At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead retail growth strategy and strengthen partnerships to boost brand visibility.
- Company: Join Absolute Collagen, the UK's top liquid collagen brand with a vibrant community.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, dynamic work environment, and opportunities for personal growth.
- Other info: Exciting chance to shape the future of a fast-growing brand.
- Why this job: Be at the forefront of retail innovation in beauty and wellness.
- Qualifications: Strong retail experience, ideally in supplements or beauty, with excellent relationship management skills.
The predicted salary is between 59400 - 72600 £ per year.
Company Overview
Absolute Collagen is the UK’s best-selling liquid collagen supplement and a fast-growing wellness brand operating at the intersection of beauty, health and nutrition. Founded in 2017 by Maxine and Darcy Laceby, the business has built a highly engaged customer community of over 60,000 subscribers within a subscription-first, omnichannel model. The brand has grown through strong customer advocacy, high retention and a loyal subscriber base. Backed by private equity investor Livingbridge, Absolute Collagen is now focused on its next phase of growth. Alongside our established DTC business, retail is becoming an increasingly important part of our strategy, helping more customers discover, understand and access the brand. With an existing major high street retail partnership with Boots and significant opportunity ahead, we are looking for an ambitious Head of Retail to lead the next stage of growth.
Why This Role Exists
Retail is becoming a major growth engine for Absolute Collagen, and we need a commercially sharp, high-energy retail leader to help unlock its full potential. This role has been created to lead and accelerate our retail strategy, strengthen our existing retail partnership, and open the right new doors across beauty, wellness, supplements, pharmacy, grocery and premium specialist channels. The Head of Retail will be responsible for building a retail channel that complements and supports our DTC business, rather than simply competing with it. This means thinking carefully about pricing, positioning, product mix, retail execution and customer discovery. This is a role for someone with drive, pace and ideas, someone who can build strong retailer relationships, spot commercial opportunities, and make things happen.
Role Impact
- Build retail into a major growth engine: This role will lead the next stage of retail growth for Absolute Collagen, turning retail from an emerging channel into a meaningful contributor to revenue, brand awareness and customer acquisition.
- Strengthen existing retail performance: The Head of Retail will own and develop our existing major high street retail partnership, ensuring the account is commercially strong, well managed and delivering against its full potential.
- Open the right new doors: They will identify and unlock new retail opportunities across supplements, wellness, beauty, pharmacy, grocery, premium specialist channels and selected international markets.
- Make retail and DTC work together: A key part of the role is ensuring retail supports, rather than undermines, our DTC business. This means making smart decisions around pricing, product mix, positioning, promotions and customer journey.
- Bring the brand to life in retail: This person will ensure our products do not just land in retail, they work in retail. They will help shape the right activations, campaigns, science education and retailer partnerships to drive discovery, trial and repeat purchase.
What Success Looks Like (12 Months)
- A strong, commercially productive relationship with our existing key retail partner.
- A clear retail growth strategy that supports both revenue and brand positioning.
- New retail opportunities identified and progressed across the right channels.
- A good understanding of science-led, efficacy-focused products.
- Retail and DTC working together effectively, with clear thinking around pricing, subscription, customer behaviour and channel roles.
- Better retail execution, including stronger launches, activations, campaigns, stock planning and trading performance.
Key Responsibilities
- Retail Growth and expansion: Lead the retail growth strategy, strengthening our existing major high street partnership while identifying the right new opportunities across supplements, wellness, beauty, pharmacy, grocery, premium specialist channels and selected international markets. This includes building strong retailer relationships, leading commercial conversations, shaping account plans, and understanding which products are best suited to which retail environments — from premium positioning to volume growth.
- Retail Performance: Own retail trading performance, ensuring the channel delivers against revenue, margin and growth expectations. This includes managing forecasts, trading calendars, performance reviews, pricing, promotions, stock planning and retailer requirements, while working closely with finance, operations and supply chain to deliver strong commercial outcomes.
- Brand & Omnichannel Alignment: Ensure retail supports the wider Absolute Collagen ecosystem, including DTC, ecommerce, brand, marketing, product education and customer experience. This includes making sure retail activity drives discovery, trial and repeat purchase, while supporting brand positioning through credible messaging, clear efficacy-led education, strong launches, campaigns, activations and retailer partnerships.
Experience & Capability
The successful candidate will bring:
- You may already be a Head of Retail, or you may be a strong Senior National Account Manager or Senior Retail Lead ready to step into a broader role.
- You will bring strong retail experience, ideally within supplements, wellness, beauty, pharmacy, FMCG or a related consumer category.
