Head of UK Online Trading & Service
Summary
Our client has an exciting opportunity for a Head of UK eCommerce Trading & Service to join the expanding eCommerce team at this household name and global brand. This role is pivotal to the company's plans to grow their online business from its current £5M p.a. in the UK (and £15M globally), by exploiting the strategic opportunity offered by direct-to-consumer channels.
The right candidate will have the opportunity to grow sales & profitability, establish best practice merchandising and trading processes, deliver excellent customer service, and contribute to global multichannel strategy. The role may develop over time to include responsibility for direct-to-consumer operations in various international markets.
Key accountabilities
* Lead eCommerce trading activities in the UK
* Develop commercial acumen of existing eCommerce teams
* Work together with other areas of the business, such as marketing and logistics, to ensure that the proposition to our customers is always coordinated and coherent
* Ensure eCommerce delivers planned sales, margin and stock targets
* Create and deliver an eCommerce merchandise strategy including plans and forecasts for the UK
* Maximise onsite merchandising of products through effective use of appropriate techniques such as personalisation
* Maximise conversion to achieve basket sizes and sales targets
* Manage the UK customer service team (its team leader will be a direct report) to deliver excellent customer service
* Work together with global Marketing to drive convertible traffic to the eCommerce websites
* Drive conversion through daily & weekly monitoring of site performance with resulting merchandising actions.
* Drive weekly reporting to explain performance, identify issues and trends
* Interpret results and provide sound recommendations to Senior Management to protect/maximise profit.
* Act as the primary interface between eCommerce and other business functions
* Act as the customer-experience champion as they continue to develop their online proposition, both web and mobile
* Manage 3rd party suppliers to ensure operational efficiency of the web site
* Ensure all eCommerce fulfilment requirements are accommodated within logistics plans
* Represent the needs of the UK in the development of the global eCommerce roadmap
* The role may develop to include international responsibilities for various European sites as the brand continues to develop its international eCommerce plansDesired skills & experience
The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate the following skills & experience:
Required
* At least 2 years experience in an Online Trading capacity, with a sound understanding of eCommerce and Online Operations
* At least 4 years online retail experience
* Able to identifying promotional and marketing opportunities for product areas that feed into trading calendar
* Highly commercial and numbers orientated. Highly numerical/analytical with strong data analysis skills
* Proven experience of building credible relationships at all levels, up to and including Director level
* Strong focus on delivery
* Able to define and manage change, supporting teams through the process
* Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
* Proven experience defining and delivering E-commerce projects.
* Demonstrable experience of managing a customer service function
Desirable
· A knowledge of international eCommerce would be desirable
· A knowledge of mobile commerce would be desirable
· Appreciation of Project management methodologies
· Proven experience of leading User Acceptance Testing
· Experience of monitoring relevant external competitor trading activity with recommended responses
Reporting TBC: The role will report to the global eCommerce Director.
Direct reports: UK customer service team leader, UK content manager.
As the UK online business grows, it is anticipated that a UK trading assistant might be recruited, but this position does not yet exist.
Indirect reports (depending on where in the world these individuals are based, there may be line management duties associated with managing these globally shared functions):
· global online Analytics, MIS and SEM
· global product and content data management
FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT - RIA MORGAN - 0121 717 1925 / ria.morgan@harveynash.com![]()
Summary
Our client has an exciting opportunity for a Head of UK eCommerce Trading & Service to join the expanding eCommerce team at this household name and global brand. This role is pivotal to the company's plans to grow their online business from its current £5M p.a. in the UK (and £15M globally), by exploiting the strategic opportunity offered by direct-to-consumer channels.
The right candidate will have the opportunity to grow sales & profitability, establish best practice merchandising and trading processes, deliver excellent customer service, and contribute to global multichannel strategy. The role may develop over time to include responsibility for direct-to-consumer operations in various international markets.
Key accountabilities
* Lead eCommerce trading activities in the UK
* Develop commercial acumen of existing eCommerce teams
* Work together with other areas of the business, such as marketing and logistics, to ensure that the proposition to our customers is always coordinated and coherent
* Ensure eCommerce delivers planned sales, margin and stock targets
* Create and deliver an eCommerce merchandise strategy including plans and forecasts for the UK
* Maximise onsite merchandising of products through effective use of appropriate techniques such as personalisation
* Maximise conversion to achieve basket sizes and sales targets
* Manage the UK customer service team (its team leader will be a direct report) to deliver excellent customer service
* Work together with global Marketing to drive convertible traffic to the eCommerce websites
* Drive conversion through daily & weekly monitoring of site performance with resulting merchandising actions.
* Drive weekly reporting to explain performance, identify issues and trends
* Interpret results and provide sound recommendations to Senior Management to protect/maximise profit.
* Act as the primary interface between eCommerce and other business functions
* Act as the customer-experience champion as they continue to develop their online proposition, both web and mobile
* Manage 3rd party suppliers to ensure operational efficiency of the web site
* Ensure all eCommerce fulfilment requirements are accommodated within logistics plans
* Represent the needs of the UK in the development of the global eCommerce roadmap
* The role may develop to include international responsibilities for various European sites as the brand continues to develop its international eCommerce plansDesired skills & experience
The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate the following skills & experience:
Required
* At least 2 years experience in an Online Trading capacity, with a sound understanding of eCommerce and Online Operations
* At least 4 years online retail experience
* Able to identifying promotional and marketing opportunities for product areas that feed into trading calendar
* Highly commercial and numbers orientated. Highly numerical/analytical with strong data analysis skills
* Proven experience of building credible relationships at all levels, up to and including Director level
* Strong focus on delivery
* Able to define and manage change, supporting teams through the process
* Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
* Proven experience defining and delivering E-commerce projects.
* Demonstrable experience of managing a customer service function
Desirable
· A knowledge of international eCommerce would be desirable
· A knowledge of mobile commerce would be desirable
· Appreciation of Project management methodologies
· Proven experience of leading User Acceptance Testing
· Experience of monitoring relevant external competitor trading activity with recommended responses
Reporting TBC: The role will report to the global eCommerce Director.
Direct reports: UK customer service team leader, UK content manager.
As the UK online business grows, it is anticipated that a UK trading assistant might be recruited, but this position does not yet exist.
Indirect reports (depending on where in the world these individuals are based, there may be line management duties associated with managing these globally shared functions):
· global online Analytics, MIS and SEM
· global product and content data management
FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT - RIA MORGAN - 0121 717 1925 / ria.morgan@harveynash.com