Managing Director | Cult Beauty

We are THG, a global ecommerce group on a mission to be the global online leader in beauty and sports nutrition. Our portfolio of leading retailers and brands such as LOOKFANTASTIC, Myprotein, ESPA, Perricone MD, and Cult Beauty form our two core businesses: THG Beauty and THG Nutrition. From Manchester to New York, we’re powered by a team of over 2500 people who work together, lead by example, and think BIG.

Life at THG Beauty: We know that beauty isn’t one-size-fits-all. Our portfolio of leading retailers and iconic beauty brands caters to everyone, everywhere, empowering customers all over the world to look and feel fantastic. By combining our portfolio of owned brands with a marketplace for over 1,300 third-party beauty brands through online retail sites LOOKFANTASTIC, Cult Beauty, and Dermstore, THG Beauty's ambition is to be the global digital partner of choice across the beauty industry, supporting the channel shift to online.

THG Beauty’s breadth of relationships is unique to the beauty market; it engages with brands as a retailer, a brand owner, and a product developer and manufacturer, making it the industry’s digital strategic leader.

Who is Cult Beauty? Well, we’re a beauty-obsessed team who share a common goal — to be the home of beauty discovery! Our mission is to unlock a love of beauty by inspiring discovery and self-expression through expert curation. We exist for All Ages, All Faces. We pride ourselves on being on the pulse of beauty, known for bringing new and exclusive brands and products to the market as well as being the place you can find all the latest trending, must-have brands. Our Cult Community values transparency and so do we. That’s why we only sell the products that truly blow us away.

As part of the Cult Beauty team, you’ll be encouraged to share ideas and empowered to aim for the skies. We’re not just here to sell the most unbelievably amazing beauty products in the world, we also want to challenge the definition of what ‘beauty’ is and use our platform to challenge the status quo — both in our industry and society.

Why be the MD for Cult Beauty? Due to an internal promotion, we are now looking to appoint a new Managing Director for our Cult Beauty business in London. Cult has entered an exciting new chapter following our recent rebrand, which re-expressed the brand’s purpose, identity and ambition. The refreshed logo and visual language reflect what Cult has always stood for and set the tone for where we’re going next.

Over the past few years the business has made significant progress: we’ve strengthened our assortment, continue to launch exclusive products and brought new brands onto the platform. These shifts have laid strong foundations for growth commercially, culturally and creatively. But the real opportunity lies ahead. We’re looking for a leader who can build on this momentum, shape an ambitious and innovative culture within the team and position Cult Beauty as the leading digital beauty destination.

That means driving clear differentiation in a competitive market, not only through brand partnerships, events and community initiatives, but through digital marketing excellence in all areas. We want someone who can harness channels like social, content, influencers, CRM, performance marketing and emerging platforms to deepen engagement, grow reach and reinforce our authority in beauty.

This is a role for someone who can inspire and galvanise a talented team, set a bold direction and accelerate Cult Beauty’s evolution as a market-leading digital retailer.

As Managing Director, you’ll:

• P&L Ownership & Commercial Performance: Be responsible for the Cult Beauty growth strategy with a particular focus on brand, marketing and ecommerce. P&L ownership to drive sustainable top and bottom-line growth. Set and manage budgets, forecasts and performance targets, ensuring commercial rigour and accountability. Identify and execute opportunities to grow market share, improve margins and optimise operational efficiency.
• Leadership & Team Performance: Lead, inspire and develop the Cult Beauty team, creating a culture of ambition, innovation and accountability. Lead and mentor the Cult Beauty Senior Leadership Team who oversee brand, performance marketing, ecommerce, buying, merchandising and supply chain. Work closely with THG leadership to align on strategic objectives, performance and investment priorities. You will be the bridge between Cult Beauty and the wider THG Beauty division, ensuring clear lines of communication at all times and fostering a truly collaborative culture between Cult and the wider Group.
• Innovation & Strategic Development: Champion a customer-obsessed mindset and empower teams to move with pace and creativity. Define and drive a clear point of difference for Cult Beauty in a competitive digital beauty landscape. Drive a ‘brand first’ approach working with all areas of the business to ensure our brand proposition and values are consistent across all touchpoints. Be on top of upcoming and emerging trends within the beauty industry with a finger on the pulse in terms of what our key competitors are doing in the market and how we can compete to stay ahead of the game.

What skills and experience do I need for this role? Multi-brand experience within an online retailer is a must for this role given the nuances of trading multiple brands. We’re fast paced and performance driven so someone who can work at pace will be key. Equally we’re looking for someone who is level headed and won’t compromise the long term goals of Cult for short term trade wins. A strong leader who will champion Cult Beauty’s successes and drive a collaborative and high performance culture. You will be the bridge between Cult Beauty and THG so strong communication skills will be paramount to ensure the team are kept in the loop and feel motivated at all times. You will have a strong connection with the Cult Beauty brand and able to demonstrate a clear passion and enthusiasm for the opportunity. 70% of our revenue comes from the UK market with a growing international presence across Europe and USA. International experience would be a strong advantage.

What’s in it for me? Access bespoke development programmes that have been designed and developed by our in-house L&D team. Continued development through our upskilling programme that is delivered in partnership with an industry-leading training provider. Enhanced Leave: 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays. Don’t want to work on your birthday? We don’t either! Enjoy your day off on us! Enhanced maternity and paternity pay, depending on length of service. Up to 10 days compassionate leave. Buy back up to 3 days each year. Access face-to-face and virtual appointments with our in-house GP. Access our 247 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which is provided by Bupa.

Other Perks: Save up to 12% on the cost of personal tech through our salary sacrifice scheme. Up to 50% staff discount on THG brands. Know someone who would be perfect for THG? Refer them and get up to £1000 when they pass their probation. Anniversary gifts when you hit 5 and 10 years of service. THG is proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. If you are invited to interview, please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to the recruitment process that will enable you to perform to the best of your ability. THG is committed to creating a diverse & inclusive environment and hence welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

Because of the high volumes of applications our opportunities attract, it sometimes takes us time to review and consider them all. We endeavour to respond to every application we receive within 14 days. If you haven’t heard from us within that time frame or should you have any specific questions about this or other applications for positions at THG please contact one of our Talent team to discuss further.