Interim Marketplace Acquisitions Manager in Manchester

The role:

We are preparing to launch a new marketplace proposition and are looking for a commercially driven Marketplace Acquisitions Manager to build the foundations for launch.

Over an initial six-month period, you will be responsible for identifying, engaging and securing prospective brand partners that we can bring onto the marketplace, working in step with our transformation programme as the technology and proposition are built. This is a build-phase role. You will create the brand pipeline, develop relationships with prospective partners, test and refine our commercial proposition, and establish the partnerships and processes required to support a successful marketplace launch. You will play a key role in shaping the marketplace assortment, ensuring we attract brands that are relevant to our customers and complementary to our existing proposition.

This is a hybrid role, with an expectation to work on-site at our Head Office in Manchester's Northern Quarter 3 days per week.

A day in the life of a Marketplace Acquisitions Manager at N Brown

Build the brand pipeline

• Identify and prioritise brands that would strengthen our marketplace proposition and complement our existing customer offer.
• Build a structured pipeline of prospective brands across relevant categories.
• Research the market to identify established, emerging and strategically relevant brands.
• Develop target lists and outreach strategies by category and brand opportunity.

Develop brand partnerships

• Introduce prospective brands to the marketplace proposition and clearly communicate the opportunity for them.
• Build relationships with key commercial and senior stakeholders within target brands.
• Understand prospective partners' requirements, priorities and barriers to participation.
• Negotiate indicative commercial terms and partnership models where appropriate.
• Secure expressions of interest and, where possible, agreements or commitments to participate at launch.

Shape the proposition

• Gather feedback from prospective brands to help refine our marketplace proposition, commercial model and partner proposition.
• Identify common onboarding, operational and commercial requirements that need to be addressed before launch.
• Work closely with internal ecommerce, technology, commercial, legal, finance and operations teams to ensure the proposition is commercially viable and partner-ready.
• Help define the criteria for selecting and prioritising launch partners.

Drive marketplace delivery through our transformation programme

• Act as the commercial lead for marketplace within our business transformation programme, working as part of the core delivery team and its governance.
• Work hands-on with our commerce platform and marketplace technology partners to define and test the end-to-end brand onboarding journey. This covers product data and content standards, integration routes, order flow, fulfilment, returns and settlement.
• Translate brand requirements and feedback into clear business requirements and priorities, so the technology is set up around what partners and customers need.
• Align the brand pipeline to the programme's release plan, so brands are onboarded in the right sequence and ready to trade as each capability goes live.
• Raise dependencies, risks and constraints early, and work with technology, operations and partners to resolve them.
• Lead the first brand onboardings with our technology partners and use what we learn to build a repeatable, scalable onboarding playbook for the permanent team.

Prepare for launch

• Develop a clear pipeline and prioritisation of potential launch partners.
• Establish relationships with an initial group of high-priority brands ready to progress when the marketplace technology is available.
• Maintain detailed records of prospective partners, commercial discussions, requirements and next steps.
• Provide regular reporting on pipeline development, engagement, conversion and launch readiness.
• Create a handover plan and partner pipeline that can be taken forward by the permanent marketplace team.

What are we looking for

• Experience in business development, partnerships, commercial, buying, sales or ecommerce.
• Experience working with brands, suppliers or commercial partners within retail or consumer businesses.
• Proven ability to identify opportunities and build a pipeline from scratch.
• Strong commercial judgement and negotiation skills.
• Confident approaching and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Highly proactive, entrepreneurial and comfortable operating in an environment where the proposition is still being developed.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Comfortable working across multiple internal teams and turning external market feedback into actionable recommendations.
• Experience in marketplaces, ecommerce or platform businesses would be advantageous.
• Experience working within or closely alongside technology or transformation programmes, with the ability to bridge commercial and technical teams.
• Exposure to marketplace platforms or seller integration tools (such as Mirakl, Tradebyte or Rithum) would be advantageous.

Ways of Working

We offer hybrid working which varies across the business depending on the role you're in. Our Head Office is located in the Northern Quarter in Manchester City Centre. So if you are travelling by train, tram or bus we're perfectly located, plus we're surrounded by cool cafes, trendy bars and the best places to eat!

Our working hours are 36.17 per week over 5 days.

We believe AI will become a standard part of modern professional practice. We are therefore looking for individuals who are open to learning, testing, and responsibly adopting AI tools to improve efficiency, insight, and impact in their role.