Our client is seeking a proven leader for this cash generative and complex food business. The MD will be responsible for delivery of a £30m turnover operation, working with a set of ambitious shareholders to ensure it is structured for continued success. In tandem with the day-to-day leadership, the individual will deliver a comprehensive strategic review of both the complex manufacturing operation and also the long term commercial strategy.
- Location: North of England
- Salary: Excellent base salary. Attractive annual bonus and longer term reward.
The key responsibilities of the role include:
- Agreeing the vision and enacting the business plan to achieve long term, sustainable profitable growth for the business.
- Leading the management team to deliver commercial & operational targets, profit contribution and market share.
- Creating a resilient and high performing leadership team with a clear and focused values agenda. Ensuring the senior management team continue to be developed and coached to become even more effective leaders.
- Ensuring that the business culture, with people at its cornerstone, remains safely embedded within its DNA even as the organisation further develops.
- Driving a wide breadth and depth of profitable distribution, maintaining its strict adherence to a diverse customer mix.
- Supporting the Holdings Board, leading at times, as it develops the various strategic development opportunities. This includes, but is not limited to, a divestment strategy, or potentially broader scale M&A activity.
- Working with the wider leadership group to ensure the business is capable of delivering the very highest quality standards, continues to innovate way ahead of its competitors and is seen as the clear aspirational choice of customers.
- Being a highly visible MD for the business, both for the workforce but equally across the wider stakeholder population, such as shareholders and other third-parties.
- Encourage the use of consumer insight to deliver an innovation pipeline capable of ensuring successful Category and channel development.
- Ensuring that the business, and all of its products, exceeds its customers’ credibility and trust expectations.
The Person
Our client are seeking an individual with excellent leadership credentials, someone who is already an established leader. It is essential that they have the capability and experience to operate as a key player at Holdings Board level, encouraging challenge, but also bringing rigour and pace to the team. It is possible that an individual may be stepping up in to the role from a Commercial Director position or equivalent.
Specific requirements include:
- Substantial management experience; an expert in leading and inspiring sizeable teams, preferably within a fast-paced, food environment.
- It is anticipated that the individual will have spent their formative career in a first class, well known and well respected larger business prior to enjoying success in a small to medium size organisation.
- A commercially astute, highly strategic leader with a strong and intimate focus on the customer and consumer.
- Strong financially, with excellent budgetary, forecasting, cash-flow management, and future planning skills.
- Experience of managing growth and investment programmes, supported by a strong project management mind set.
- Sharp intellect and well-developed analytical and critical reasoning skills. Natural self-confidence and self-awareness combined with extremely high levels of emotional intelligence.
- Strong leadership, coaching, development and change management skills.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. A willingness to roll-up-the-sleeves, when appropriate, and lead from the front.
- High levels of drive, energy and resilience.
- Exposure to financial based Strategic Consulting would be a distinct advantage.
- Be capable of championing a potential divestment exercise, or even taking the responsibility of leading the total business.
- Offer direct experience of a successful period in a family-centric business. Failing that, they must be able to demonstrate the personal attributes required, including but not limited to: high emotional intelligence; tact and pragmatism; resilience; and a long-term perspective.