At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead special projects to revolutionise the secondhand fashion supply chain.
- Company: Join Fleek, a fast-growing startup transforming the fashion industry.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, equity, healthcare, and exclusive discounts on vintage items.
- Other info: Dynamic, collaborative culture with direct access to founders and high ownership.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in sustainable fashion while working with innovative AI technology.
- Qualifications: Experience in commercial operations, deal-making, and building AI workflows.
The predicted salary is between 59400 - 72600 £ per year.
Can you help us fix the world's most broken supply chain?
The fashion industry produces over 100 billion garments a year. 60% end up in landfill, not because people don't want these clothes, but because the supply chain for getting secondhand fashion from donation to resale is completely offline, manual and broken.
Fleek is fixing this.
Our mission is to make secondhand the first choice.
We're building the infrastructure powering the global secondhand clothing trade, through a B2B marketplace and the AI systems digitising the supply chain behind it.
Through Fleek, vintage stores, online resellers and retail buyers source graded secondhand inventory directly from wholesalers and rag houses across multiple countries.
Our key enabler is Fleek Sort, an AI model fine-tuned on secondhand fashion that can grade, price and categorise items with just a photo.
Turning what has historically been an opaque and manual trade into a structured, searchable and tradable global inventory layer.
Since 2022, we've saved 9 million items from landfill while tripling in size year-on-year.
We're backed by some of the world's best investors, including a16z, Y Combinator and HV Capital, alongside world-class angels who helped build Depop, Shopify, and Postmates.
Today, we serve thousands of resellers and retailers across the UK, Europe and the US.
With the secondhand fashion market projected to reach $350B by 2027, Fleek is building the AI-native operational and financial backbone for secondhand commerce globally.
We're looking for people who want to build something that matters and move fast doing it. Sounds good? Keep reading.
About The Role
We're hiring a Special Projects Lead into our Commercial team to own Fleek's bets.
These are new business lines that could each add £5M+ in GMV but have no playbook yet.
These bets are too important to be anyone's second priority and too heavy to bolt onto an existing role, because each one cuts across supply, operations, CX and commercial.
So this is a dedicated seat.
You take a bet from thesis to signed deal to live pilot to proven economics.
You make the call to double down or kill it.
Then you hand it off and pick up the next one.
This is a solo seat with no team and no playbook.
You'll have real ownership from day one and work directly with the founders.
It's a founder-operator role, not a sales or BD role.
It's also explicitly an individual contributor seat rather than a VP or Director title, and will suit an operator a few jobs into their career who has personally carried a number and wants scope they'd struggle to get anywhere else.
What You'll Do
- Own bets end to end: take each bet from thesis to signed deal to live pilot to proven economics, then hand it off cleanly as a repeatable motion and move to the next one.
- Sell the way this market buys: much of this sell is to factory owners, brokers and small shop owners.
It's fast, informal and relationship-led.
Deals happen over Whats App and Instagram as often as they do in a boardroom.
- Prove or kill the economics: map the competitive landscape and unit economics for each bet.
Instrument pilots so the data tells the truth and get to a clear feasible-or-not read within months rather than years.
- Run several bets in parallel: juggle 3-4 projects at once while holding a sharp view on each. Judgement and speed to evidence matter more than volume here.
- Drive cross-functionally: pull ops, CX, supply and the commercial team behind each bet. You'll be leading a new line across an existing organisation without formal authority.
- Build AI-first: manual work won't hit the numbers this seat needs. You'll build end-to-end AI workflows and tools rather than adding process or headcount.
What You Bring
- Operator and commercial in one person. You're not pure strategy and you're not pure sales. You build the machine and you carry the number.
- Zero-to-one inside a company.
You've led a new line, market or product cross-functionally within an existing organisation, working through ops, CX and commercial teams you didn't control.
Having founded something helps, but building inside an org is the core skill.
- Deal-making with receipts.
You've closed bespoke partnerships worth £1M+ and negotiated directly with senior decision-makers.
The commercial structures you put together didn't exist before you wrote them.
- Commercial rigour.
You think in unit economics, you instrument pilots properly and you've owned a target or P&L.
You know the difference between a bet that's early and a bet that's dead because you've killed things you built.
- Sector adjacency.
You've worked in fashion, resale, e-commerce, marketplaces or consumer.
You understand how physical inventory, margins and trading relationships actually work.
For us this is a strong preference rather than a nice extra.
- Builder-level AI fluency.
You build end-to-end AI workflows yourself rather than just chatting with tools.
There are agents, automations and internal systems you can point to and demo, built without an engineering team behind you.
- Comfort in a scrappy sales cycle.
This is not an enterprise-length deal cycle.
You're energised by a fast, high-touch, SMB-style sell and can flex from a brand's leadership team to a vintage shop owner in the same day.
- Nice to Have
- Direct experience with deadstock, liquidation, surplus inventory or brand take-back
- Experience launching a new market, geography or product line from scratch
- Founder or early-employee experience at a marketplace or consumer company
- What You'll Get
- Competitive salary
- Generous equity: being on Fleek means you'll own a part of it
- Comprehensive healthcare coverage
- A collaborative team in a lovely office in the heart of East London
- Access to founders. We're a small team and they're heavily involved (and good fun!)
