Country General Manager (VP) - UK&I in Manchester

The Country General Manager – UK&I is a market shaping executive role within the European organisation. With UK&I being the largest single market in Europe (P&L ~$500m), the performance has a significant impact on the overall success of achieving the wider European future growth and business strategy. The role is charged with full P&L accountability, accelerating commercial performance, introducing new and innovative commercial models in partnership with both retailers and manufacturers, whilst also building a resilient, future‑ready organisation. The role exerts broad influence across the enterprise, leading the country organisation and providing leadership across the UKI supply chain and corporate functions.

A role where a commercially driven business leader, with proven capability at driving transformation at pace as well as a passion for building highly engaged teams would thrive.

• Full accountability for P&L performance, including budget creation and financial control.
• Driving transformation across commercial value proposition, customer experience and digital capabilities.
• Shaping business strategy and execution plans, with a focus on identifying and unlocking new revenue streams.
• Providing leadership for the overall Country business, and particularly the senior management team—setting strategic direction and offering tactical support to deliver the agenda of protecting and differentiating CHEP’s position as the industry leader.
• Delivering results in a matrixed environment, balancing leading directly on some things while simultaneously leading through influence.
• Leading the introduction of new/innovative commercial models (new products/services, or new ways of selling products/services).
• Building deep succession pipelines by attracting, developing, and retaining talent at all levels of the organisation.
• Establishing and strengthening key customer relationships to sustain long‑term organic growth.
• Championing employee engagement as a core priority for the country leadership team.
• Ensuring a safe, secure working environment and fostering a strong Zero Harm culture.

• Ability to operate effectively across a matrix and wide range of leadership styles, being an effective influencer and persuasive spokesperson across the entire organization.
• Strong entrepreneurial streak and commercial orientation. Proven track record of advising on driving growth and increasing profitability/return on investment in highly competitive markets.
• Credibility and gravitas across strategic, financial and operational discussions at a senior level.
• The ability to create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans to achieve both short-term and long-term strategic objectives.
• The ability to anticipate future consequences and trends accurately and paint credible pictures of future possibilities.
• Demonstration of capability to communicate a compelling and inspired vision and sense of core purpose and future achievements that others want to enthusiastically buy into.
• A proven ability and commitment to attracting, identifying, and developing key talent within the organisation.
• A deep understanding of how businesses work with the ability to see the big picture and manage the business taking into account a wide variety of metrics (revenue, ROI, Cash flow, Operating profit etc).

• Significant experience in leading a business unit with substantial revenue and/or end‑to‑end operational delivery accountability.
• A strong and sustained track record spanning financial performance, people leadership, commercial execution, and operational oversight.
• Demonstrated capability in setting and executing strategy, leading change management, and building long‑term, value‑creating customer relationships.
• Clear evidence of driving operational excellence through efficiency gains and continuous improvement initiatives.
• P & L Responsibility, budget creation and control.