Our Client
Trade Aid, founded in New Zealand in 1973, is a social enterprise with a clear purpose: advancing fairness through trade. To achieve that purpose, the organisation builds a successful and commercially sustainable trading business, ensuring its business decisions create positive outcomes for the producers and communities it works with. The organisation sources products from small-scale disadvantaged food producers around the world and engages and educates New Zealand consumers to help create a world where trade is fair for everyone. Trade Aid operates as an agent, wholesaler and direct-to-consumer retailer, connecting producers and consumers through partnerships and products that embody its commitment to fair trade.
For more information, please visit, http://www.tradeaid.org.nz
Key Responsibilities
Reporting to the Board, you will hold full commercial and operational leadership of Trade Aid, across sourcing and importing, customer and channel development, brand, finance and a specialist team. Your focus will be growth and diversification in new products, channels, customers and markets that build on a strong green coffee business and broaden what Trade Aid is known for while remaining true to purpose. You will reposition the Trade Aid brand in a business-to-business market without losing what it has stood for since 1973, set and achieve financial and commercial objectives and partner with the Board to shape the strategy that carries Trade Aid into the future. You will also be a visible and articulate advocate for Trade Aid, confident speaking publicly about why fair trade matters and able to make the impact it delivers for growers and cooperatives real for customers, partners and the wider market. Success will come from having the discipline to choose where to focus the business next and the judgement to lead an expert team in a way that draws on the knowledge already in the room.
To view the Position Description click here
Your Skills and Experience
To succeed in this role, you will bring significant senior leadership experience and the commercial acumen to see where a purpose driven importer can grow. You will ideally understand food importation, distribution or a closely related FMCG environment well enough to make confident calls on sourcing, margin, product and channel, but most of all you are as comfortable building the customer relationships that grow revenue as you are reporting into a board. You will bring an entrepreneurial and curious view of what Trade Aid could become, alongside a credible and genuine commitment to fair trade that aligns with a mission-driven team, a founding guardian and trading partners across three continents. You will also be a strong communicator and comfortable representing an organisation publicly, with the conviction to make the case for fair trade and the difference it provides for growers. Prior Chief Executive experience is desirable, though depth of senior leadership experience matters more than title.
To view the Candidate Briefing Pack click here
To Apply
Few appointments offer this much scope to build on a well-earned legacy. If you are motivated by the cause and are passionate about leading the next chapter of Trade Aid, we welcome your application, along with the experience you would contribute. Please submit your cover letter and CV by clicking on the appropriate ‘Apply’ button. Initial confidential enquiries are welcome by phoning Kase Craig on 021 657 328 or Nick Hodgson on 021 190 4191.
Applications close at 5pm on Friday 16 October