Head of Retail
Champion the scale-up of a category-defining pet food brand, building strategic retail alliances and shaping the future of the market.
Changing the world of pet food for good
We’re Tails.com, a dog food subscription company with a big difference. We create truly tailored food for each and every dog we serve. We start by asking people a few simple questions about their dog. Then we use that information to create their dog’s unique Tails.com recipe – so their dog gets exactly the nutrition they need, in the taste they love, delivered to their door every month. It’s clever stuff.
We’ve got bold plans. Having created an entirely new category in pet food, we’re now scaling fast – backed by Purina, one of the world’s largest pet food companies. You’ll join a bunch of smart people working towards the same goals – and a bunch of smart-ish dogs, all working on their own thing.
Together, we’ll change the world of pet food for good.
The retail team looks after our Inner Vitality brand we sell outside of our DTC proposition. We are currently listed in Sainsburys, Ocado, Morrisons, Waitrose, Wholesale, Amazon and across more stores across the UK. We look after everything from delivering our products to the retailers to delivering exciting marketing campaigns in stores.
Build our brand
We’re building a brand, fast. We set ambitious goals. We challenge and support each other in equal measure. At the pace we’re moving, we prefer to test ideas and learn quickly rather than spend months building a business case. That means we celebrate when things go right, and we learn when things go wrong.
Sound like a team you want to join? Here’s how you’ll make a difference:
The role
The role will work closely with the LT to shape the company’s retail strategy. Alongside building, leading and scaling a dedicated retail team as the business grows.
You will be responsible for:
Lead and develop our retail team (across direct and indirect reports), evolving the structure and capability as the business scales
Build and strengthen partnerships with key retail customers at a senior level to drive sales growth and expand distribution
Develop and deliver joint business plans with key retailers to drive sustainable omni-channel growth
Track and drive key commercial metrics including sales, profit, market share, distribution, pricing and in-store execution
Self driven mentality to Identify new business opportunities and accelerate brand penetration
Act as the senior retail leader, representing the function at a strategic level while driving alignment and influencing cross-functional teams to deliver against our growth ambitions.
The skills you’ll bring:
Proven experience in FMCG within a senior retail-facing environment , with a strong understanding of omnichannel dynamics.
Strategic thinking with the ability to dive into detail while defining and driving a clear, strategic vision for Retail
The ability to anticipate customer needs and have a proactive mindset
Demonstrate leadership capability, with the confidence to drive performance and lead cross-functional initiatives internally and externally.
Previous experience in launching new products into Retail and pitching new NPD to new and existing retailers.
Line Management experience
What's in it for you?
Competitive salary, reviewed annually
Annual bonus, based on company performance
Flexible core hours, giving you true work life balance
Hybrid role to ensure this role works for you
25 days of holiday (excluding bank holidays) which increases over time to a max of 27 days
9/10 day working week to enhance your wellbeing without a reduction in pay and leave allowance
Optional 5 days unpaid leave and 1 paid volunteer day each year
When you need a change of scenery, you can work from abroad 2 weeks every 6 months
Health insurance for you, paid by Tails.com
Extended maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption pay. 6 months at 70% pay
Flexible paid care leave to support immediate dependants, people close to you and pets
In house L&D team, with access to year round courses to help drive your development
50% discount on all Tails.com
Discounted gym membership
What’s next?
If this sounds like it matches your experience and what you’d love to do, we can’t wait to hear from you! If you’re unsure whether you fit our criteria exactly, please get in touch anyway. And because we believe that diverse teams perform better, we’d especially love to hear from you if you’re from an under-represented demographic.
Here’s a taster of how our recruitment process works:
Once you have applied your CV will be reviewed by the Talent Acquisition Team.
If selected, you will then have a call with the TA Team who will tell you more about us and the role, as well as learning more about your skills and experience.
Should you be successful, the next stage will be a video call with the Head of Retail
If successful, you will be invited to present a task back to a panel of interviewers.
Our Commitment
We’re proud to be an active equal opportunity employer. We want to give everyone a fair chance to join us in changing the world of pet food for good. We do this by conducting a structured recruitment process for all candidates, as well as actively promoting our roles to communities that are under-represented at Tails.com.
During your interview process you’ll meet some of our team with varying levels of responsibility and experience. We want to give every candidate a fair interview process and if you need any reasonable adjustments made, please let us know.
- Locations
- Richmond