Mackenzie Jones
Head of Sales - On Trade
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Head of Sales – On Trade (FMCG – Drinks)
Location: 📍 Hybrid – primarily remote with 2 days regional travel (SW & NW) per week
Salary: £70,000–£80,000 + company car/car allowance + bonus
The Role
We’re looking for an entrepreneurial, commercially driven Head of On-Trade to take ownership and build the UK On-Trade team from scratch.
This is a high-impact role responsible for:
- Developing a strategic On-Trade approach and targeting the highest-value opportunities across outlet type, geography, and customer segments.
- Securing distribution with national accounts, regional operators, and independent free-trade customers.
- Building a high-performing field sales team (starting with two Territory Managers) and scaling as the business grows.
Key Responsibilities
-
Strategic Leadership:
- Own and execute the UK On-Trade strategy, focusing on growth by segment, geography, and route to market.
- Drive distribution expansion for key national accounts, regional wholesalers, and independent operators.
-
Relationship & Negotiation:
- Manage high-value partnerships with wholesalers, account holders, and channel partners.
- Negotiate city-level plans (covering South West, North West, and Midlands) with clear KPIs and execution frameworks.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
-
Activation & Market Influence:
- Design and run impactful activation programmes that drive:
- Brand trial
- Repeat purchase
- Customer advocacy
- Design and run impactful activation programmes that drive:
-
Team Leadership & Development:
- "First hiring" team leader – proven ability to hire, develop, and hold teams accountable.
- Hands-on coaching with daily/weekly routines to ensure high performance.
-
Data-Driven Growth:
- Use insights and analytics to optimise:
- Distribution metrics
- Throughput and pricing
- Promotional effectiveness
- SKU focus
- Use insights and analytics to optimise:
About You
✅ Proven leadership in On-Trade: Track record building sales teams from scratch in a high-growth drinks business (scale-up or challenger businesses preferred). ✅ Channel building expertise: Experience establishing or scaling new distribution routes rather than managing stagnant markets. ✅ Strong commercial intuition: Capable of eliminating waste, maximising margin, and delivering results without abundant resources. ✅ Hands-on and resilient: Prefer finding solutions across silos — used to starting without all the answers. ✅ Autonomous yet collaborative: Proven ability to own strategic decisions while driving alignment across stakeholders.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Why Join?
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to: ✔ Shape a critical growth channel from seed stage. ✔ Grow your team (quickl noticeable impact). ✔ Elevate your career — potential to progress into broader commercial leadership as the business scales.
What We Offer
- Purpose-driven clarity: We humanise how we do things. Opening up this role won’t just line your pocket—it’ll grow your skills too.
- Culture: Diversity and inclusion are foundational. We craft environments where people can be authentic without the stigma of compromise.
- Humane process gradation: Regrettably, we manage high applicant volumes and are unable to respond to every application. Think of it as data science — if you don’t hear by within 14 days, the role is either clogged or dead. Either way, we regret not having a “beer chat” about your options over an email, but consider this a digest detecting suggestion.
Follow us at Mackenzie Jones Recruitment for more opportunities. ⚡
(Who says bad timing exists? We’re here to dispute that.)
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location