Chief Operating Officer

• Lead technology and IT decisions, including ERP installation. Negotiate Overseas Supplier contracts.
• Retail or Manufacturing background with legal, logistics, and financial modelling.
• Provide commercial input. Operational efficiency, process improvement

Reporting to the CEO and working closely with the Executive Chair, the CFO and the Head of Retail, for this small but growing retailer that sources products from China but also manufactures locally, this is a role that could be seen as a commercial all-rounder but also requires some specific skills, including:

• Experienced working directly with manufacturers (especially China), negotiating contracts, and overseeing supply chains.
• Solid commercial background with retailer or wholesaler
• Exposure to an ERP installation, and tech or digital product development (e.g. e-commerce, apps, system integrations).
• Skilled in planning, budgeting, financial reporting, and identifying key performance levers.
• An eye for detail, strong analytical skills (including spreadsheets), understanding legal contracts, safety and compliance issues

You will bring order to chaos without stifling creativity. You are a commercially savvy operator who thrives in fast-paced environments, knows how to build systems that scale, and can think strategically while working hands-on. You will have a real sense of humour, not take yourself too seriously, and be a team player, interacting daily with a head office team of 15.
Key Responsibilities include:

• Work alongside the CEO and Retail Leaders to shape team structure, culture, and accountability, while fostering a high-performance environment that values integrity, ownership, and continual improvement.
• Be a calm, commercial partner to a highly creative founder-helping bring big visions to life with structure and follow-through, while connecting the dots between departments and ensuring alignment across goals and initiatives.
• Provide operational and strategic support across key areas, including finance, manufacturing, IT, legal, risk, and commercial partnerships
• Support business modelling, planning, budgeting, and forecasting, while using data, insights, and structured planning to drive profitable growth.
• Support commercial collaboration agreements, legal contracts, product manufacturing, and manage supplier relationships, including negotiations with Chinese manufacturers.
• Lead technology and IT infrastructure decisions, including systems integration and technician support tools - from POS and ERP to CRM and app development and integration.
• Drive process improvement across departments, including product, legal, logistics, and customer experience.
• Champion data-led decision making and establish KPIs, dashboards, and regular reporting to support company performance.
• Identify and mitigate operational, regulatory, and legal risks, while ensuring compliance with relevant laws, safety standards, and commercial agreements.

With 10 years plus in a senior retail operational or commercial leadership role, you have a strong commercial mindset and understand how to build margin, manage costs, and grow profitability. A natural problem-solver who thrives in unstructured, fast-paced environments and loves getting things done, you have high levels of integrity, autonomy, and self-motivation. Comfortable working directly with founders and CEO, you are not afraid to challenge and lead but know when to influence and support. Of prime importance is a good sense of humour and the ability to leave your ego at the door, as team culture and collaboration make this place what it is.
To apply, please provide a CV to Garry Connell using the appropriate link and quoting reference #10678.