Commercial Controller - Ready Meals

Commercial Controller – Ready Meals

£60-70,000 Basic, Bonus, Company Car + Benefits

Our Client, an expanding Food Company, are looking to double the size of their business in a given timescale..

The company sell into the foodservice channel, being mainly Pub Companies , Restaurant groups and the travel sector .

They also sell to the distributor channel ( mainly 3663 and Brakes )

They are looking for a Commercial Controller - an inspirational person to show them how to bring in the extra business required, and then how to manage the additional business that comes in. This person will be in charge of the whole commercial function and also development team, plus they will have a hand in pretty much all areas of the business, so they are looking for an accomplished commercial person with broad commercial skills & experience. They are looking for an inspirational leader, somebody with gravitas and leadership skills.

The jobholder will take charge of the whole commercial function, but with dotted line responsibility for stock control, the factory, production , product costings, cost engineering and NPD etc. So they need an all round strong commercial person ;  somebody who will relish the challenge of being involved in every area of the business.

The person’s direct reports will comprise four NAMs plus a development team ( including four chefs plus a development manager).

The company are looking for the following :

. Somebody with strong sales experience into foodservice channels ( ideally into pub companies, restaurants etc).. Exposure to the distributor channel would be a bonus. Our Client will also consider senior Commercial people with experience of dealing with Top 4 Retail accounts within the Food sector

. Somebody with a good level of man management experience – minimum 2 to 3 years, but ideally more. This is almost a 100% pure man management role, but the jobholder will need to have customer contact in conjunction with his/her NAMs, but at a senior / strategic level.

. A good commercial all rounder who understands the operational side of the business and who can take the company by the hand and show them exactly how they need to organise themselves.

. This could be an office based role or it could be a home based role ( but with a degree of travel outside the office to see colleagues and customers ). Candidates should live within 90 minutes of the office ( North West ). The jobholder will need to be in the office approx. three days per week, and it might be possible to make this a home / field based role, in which case they will get their travelling expenses for travel to and from the office. The search area is as follows, from Lancaster follow the M6 south all the way to Birmingham, from Birmingham go cross country to Rotherham, from Rotherham go north to Leeds, and from Leeds go back in a straight line to Lancaster.

. They are also looking for somebody who has the potential to grow into becoming the Commercial Director at some stage in the future.

. Candidates can come from any food product sector, being either chilled, frozen or ambient.

. Candidates can in theory at least be from own label or branded sectors, however the job involves a lot of interaction with NPD, packaging, marketing etc

. Candidates should ideally have some experience of product costing, cost engineering, NPD

. Remuneration £60k to £70k ( £70k being the tops ). Bonus. There is also a company car.

Please note that by responding to this advert you are giving permission to Houghton Associates Executive Selection Ltd to communicate with you about this role and any other roles we may handle that could be of interest to you.

DUE TO ANTICIPATED RESPONSE LEVELS WE SHALL ONLY BE ABLE TO CONTACT SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS. IF YOU DO NOT HEAR FROM US YOUR APPLICATION WILL BE DEEMED UNSUCCESSFUL ON THIS OCCASION.