- Exclusive employee discounts to buy on Fleek
- Access to borrow any item from our collection of vintage and reworks in the office
- A disproportionate level of responsibility and the opportunity to drive massive impact
- How We Work
Fleek is an in-office company.
We're based at Commercial Street, E1 (Liverpool Street / Aldgate East).
We operate a fully in-person culture at our office in Shoreditch, with trust-based flexibility.
We hire adults and trust them to perform.
- The Practicalities
- Location: London HQ, Commercial Street, E1 (Liverpool Street / Aldgate East)
- Work model: On-site, 4-5 days per week
- Stage: Post-Series B, hyper-growth
- Team: 200 across three geographies
- Culture: High ownership, non-hierarchical, fast-moving. Founder-led with strong opinions loosely held.
Our Values
- Dream Big and Disrupt Yourself: Push the most ambitious version of what you're building. Step out of your comfort zone. Nothing is out of reach.
- Absolute Ownership: The buck stops with you. Drive initiatives to completion. Experiment, learn, persevere. The job isn't done until the job is done.
- Curiosity Leads the Way: Don't accept anything at face value. Ask questions you don't know the answer to. That's how you innovate.
- Talk to the Customer: Deeply understand their challenges, motivations, and ambitions. Every decision starts with the customer at the centre.
- Embrace Diversity: A global team building for a global supply chain. Bring your authentic self and embrace the diversity of everyone you encounter.
Ready to build the infrastructure for the world's fastest-growing fashion economy?
If you want to work on genuinely hard problems, with a world-class team, at a company that's tripling annually, we'd love to hear from you.
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Special Projects Lead - Category Expansion in London employer: Soapbox
At Elliptic, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration. Our team enjoys a dynamic work environment where continuous learning and professional growth are encouraged, alongside competitive benefits and a commitment to work-life balance. Located in a vibrant tech hub, we offer unique opportunities to work with cutting-edge technologies while making a meaningful impact in the world of secure and scalable platforms.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Special Projects Lead - Category Expansion in London
✨Get Down to the Fashion Events
Dive headfirst into local fashion shows, trade fairs, and networking events. These are golden opportunities to meet industry pros and showcase your passion for the industry in person. Plus, it gives you the chance to chat about potential roles at places like Soapbox!
✨Join Fashion-Focused Communities
Become a part of online fashion communities on platforms like Instagram or Pinterest. Participate in discussions and share your insights on trends or your personal style journey. It’s a great way to get noticed by brands looking to fill positions, including Soapbox.
✨Craft a Rock-Solid Portfolio
Since you're aiming for a full-time gig, your portfolio should reflect not just your best work but also your personality. Whether it’s lookbooks, design sketches, or styling projects, make sure it screams 'you' and includes a bit about why you’d be a perfect fit for Soapbox.
✨Leverage Your University Connections
If you’re fresh out of university, don’t underestimate your career services. They often have partnerships with fashion companies for internships and entry-level roles. Use this to your advantage and connect with them to find any openings at Soapbox!
We think you need these skills to ace Special Projects Lead - Category Expansion in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Style:In the fashion-apparel industry, your personal style and understanding of current trends are crucial. Make sure your CV and cover letter reflect your unique fashion sense – use visuals if you can and highlight any fashion-related experiences or projects that show off your flair!
Highlight Relevant Experience:When you're applying for a full-time role, be sure to focus on any past roles or internships in fashion that’ve honed your skills. Whether that's working in retail, fashion design, or marketing, quantify your achievements and show how they relate to the role at Soapbox.
Include a Strong Portfolio:An impressive portfolio is key in fashion! Make sure to include a link to your online portfolio in your CV, showcasing your best work, be it designs, campaigns, or styling projects. This is your chance to let your creativity shine and demonstrate your abilities to Soapbox!
Craft a Standout Cover Letter:Use your cover letter to weave in your passion for fashion and the specific reasons you want to work at Soapbox. Share your vision of how you'd contribute to their brand and why you're excited about their work. Tailoring this will make you stand out from the crowd!
How to prepare for a job interview at Soapbox
✨Showcase Your Style Portfolio
For a role in the fashion-apparel industry, having a well-curated portfolio is essential. Ensure you include your best work that reflects your style and creativity, whether it's sketches, lookbooks, or completed designs. Be ready to discuss your design process and the inspirations behind your pieces!
✨Know the Latest Trends and Brands
Being well-versed in current fashion trends and influential brands can give you a leg up in the interview. Get familiar with what’s trending in the market and know your competitors. This shows your passion for the industry and helps you connect your work experience to current fashion trajectories.
✨Demonstrate Your Collaboration Skills
In a full-time fashion role, collaboration is key, whether you’re working with designers, marketers, or suppliers. Be prepared to share experiences where you successfully worked as part of a team or navigated challenges with colleagues. This will highlight your ability to adapt and thrive in a fast-paced environment.
✨Dress the Part
This might sound obvious, but in fashion, how you present yourself is part of your brand. Wear something that represents your personal style while still aligning with the company’s aesthetic. It’s a great way to show you understand the industry's essence and can embody the brand’s image!