Head of Trade - Ireland

Role Purpose

Lead the commercial performance, trading strategy and local sourcing agenda of the M&S Food business across Ireland ensuring the business delivers against sales, profit, customer, availability and strategic growth objectives.

As the senior commercial leader for Ireland, translating local market dynamics, regulation (inc SPS transition), customer trends and competitor activity into trading decisions, whilst representing the Irish business with suppliers, external stakeholders and GB functions.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Leadership & Trading Performance

• Own overall Food commercial performance across ROI
• Set the Irish market trading agenda across buying, pricing, promotions and insight
• Deliver sales, profit, margin, market share and availability targets.
• Lead seasonal planning and event trading (with additional oversite of NI)
• Review category performance and identify commercial opportunities and risks
• Provide recommendations on ranging, pricing, promotions and category investment
• Translate competitor activity and market trends into commercial actions

Local Sourcing & Supplier Strategy

• Lead M&S Ireland's local sourcing agenda and supplier strategy. .
• Build strategic partnerships with Irish food suppliers, working to develop a growth resilience plan.
• Identify opportunities to increase Irish provenance and local relevance within the range.
• Maintain executive relationships with major suppliers and industry bodies.
• Manage supplier risk, continuity and contingency planning.
• Lead supplier engagement events and forums.

Pricing, Promotions & Commercial Insight

• Sponsor the Ireland pricing strategy.
• Oversee promotional planning and execution.
• Maintain market competitiveness against Irish retailers.
• Review KVI performance and competitive price positioning.
• Govern ROI-specific and NI-specific pricing requirements.
• Ensure insights are translated into commercial action
• Lead post-investment reviews and event performance analysis

Regulation, Legislation & Market Representation

Act as the senior commercial owner for Irish market requirements including:

• DRS
• MUP
• SPS
• Windsor Framework implications
• Food labelling requirements
• Cross-border trading considerations
• Irish regulatory changes
• Industry consultations

Supply Chain & Availability

• Oversee Irish food supply chain performance, govern forecasting and demand planning processes.
• Manage availability, waste and stock flow.
• Escalate supply risks affecting ROI and NI.
• Support major logistics programmes and regulatory transitions.
• Ensure launch readiness and event readiness across categories.

Team Leadership

Led a multifunctional commercial organisation comprising:

• Buyers
• Pricing & Promotions
• Trade Planning
• Commercial Insight
• Technical and Agronomy support/ Product Development (dotted line engagement)

Strategic Planning & Growth

• Define the commercial growth strategy for Food Ireland.
• Build business cases for investment.
• Lead transformation initiatives.
• Influence long-term estate, channel and franchise plans.
• Support Board and ExCo discussions.

Cross-Functional Leadership

Acted as the commercial interface between:

• GB Food Commercial
• Marketing
• Retail Operations
• Supply Chain/ Logistics
• Finance
• Product Development/ Technical