Executive Assistant - Business Development (Permanent) in London

Location: London, UK Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent We are a fast-paced international trading and distribution business working with major consumer brands across grocery, household, health & beauty and FMCG. We are looking for an ambitious, commercially minded and highly proactive Executive Assistant & UK/EU Business Development professional to support one of our Directors while helping to develop and grow our business across the UK and Europe. This is not a traditional Executive Assistant position. The role will combine executive and day-to-day business support with a significant commercial focus. The successful candidate will be encouraged to take ownership of developing the UK and European markets: building supplier relationships, identifying buying and selling opportunities, approaching prospective customers and helping us establish a growing network of trading partners. We are looking for someone who can initially provide excellent support to the Director while developing their knowledge of our business and gradually taking greater ownership of UK and European commercial activity. Provide day-to-day support to the Director across a broad range of business and commercial activities. Manage priorities, correspondence, follow-ups and ongoing projects. Prepare Excel reports, pricing sheets, presentations and commercial information. Assist with ad hoc projects and operational requirements across the business. UK & European Supplier Development and Sourcing - A major part of the role will be developing our supplier network across the UK and Europe . Proactively approaching major retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and FMCG suppliers to establish new trading relationships. Identifying opportunities with organisations such as Home Bargains, B&M and similar UK and European retail, wholesale and distribution businesses . Developing relationships with buyers, sellers, distributors and other commercial contacts. Identifying branded FMCG products that could be suitable for our existing international customer network. Building and maintaining a comprehensive database of UK and European suppliers and commercial contacts. Following up consistently with prospective suppliers and developing long-term relationships. Sales & Business Development - The successful candidate will also help develop the customer side of the UK and European business . Approaching potential customers and establishing new trading relationships. Following up offers proactively and helping convert opportunities into orders. Developing an understanding of pricing, margins, logistics and the commercial considerations behind each deal. Monitoring market activity and identifying products, brands and categories with strong demand. Gradually taking greater ownership of UK/EU sourcing, sales and trading activity. The right person will be extremely organised, confident and proactive, but importantly they will also have commercial curiosity and entrepreneurial instinct . They should be comfortable picking up the phone, approaching a company they have never dealt with before, following up repeatedly, negotiating and building relationships. Previous PA, EA, sales support, buying, sourcing, account management or business development experience. Strong Excel and Microsoft Office skills. Proficiency in using AI tools such as ChatGPT to improve productivity, conduct research, analyse information, create commercial communications and streamline day-to-day workflows. Strong commercial awareness and an interest in understanding how deals work. The confidence to take ownership of projects and develop them beyond the original brief. Excellent relationship-building skills. A willingness to learn and develop an understanding of international FMCG trading. Experience within FMCG, grocery, wholesale, retail, distribution, importing/exporting or international trading would be highly advantageous, but is not essential for an exceptional candidate. Additional European language skills would also be advantageous but are not essential. This position offers significantly more scope than a traditional PA/EA role. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to learn the commercial side of an international trading business while developing their own network of suppliers and customers across the UK and Europe . As the individual develops their commercial knowledge and demonstrates their ability, we expect the position to evolve considerably. There is scope to move increasingly into business development, sourcing, sales, account management and commercial management , with growing responsibility for the UK and European business. For an ambitious person with the right drive, initiative and commercial ability, this is an opportunity to develop a role well beyond traditional executive support.