Direct Sales and Events Manager
East Midlands HQ (with UK-wide events travel)
£50,000-£60,000+ (DOE) + bonus and exceptional benefits
Permanent, full-time
The Animal People Recruitment Company is proud to be recruiting exclusively for a high-growth, mission-led challenger brand within the premium pet sector. This confidential role offers the chance to lead and build a brand-new national D2C events and field sales channel for a values-driven, customer-obsessed scaleup.
If you are motivated by autonomy, pace, strategic influence and the excitement of building something from the ground up, this is a career-defining opportunity.
This is a Rare Opportunity to Build a Sales Channel from Scratch!
The Opportunity...
As Direct Sales and Events Manager, you will design, launch and scale a national acquisition channel built around field sales, events, and an engaged freelance Brand Ambassador network.
This is a true builder role: part strategist, part operator, part coach. You will work closely with Growth, Marketing, Operations and Finance to shape how the brand shows up across the UK and to ensure every in-person customer experience is exceptional.
Key Responsibilities...
Lead and scale a nationwide Brand Ambassador programme
- Recruit, onboard, coach and motivate an engaged network of freelancers
- Ensure consistent messaging, high-quality customer interactions and strong conversion rates
Own the full events and field sales strategy
- Plan and deliver roadshows, pop-ups, shows, and field marketing across the UK
- Manage schedules, logistics, compliance and event execution end-to-end
Drive commercial performance
- Set and track ambitious sales KPIs
- Aim to scale to a long-term target of approximately 1,000 new sales per month
- Build operational processes and workflows that support scalable national delivery
Analyse data and shape strategic direction
- Review event performance and customer insights to refine strategy
- Identify new regional opportunities and emerging trends
- Partner with Finance on budgeting, forecasting ROI and reporting on P&L
Champion the customer experience
- Ensure the brand shows up brilliantly at every in-person touchpoint
- Continually optimise how customers engage with the product and proposition
What We're Looking For...
Essential experience
- Proven B2C field or event sales experience, ideally within D2C or subscription-led consumer brands
- Demonstrable experience building or scaling acquisition or events-driven channels
- Strong commercial judgement around KPIs, ROI and pipeline performance
- Leadership capability with freelancers, ambassadors or remote teams
- Comfortable with UK-wide travel, weekend work and hands-on operational delivery
- Highly organised, proactive and capable of working with autonomy
- A genuine passion for pets and purpose-led brands
Desirable experience
- Experience in the pet, FMCG or lifestyle sectors
- Exposure to growth marketing, events strategy or field activation
- Experience in high-growth, fast-paced startup or scaleup environments
- Ability to influence channel and campaign strategy
Who Will Thrive in This Role...
- Someone who enjoys building from zero and creating structure where there is ambiguity
- A proactive, commercially minded operator who can also think strategically
- A confident communicator who thrives in people-centric, fast-moving environments
- Someone who balances ambition with humility and a team-first approach
Why This Role Matters...
This is a pivotal hire for a business entering its next major scale phase. You will be instrumental in shaping a national channel that directly influences growth, customer experience and future team structure. The scope for impact and progression over the next two years is significant.
Benefits Snapshot
- £50,000-£60,000+ DOE base salary
- Performance bonus
- 25 days holiday + bank holidays + birthday off
- AXA health insurance
- Wellbeing budget
- Learning and development budget
- Sabbatical options
- Immediate expenses access via corporate card
- Dog-friendly, inclusive, supportive culture
- Future share option potential
How to Apply
This is a confidential search being managed exclusively by us at The Animal People Recruitment Company.
To discuss the role confidentially or to express interest, please apply with your CV today!
A specialist, honest, kind and inclusive recruitment company for the pet and animal health industries.
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