Membership & Commercial Director

Scotland’s food and drink products are unique but so too is Scotland Food & Drink. No other country in the world has created a body which facilitates and enables government and industry to work side by side. And the simple truth is it works.  

Scotland Food & Drink is the industry leadership organisation that represents and promotes the Scottish food and drink industry. Established in 2007, it aims to nurture, support, champion and grow Scotland’s food and drink sector by working with businesses, government, and other stakeholders to provide industry insights, market intelligence, and support services. 

With around 400 members, Scotland Food & Drink is committed to strengthening reputations, developing growth strategies and broadening networks which will deliver the competitive edge for members and continued success for Scotland’s food and drink industry. It also facilitates a uniquely collaborative Partnership which consists of ten industry bodies, five public sector organisations and one research collaboration who work in the industry in Scotland. 

Due to the ongoing growth of Scotland Food & Drink, there is now a requirement to appoint a new Membership & Commercial Director to join the leadership team and help drive the organisation forward. 

This is a newly created role and is a highly visible senior position which will report to the CEO and sit on the Executive team.  

It is a fantastic and very exciting opportunity, which the individual will assume responsibility for a number of business-critical functions including our Business Development, Member services, Brand & Marketing teams. The ultimate purpose of the role is to maximise the sustainable growth of commercial revenue for Scotland Food & Drink, designing and implementing commercial and membership strategies based which will drive value for the industry.  

An important part of this role will be in improving and developing business development and member systems and our team’s capability, working collaboratively in our organisation which has its own engaging and positive culture.

We are seeking to appoint an experienced commercial leader who has experience of driving member or customer value, and in turn revenues, in a relevant organisation.  

An entrepreneurial mindset is required, together with strong brand, marketing, financial and team management skills as well as the interpersonal skills to operate at the most senior levels of the business. 

The successful candidate will possess most of the following; 

• A track record of driving revenue growth and developing / managing brand and product portfolios  
• An understanding of commercial and brand communications strategies / planning within the context of a complex stakeholder environment 
• Ideally, they will have experience of both private and public sector communications 
• Experience of maximising the impact of brand portfolios and external comms to a large stakeholder base 
• Evidence of building and maintaining relationships with diverse stakeholders and implementing successful business growth strategies that align with the corporate aims of the business 
• Strong networking, relationship building skills and the ability to promote SF&D throughout Scotland and globally 
• Confident and engaging presenter with demonstrated leadership and team management capabilities 
• Familiarity with the Scottish food and drink industry, including knowledge of local market dynamics, trends, and key players would be advantageous 

 Scotland Food & Drink is a progressive organisation and offers a number of employee wellbeing benefits, flexibility and attractive working conditions.