HOURGLASS COSMETICS – Commercial Director, UKI&ME
Connected by creativity and driven by purpose. Hourglass Cosmetics is a vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand, redefining luxury cosmetics with high-performance products, innovative formulas, and award-winning franchises. Recognized by Forbes, Fast Company and Time Magazine as one of the most inventive beauty companies, Hourglass leads the industry with its breakthrough products and its commitment to animal welfare. Founded in 2004, Hourglass is globally available in 32 countries and 2,600 doors including Sephora, Ulta, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Space NK and more. Hourglass became part of the Unilever Prestige division in 2017. Discover more about the Hourglass brand story and mission on our website hourglasscosmetics.com.
We are looking for an ambitious, commercial expert to lead our UKI & Middle East businesses. The successful candidate will be responsible for nurturing and developing existing retail partnerships whilst driving the sustainable acceleration of the brand in the region. This role is pivotal in translating global brand direction into local commercial excellence. You must have previous experience working in a senior commercial role, be highly numerate, a team leader, target-driven, commercially savvy and keen to find creative solutions to challenges and passionate about working in the beauty industry!
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- Develop and execute the UK & ME commercial strategies in line with global objectives, with a focus on profitable growth and market share expansion.
- Lead annual budget planning, forecasting, and P&L management for the UK market.
- Leading future distribution planning in region using vision and market insights, identifying new opportunities and calculating impact on regional P&L
- Oversee all trade marketing activities including secondary sites, retailer-led events and activations, and GWP/sampling programmes. Act as the interface between retail partners and internal functions including Marketing, VM and Education.
Sales & Channel Management
- Oversee all sales operations and drive performance across department stores, open-sell beauty retailers (e.g. Space NK, Sephora UK) and their e-commerce platforms.
- Build and maintain strong and collaborative relationships with retail partners; leading and executing joint business planning in line with overarching strategic brand plans.
- Facilitate successful commercial negotiations and contract management including terms, pricing, distribution, space and location, in-store visibility and beyond. Be the senior escalation contact to all relevant retail partners.
- Drive retail productivity and excellence in execution across all channels.
- Develop new launch strategies and activations, ensuring accurate forecasting for NPD and limited-edition lines.
- Shape omnichannel strategy to create a seamless customer journey, integrating online and offline touchpoints.
Team Leadership
- Lead, coach and develop a high-performing commercial and retail marketing team.
- Foster cross-functional collaboration with Marketing, Retail, Education, Operations and Visual Merchandising to ensure alignment on execution and planning.
Performance & Insights
- Monitor commercial KPIs (sales, profit, ROI, productivity) and provide actionable insights to the General Manager.
- Use data-driven decision making to optimise assortment, pricing, and new launch strategies.
- Conduct monthly sales review and reforecasting to monitor performance and identify areas of opportunity.
Key Requirements
Experience
- Minimum 8 years’ experience in senior commercial, sales, or account management roles within the luxury beauty sector.
- Strong track record of leading commercial strategies and delivering growth in multi-channel environments.
- Experience managing P&L, budgets, and retail negotiations at a senior level.
- Experience of devising and implementing strategic plans with creative flair.
Skills & Competencies
- Strategic mindset with a hands-on, entrepreneurial approach.
- Strong commercial acumen and financial literacy.
- Exceptional leadership and team development capabilities.
- Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills.
- Passionate about luxury beauty and aligned with Hourglass’ values around innovation and sustainability.
- Born multitasker, able to manage multiple priorities with ease, thrive working in a fast paced environment and can adapt to changing priorities as needed.
- An excellent communicator. Confident and comfortable presenting, able to influence and effectively articulate your point of view.
YOU’LL LOVE THIS JOB IF:
- You are a strong COMMUNICATOR: You are a people person and collaborate well with others.
- You are AGILE: You adapt well to changing needs and priorities and are able to pivot easily to achieve goals and deadlines.
- You are CREATIVE: You are innovative, and forward-thinking in your approach.
- You are extremely ORGANIZED: You’re not overwhelmed by the thought of tackling multiple tasks at a time.
- You are PASSIONATE about beauty: You are eager to learn and absorb all things related to the beauty industry.
- You are CURIOUS: You are a natural learner with a keen interest in creative marketing and have your finger on the pulse to discover industry trends.
- You are AMBITIOUS: You have the enthusiasm to persevere through setbacks and help support your team as needed.
Your application will be stored in our system/CRM/etc for maximum 1 year after the date of your application. If you don’t want us to keep your details, please inform us by phone at 310-392-7799.
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