Head of Wholesale - Premium Beauty (Fractional)

Job description

We are working with a fast-growing premium beauty brand looking for an experienced Interim Head of Wholesale to come in for an initial 3–6 month period and accelerate its retail growth. This is a very hands-on, execution-focused brief. We are looking for someone who knows the beauty retail landscape, has strong existing buyer relationships and can personally open doors, lead conversations and convert opportunities into major retail accounts. The brand already has some great momentum, with new retail partnerships going live and a number of other conversations underway. There is also internal support in place to help coordinate pipeline, materials, follow-up and execution, so the focus for this person can really be on driving relationships and getting deals over the line. The role will focus on: Owning and accelerating the wholesale sales pipeline Identifying and prioritising the right retail partners Activating existing senior buyer relationships Personally opening doors and leading buyer conversations Negotiating commercial terms and converting opportunities into deals Helping sharpen the sales materials and commercial proposition where needed Building a strong pipeline and momentum across wholesale We are looking for someone with a proven track record of personally opening and growing major retail accounts within beauty, ideally across retailers such as Boots, Sephora, Space NK, John Lewis, Lookfantastic, ASOS and Cult Beauty. Strong brand-side beauty experience is important, particularly if you have helped an emerging or premium brand grow from relatively limited wholesale distribution into meaningful retail scale. International retailer experience would be a bonus, particularly relationships with Ulta, Bluemercury or Douglas. This is not an advisory or strategy-only brief. We need someone senior enough to operate independently but who is still very happy to be hands-on, pick up the phone, speak to buyers and make things happen. The initial brief is for 3–6 months and there is flexibility around the level of commitment and structure. The focus is very much on finding the right person who can deliver outcomes. We are moving quickly and looking to speak to relevant people immediately. If you have a strong beauty wholesale network, a track record of opening major retail accounts and availability for an interim or fractional brief, I would love to hear from you. We would love to respond to every application however due to the volume of applications we receive this isn't always possible. If you have not heard within 2 weeks of applying, please assume on this occasion that your application has not been shortlisted. We may retain your CV to contact you about future employment opportunities that are being managed by The Growth Foundation Talent. The Growth Foundation Talent is deeply committed to building a diverse & inclusive workplace and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.