Established in 1840, the DSPCA has grown to be the leading and largest animal welfare charity in Ireland over the last 180 years. We exist uniquely to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome sick, injured and cruelly treated animals.

Reporting directly to the CEO and working as part of the Senior Leadership Team, this newly created role presents an incredible opportunity to unlock the potential of commercial opportunities to fund our charitable activities in this important space.

The Commercial Director will develop and lead our commercial strategy and provide hands on delivery and leadership on all commercial  matters. The role will involve leading and managing commercial activities such as retail income streams, e-commerce, animal boarding and day care, leases and commercial contracts, education and training. They will also develop and lead on growth strategies and market opportunities and diversification. This role offers the perfect opportunity for a proactive, driven professional to be part of the leadership team in a dynamic, fast paced environment in a period of change.  

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the development and implementation of market and business strategies in line with the Society's strategic objectives by identifying and prioritising opportunities to grow income.
• Management – effectively manage and create improvements within all current commercial activities.
• Lead multiple teams across a variety of commercial activities including animal boarding and day care, education/training, retail and leasing/commercial agreements.  
• Innovate, identify and diversify into new income streams securing steady income for the charity.
• Digitalise, expand and monetise existing activities both online and on site.
• Develop market, competitor, customer and business insight and use this to support service and income development.
• As part of the SLT, collaborate closely with colleagues to develop innovative and practical ways to increase turnover and profitability
• Conduct market research and analysis to inform business plans on commercial opportunities and understand future threats.
• Manage relationships with key stakeholders to understand the needs of the current customers and devise and implement customer growth strategies.
• Assist in setting financial targets, budgets and monitoring and reporting on same.
• Monitor the performance of commercial activities using key metrics and reporting to SLT and board
• Undertake ad-hoc commercial projects as required
• Ensure excellent standards of customer service and reputation at all times
• Provide hands on, credible and agile leadership to the team in line with our core values
• Treat employees with dignity and respect

Critical experience, skills and core competencies:

·      Degree or masters degree in Business, Marketing or related discipline

·      They will have a minimum of 10 years' post qualifying experience and at least 5 at a management level.

·      Possess the requisite knowledge, skills and attributes to manage a commercial function

Love of animals essential

LEADERSHIP – Lead with integrity and the proven ability to lead through others.

STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT - Build and maintain excellent stakeholder relationships.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & INFLUENCING SKILLS – Excellent oral and written communication skills, comfortable with public speaking and making formal presentations.

STRATEGIC THINKING - Proven ability to formulate strategies - ability to take a broad-based view of issues and events and understand their longer-term impact.

CHANGE AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT MINDSET– the ability to effectively implement strategic imperatives while maintaining the ethos and values of the organisation.

PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING – Can analyse information quickly and come to a decision to address the impact of the information received.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING – Can make efficient use of scarce resources. Plans effectively and deploys resources in an efficient manner. Meets deadlines.

High level of COMPUTER LITERACY and knowledge of CRM/PM systems

Terms

·      Competitive salary, annual leave and benefits package commensurate with experience

·      Permanent, Full Time Role.

·      Agile working policy in place – 3 days on site required, Rathfarnham, Dublin.

·      Bring your pets to work

·      Learning and Development Opportunities

Please apply including a CV and cover letter to recruitment@dscpa.ie with REF: Commercial director. Informal enquiries are welcome.

We warmly welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences. We are committed to making our recruitment processes accessible to everyone and are flexible in how we receive information. If you would like to apply via a different format or require any accommodations, let us know how we can support you to be the best you can be.