Commercial Director

Commercial Director

Division: VSG UK incorporating Safety Lifting Gear (SLG) & Honey Brothers (HB)

Reports To: Group Managing Director, UK & Europe, Dotted line VSG VP Sales

Location: Bristol, UK (with travel between sites as required)

About Vertical Supply Group (VSG)

Vertical Supply Group is a global family of companies specializing in professional equipment, tools, and solutions for working at height, arboriculture, and industrial safety. With operations across North America, the UK, and Europe, our brands — including Safety Lifting Gear and Honey Brothers — share a common mission: to provide exceptional service, innovative products, and safe solutions that empower our customers every day.

Role Overview

The Commercial Director will play a pivotal role in driving revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and operational excellence across the VSG UK sales organisation, incorporating Safety Lifting Gear (SLG) and Honey Brothers (HB).

This strategic leadership position is responsible for developing and executing the commercial strategy, building and scaling high-performing sales and customer service teams, and ensuring cohesive collaboration between field sales, operations, and marketing.

The successful candidate will be a results-driven, people-focused leader with strong experience in B2B and B2C sales environments, ideally within industrial equipment, manufacturing, or safety-related sectors.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy & Growth

• Develop and execute a commercial strategy to drive growth across Safety Lifting Gear and Honey Brothers in alignment with VSG's global objectives.
• Identify new market opportunities, customer segments, and product expansion areas.
• Establish KPIs and metrics to measure sales performance, customer satisfaction, and profitability.
• Work collaboratively with Marketing, Operations, and Finance to ensure strategic alignment and execution.

Sales Leadership

• Build, lead, and mentor high-performing sales teams — including inside sales, field representatives, and key account managers.
• Create structure, accountability, and clarity across field and internal sales roles.
• Implement effective territory management, sales pipelines, and performance tracking systems.
• Strengthen relationships with key customers, distributors, and partners to drive growth and retention.
• Lead strategic pricing discussions and oversee discount and margin management policies.

Customer Service & Experience

• Redesign and optimise customer service structure to ensure responsiveness, professionalism, and efficiency across channels.
• Foster a customer-first culture where service excellence drives competitive advantage.
• Establish service metrics (response times, resolution rates, satisfaction scores) and monitor performance against targets.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain and Operations to ensure customer commitments are met on time and in full.

People Leadership & Culture

• Build a cohesive commercial team culture across SLG and HB — fostering collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Coach, mentor, and develop emerging leaders within the sales and service functions.
• Partner with HR to align organizational structure, talent development, and incentive programs to commercial objectives.
• Champion VSG's values of Integrity, Safety, Strong Character, and One Global Team.

Financial & Operational Oversight

• Manage sales budgets, forecasts, and P&L performance for SLG and HB commercial operations.
• Ensure data-driven decision-making through accurate reporting and analytics.
• Support integration initiatives and system alignment across both brands under VSG.
• Report progress, challenges, and strategic insights to the Group Managing Director and global leadership team.

Qualifications & Experience

• 10+ years of progressive commercial leadership experience, ideally within industrial distribution, manufacturing, safety equipment, or related sectors.
• Proven track record in building and scaling sales and customer service teams.
• Experience managing field sales operations and introducing sales structures, metrics, and accountability frameworks.
• Strong understanding of B2B and B2C sales channels, pricing strategy, and customer engagement best practices.
• Exceptional communication, leadership, and people management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with supply chain, operations, and marketing teams.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Commerce, or related field (MBA or equivalent experience preferred).

What We Offer

• A key leadership position within a growing international organization.
• The opportunity to influence strategy and culture across two established and respected brands.
• Competitive compensation, performance-based incentives, and comprehensive benefits.
• A collaborative, forward-thinking leadership team committed to continuous improvement and innovation.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Benefits:

• Company pension
• On-site parking

Application question(s):

• Do you have 10+ years of progressive commercial leadership experience, ideally within industrial distribution, manufacturing, safety equipment, or related sectors?
• Do you have experience managing field sales operations and introducing sales structures, metrics, and accountability frameworks

Work authorisation:

• United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person