabilities:

• Driving the business performance in every area
• Giving full attention to the customer proposition ensuring a perceived point of difference with competitors.
• To lead and manage the development of the business, both strategically and operationally
• To meet budget expectations, adding value to all activities and helping to achieve excellent customer experience and sustainable competitive advantage
• Promote best practice in delivering the highest standards of operational integrity across the business
• Take full responsibility for the achievement of key objectives (sales, cash, investment and expenditure) rapidly becoming familiar with the business, its culture, markets and products
• Working with the founder and creative team to ensure the product range is competitive and meets or exceeds customer expectations
• Ensure the company’s operational infrastructure supports the business plan and that the company complies fully with regulatory and legislative requirements
• Benchmark business performance and processes against industry best practice, proposing to the Board change where necessary
• Continually strive to introduce new innovations including services and products

Key performance indicators:

• Revenue and margin delivery to target
• Optimum terms and conditions and service levels from suppliers against targets
• Optimal product availability and use of open to buy to deliver a current and relevant offer by category and channel in line with objectives and targets

Specific responsibilities and activities:

Category and channel growth

• Forecast, plan and implement effective strategies by category and channel to maximise revenue and margin.

Range planning

• Develop, deliver, and maintain a current and relevant product offering and price architecture in line customer and market trends.
• Ongoing review and analysis of range and promotion opportunities by category and channel.
• Anticipation of future trends and demands to ensure the product offer is continually updated.
• Ensure seasonal delivery of product range to deliver right product at the right margin, time and quantity by channel and geographical need.
• Timely response to sales patterns and sell through.

Supplier Management

• Ensure individually negotiated supplier terms to achieve and exceed (through sustainable and effective negotiations) against targets for terms and service.
• Achieve and aim to exceed against financial goals and targets through developing and maintaining a highly effective and agile supplier base to allow rapid and commercial appropriate response to both strategic and reactive buying and promotion activity and opportunities whilst delivering a decreased cost of goods.

P&L

• To assume responsibility for the commercial performance of the business, and each product range.
• To develop a detailed forecast to meet availability, cash flow and intake targets.
• To identify and leverage opportunities for co-operation and collaborative working to improve terms and margin across main range, promotion and deal activity.
• To plan and review the commercial success of promotion and deal activity by channel.

Reporting

• To ensure ongoing review, reporting and evaluation against performance along with proactive and reactive plans to deliver against strategic and financial goals.

Product Range

• To ensure continued profitability and growth by category and channel of their product offering and range through the ongoing review and analysis of trends, consumer behaviour, competitor activity and promotion opportunity.

Team Leadership

• To provide ongoing direction, coaching and support of the entire team and all functions which work with and can contribute to the success of the wider team.

Personal Development

• To maintain up to date knowledge of relevant markets and competitors.  Attend and play an active role in networks and groups that will help us reach and develop key relationships to develop and grow the business.

The Person

The person is everything. The brightest stars in this business are all about having the right attitude.

The appointee will have a proven, highly commercial and full spectrum, broad commercial, sales driving background within a digital/eCommerce/retail, technology or marketing-led business. They will possess excellent interpersonal skills, be hands-on when needed, possess strong analytical abilities, and be a robust decision-maker and a ‘finisher’. The role involves providing strategic and tactical commercial advice and revenue generating solutions to the entire business, and everyone therein.

Experience of managing and developing teams across commercial and operational professionals (including senior management) is essential, as is a proven track record of driving profitable growth across numerous markets.

The successful candidate will have strong stakeholder influencing skills and be able to put across their views clearly, often articulating the benefit of commercial initiatives and activity in clear business terms and have the confidence to constructively challenge (and be challenged by) senior stakeholders.

The appointee will exude enthusiasm and demonstrate an outstanding but smart work ethic – this is a culture where hard work and success is expected, celebrated and rewarded.

The appointee will have gravitas. It will be immediately obvious to all around them, internal and external, why they have been selected and appointed. Their appointment will be met by a sea of nodding heads. They will command and yet earn respect. They will be a centre of ideation within the business and will foster others to be the same. They will inspire everyone within the business; be motivating as well as motivated.

Alongside their astute leadership capabilities, they will be an ‘action’ style leader. Their attention to detail will be second to none and will be contagious. They will never see themselves as ‘too big’ for any task within the department, and will gain huge satisfaction from developing the wider team in every regard, form and function.


Above all else, they will be excited by the opportunity of taking such a broad commercially focused executive role, joining and leading the senior team as well as the commercial, operational and marketing strategies for one of the most exciting young businesses in the UK.

Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience

• Proven track record leading a commercially focused retail/eCommerce/digital business
• Clear success in setting the strategic direction of an entrepreneurial business in a growth market
• Strong commercial, collaboration and engagement skills – internal and external
• Experience of leading a management team in a modern, entrepreneurial environment
• Ideally experience of a marketing-led, consumer fashion market

Competencies and Personal Attributes

• A natural, creation, ideation-led leader who will identify and create opportunities by working across internal teams as well as the supplier base 
• Strong influencing and motivational skills to lead virtual and actual teams – internally and externally
• A clear, concise and inspirational communicator
• An understanding of the value and importance of data & analytics and an ability to articulate this clearly 
• Demonstrated project and budget management capabilities with experience managing multiple projects simultaneously
• Adaptable and flexible in style and approach
• A hands-on self-starter
• Flexible and sufficiently mobile to travel both within the UK and overseas to travel as necessary to drive growth and commercial performance
• A natural coach and leader who will support both his/her and the wider team

The successful candidate will be an accomplished, entrepreneurial business leader with broad skills and a demonstrable track record of driving growth through the optimisation of existing channels and product mix coupled with the creativity to identify and launch pertinent new propositions. 

They will have a track record of providing meaningful leadership in an entrepreneurial eCommerce/retail/digital environment, developing successful, high performing teams and fostering a ‘can-do/will-do’ attitude.

They will bring a depth of experience and leadership, but also be excited to learn from, engage with and have fun with this impressive young management team. 

They will have had significant experience in a competitive retail/eCommerce/digital/marketing-led environment and will have the demonstrable ability to cover and add value to all areas. They will have recent, significant experience in an entrepreneurial culture with a flat, direct management structure and a very strong action orientated style.

They will ooze entrepreneurial spark, flair, drive and vision and be a natural leader, with a sense of fun and humour. It will be immediately obvious why the appointee has been successful. 

Or complete the below: