Head of retail & strategic partnerships

We are looking for a Head of retail & strategic partnerships to work for a premium Oral hygiene Company in Altrincham

Role Title: Head of Retail & Strategic Partnerships

Department: Commercial

Reports to: Founder/CEO

Salary - 60k

Role Purpose

Own and accelerate the growth of the company’s retail and strategic partnership channels.

This role is responsible for maximising the performance of key national accounts (including Boots) while securing new high-value distribution partnerships across beauty, healthcare, travel, and premium retail.

Success in this role means turning their products into a must-stock brand across priority retail and partnership channels.

Key Responsibilities

National Account Management (major high street chains & Key Retailers)

• Own the relationship end-to-end

• Develop and execute joint business plans

• Identify opportunities to increase distribution, visibility, and sell-through

• Manage promotional calendar and retail activations

• Monitor retail performance and recommend growth actions

• Build strong buyer and category relationships

New Business Development

• Identify and secure new retail partners (e.g. Sephora, pharmacy chains, beauty retailers)

• Develop strategic partnerships (airlines, hotels, healthcare groups, dental networks)

• Build and maintain a high-quality pipeline of target accounts

• Lead commercial negotiations and onboarding

• Work cross-functionally to launch new accounts successfully

Channel Strategy & Expansion

• Develop retail and partnership growth strategy

• Recommend channel priorities based on ROI

• Identify white-space opportunities in UK and international markets

• Support forecasting and demand planning for retail growth

• Ensure strong commercial terms and margin discipline

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work with Marketing on retail launch support and in-store activations

• Work with Operations on forecasting and supply planning

• Work with Finance on commercial modelling

• Ensure smooth onboarding of new partners

Key Measures of Success

• revenue growth and SKU expansion

• Number and quality of new national accounts secured

• Retail sell-through performance

• Margin quality across retail channels

• Strength of buyer relationships

• Size and quality of future account pipeline

🌟 What “Great” Looks Like

• Key client continues to expand footprint and revenue

• They land at least 1–2 major new national accounts per year

• Retail becomes a predictable, scalable growth channel

• Buyers proactively approach the brand

• Partnerships open new customer acquisition channels

🚫 What This Role Is Not

• Not a junior sales admin role

• Not pure order processing

• Not responsible for DTC marketing

• Not purely maintaining existing accounts