- Experience working with Boots or a similar major UK retailer is important.
- You will be commercially sharp, proactive and confident managing retailer relationships, negotiations, performance and growth plans.
- You will be someone who brings ideas and executes them.
- You will be comfortable thinking strategically, but just as willing to get into the detail and make things happen.
- You will bring a strong retailer network.
- Experience managing major retail accounts.
- Strong commercial judgement and confidence with P&L, pricing, forecasting and trading conversations.
- An entrepreneurial, go-getting mindset.
- The ability to balance premium brand positioning with volume growth.
- Experience managing and developing at least one direct report.
- Confidence working cross-functionally with marketing, ecommerce, finance, operations and supply chain.
- Energy, ownership and a genuine passion for building brands customers love.
Head of Retail in Birmingham employer: Absolute Collagen
Absolute Collagen is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment where innovation and collaboration thrive. With a strong focus on employee growth, the company provides opportunities to shape SEO strategies that directly impact brand visibility and customer acquisition. Located in the UK, Absolute Collagen fosters a culture of inclusivity and support, ensuring that every team member can contribute meaningfully to the company's mission of empowering women through science-backed wellness products.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Retail in Birmingham
✨Get Your Retail Game On
Start by getting to know the local retail scene. Make a list of stores that align with your vibe and visit them. You'll be surprised at how many job openings come from chatting with staff or managers in-store. Plus, showing that you have a genuine interest in their brand can make you stand out when applying for that full-time role!
✨Join Retail Networks and Forums
Tap into retail-specific communities and forums, whether online or in-person. Platforms like Retail Week or local retail meetups can provide invaluable insights and connections. You never know who might drop a tip about an upcoming job at companies like Absolute Collagen, so don’t miss out on building those relationships!
✨Be Ready for Busy Season Opportunities
Keep your eyes peeled for seasonal hiring windows, especially in the run-up to major shopping periods. Retailers often look for full-time staff to carry through busy times and may even keep you on after the season. Stay proactive by regularly checking in with your favourite retailers about their hiring plans.
✨Show Off Your Customer Service Skills
Retail’s all about customer interactions, so make sure you showcase any relevant experience in your conversations and interviews. Share specific examples of your customer service skills and how they’ve led to positive outcomes. This is your moment to shine when applying to roles at places like Absolute Collagen!
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Retail in Birmingham
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Customer Service Skills:In retail, customer service is key! Make sure your CV highlights any experience where you've dealt with customers, whether it’s resolving issues or enhancing the shopping experience. Use concrete examples to demonstrate your problem-solving skills and ability to handle difficult situations with ease.
Tailor Your CV for Retail:When applying for a full-time role like this one at Absolute Collagen, customise your CV to reflect retail-specific buzzwords. Include any relevant skills such as inventory management or visual merchandising, and if you have experience with POS systems, shout about it! This will show you’re serious about joining the retail team.
Craft a Genuine Cover Letter:Don’t just repeat your CV in your cover letter! Use it as a chance to explain why you're excited about the opportunity at Absolute Collagen and how your values align with their brand. Mention specific aspects of the company that resonate with you and let your enthusiasm shine through!
Highlight Your Adaptability:In retail, things can get busy and unpredictable, so demonstrate how adaptable and flexible you are. Share examples of times you've had to adjust your approach on the fly or take on new responsibilities. This will show Absolute Collagen that you’re ready to jump in and contribute right away!
How to prepare for a job interview at Absolute Collagen
✨Show Off Your Customer Service Skills
Retail is all about providing an exceptional customer experience, so be ready to discuss your past customer service stories. We should have examples on hand of how we've handled difficult situations or gone above and beyond to meet a customer's needs. These anecdotes will bring your application to life!
✨Familiarity with Point of Sale Systems
Many retail roles require us to work with Point of Sale (POS) systems, so it's a good idea to brush up on any relevant software you’ve used before. If you’re familiar with systems like Shopify or Square, don’t forget to mention this during the interview. Highlighting technical proficiency can set us apart from other candidates!
✨Understand Product Knowledge
Be prepared to discuss the products that the store sells and how we can contribute to their sales. Showing enthusiasm for the products and a willingness to learn can impress interviewers. We should research popular items or trends in the industry before the interview, so we can speak confidently about them.
✨Be Ready for Role-Playing Scenarios
Many retail interviews include role-playing scenarios where we might have to deal with a difficult customer or upsell a product. Practising these scenarios with a friend or family member can help us feel more comfortable. The key here is to showcase our problem-solving skills and ability to remain calm under pressure!
