International Commercial Operations Director

You own the operational layer that connects HQ to every international market—subsidiaries and distributors alike. You build and lead the international operations team, own the operating model and budget that support it, and serve as the senior point of contact for distributor partners worldwide. You keep markets informed, keep HQ aligned, and free the CCO International to focus on strategy rather than administration—because you own the administration, and the people who run it. You see what needs doing, build the team and the systems to do it, and keep more than ten markets on track without being asked twice.Key ResponsibilitiesTeam Leadership: Serve as the main point of contact across the organization and key stakeholders. Set up structure, standards, and ways of working as the function scales—and coach, develop, and own the performance, growth, and priorities of the role.Operating Model: Own the international commercial operating model: the cadence, systems, and standards that keep ten-plus markets running, with clear decision rights and escalation paths so the team operates with autonomy.Budget Ownership: Own and manage the international operations budget across events, distributor onboarding, tooling, and headcount, delivering within approved plan.Distributor Management: Serve as the senior HQ point of contact for distributor partners globally—owning day-to-day communication on launches, campaigns, pricing updates, and brand materials, and tracking distributor performance across sales, stock, and delivery.New Market Onboarding: Lead distributor onboarding for new markets and manage active pipeline of upcoming market launches.Subsidiary Coordination: Act as the coordination hub between HQ teams and international Country Managers on NPD launches, campaigns, and operational changes, and own action tracking from regional calls through to closure.Internal Reporting: Maintain a structured communications rhythm into HQ—consolidating sales data, stock positions, launch readiness, and market updates—and brief HQ functions in advance of every market launch and new market opening.Catalogue & Pricing Database: Own and maintain the central database for international catalogues and pricing, ensuring version control and global consistency.Events & Strategic Planning: Own the agenda, budget, and logistics for the annual International All-Hands and quarterly high-level country reviews, ensuring pre-reads, data packs, and action tracking are delivered and followed through.Cross-Functional Alignment: Build strong working relationships across Demand Planning, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, Growth Marketing, Content, NPD, and Web; represent international requirements early in HQ planning cycles; and ensure compliance and regulatory requirements are flagged and coordinated across markets.Requirements8+ years in international commercial operations, distributor management, or market coordination, with experience across at least three regions simultaneouslyProven experience building and leading a team—hiring, developing, and managing direct reports through a period of growthTrack record of owning an operating budget and delivering within itHands-on experience owning distributor or wholesale partner relationships at the operational levelProven ability to manage a high volume of concurrent workstreams across multiple time zonesExperience in consumer goods, premium brands, or a direct-to-consumer environment strongly preferredExposure to new market launches or distributor onboarding—you have built something from scratch, not just maintained itComfortable operating with C-Suite leadership, with the mature commercial judgment the role requiresClear, concise written and verbal communicator across cultures and time zones; data-literate, able to consolidate sell-through, promotional performance, and stock positions into a clean, readable summaryMandarin Chinese or Japanese language skills a meaningful advantage