Managing Director, Household Goods Sector
hace 13 días
Manchester
Managing Director Location: Northwest UK Salary: Attractive six-figure salary commensurate with role The Opportunity This is a rare opportunity to lead a successful, privately owned, design-led consumer business with a strong heritage, loyal customer base, and clear ambition for its next phase of growth. The business has been carefully built over several decades and remains close to its roots: values-led, relationship-driven, and proud of its reputation with both customers and suppliers. It combines in-house design capability with international sourcing and a highly responsive supply chain. Following a longstanding and successful Managing Director tenure, the business is now looking for a successor who can work closely with the Board to build on strong foundations; enhancing structure, pace, and commercial edge, while preserving what makes the business special. You will work side-by-side with an engaged and growth minded owner, playing a key role in shaping the next phase of the business. The Role Reporting directly to the CEO (owner) and Board, this is a broad, hands-on leadership role with full accountability for business performance. You will take ownership of the day-to-day running of the business while helping shape its future direction and acting as a trusted partner to the owner. Balancing commercial opportunity with operational reality in a fast-moving environment. You will: • Own the full P&L, with a sharp focus on margin, cash, and stock discipline, • Maintain and develop key customer relationships, acting as a credible and trusted partner, • Align commercial ambition with operational capability across sourcing, supply chain, and distribution, • Bring clarity, structure, and pace to execution across the business, • Translate strategic direction into practical, actionable plans, • Lead, develop, and align a capable and evolving senior leadership team, • Build a high-trust, transparent working relationship with the owner, providing support, insight, and constructive challenge where needed This is not a “corporate” MD role, success will come from being visible, pragmatic, and close to the detail, while still leading with a strategic lens. The Person You are likely operating as a Managing Director or equivalent senior business leader within a privately owned environment and are comfortable operating without the infrastructure of a large corporate. You will bring: • Proven P&L leadership within a mid-sized, commercially driven business, • Experience in wholesale, retail, or consumer goods, ideally with import-led supply chains, • Strong exposure to major UK retail customers, • A track record of improving performance through better structure, discipline, and alignment, • The ability to operate both strategically and “in the engine room” when needed, • Experience of working closely with a business owner or founder, understanding the pace, expectations, and dynamics this brings Leadership Style You are a grounded, credible leader who builds trust quickly. Particularly in environments where relationships, reputation, and delivery matter. • You lead with ownership and accountability, • You bring clarity without over-complication, • You are commercially sharp but operationally aware, • You are comfortable in a business where pace, pragmatism, and judgement matter more than process, • You are comfortable operating as both a leader of the business and a close, trusted partner to the owner Why This Role? This is an opportunity to step into a well-respected, values-led business at a meaningful transition point. You will have real influence and the ability to shape both performance and culture. It offers a rare level of proximity to ownership, with the opportunity to directly influence key decisions and the future direction of the business. For the right individual, this is a chance to leave a lasting mark on a business that cares deeply about what it does and how it does it.