Commercial Director - Pet (relocation to Auckland, New Zealand)

Drive the global success of ZURU's Pet vertical.
About ZURU

ZURU is a reimagination company. We look for categories that have stood still, then we build next-generation products and brands that set the new standard. ZURU Toys is reimagining play. ZURU Edge is reinventing everyday consumer brands. Rhodes Pet Science is reimagining pet science. ZURU Tech is leading the next building revolution.

ZURU started in 2003 with two brothers from New Zealand, and we're still founder-owned and operated today. Since then we've become the world's second-biggest privately held toy company, and nearly half of all Gen Y and Gen Z households with kids in the US own a ZURU product. Today we're 5,000 people in 34 offices, selling into more than 150 markets, backed by over 100 acres of fully automated manufacturing. And we're only getting started.

Position Overview

The Commercial Director leads the global commercial strategy for Rhodes Pet Science, ZURU's pet care business, and is accountable for its P&L, pricing architecture, trade terms and retail economics. The role sets commercial direction in partnership with Marketing, Product and Sales, leads engagement with key global retailers, and builds and leads the commercial team. It is the head of department role in the Commercial career path.

Position Impact

Success means delivering Rhodes Pet Science's growth and margin targets through disciplined P&L ownership, winning assortment, pricing and placement outcomes with key global retailers, and building a self-starting, autonomous commercial team.

The Commercial Director raises the vertical's commercial standard year on year, compounding improvement in evidence-based decision making, AI adoption and retail economics rather than holding the status quo.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Commercial Acumen – Own the global Rhodes P&L in partnership with Finance, ensuring disciplined growth, strong margins and commercial resilience. Lead annual planning, multi-year commercial roadmaps and investment prioritisation, and set the marketing, NPD and commercial budgets. Own trade terms, pricing architecture, retail economics and promotional frameworks, and act as the ultimate point of sign-off on material P&L models and commercial proposals. Continuously identify margin improvement through mix, model, pricing, efficiency and channel strategy.

• Insight to Action – Set the strategic commercial direction for Rhodes, with a full view of brand strategy, category role and consumer trends. Build and deploy global market entry, expansion and channel strategies grounded in commercial return and operational feasibility. Design and scale the models that drive distribution, penetration, velocity and category share. Continuously evaluate priorities and risks, and look around corners to maximise commercial return for Rhodes and the wider business.

• Influence, Credibility and People Leadership – Lead strategic engagement with key global retailers, influencing assortment, pricing, placement and category strategy, including exclusivity and JBP conversations, and represent ZURU at top-to-top level. Work with Sales teams to set the commercial strategy for their markets and hold those teams accountable for delivering growth. Partner with Marketing, NPD, Supply Chain and Sales to align product, market and commercial priorities, and represent commercial strategy at senior leadership forums. Create the structures and rhythms that enable operational excellence, recruit and develop exceptional talent, and build self-starting, autonomous teams.

• Data and AI, and Compounding Improvement – Set the standard for commercial data integrity and evidence-based decision making across the vertical. Hold the broader business to account for using commercial data and insight in its decisions. Drive adoption of AI and automation across the vertical's commercial work, and resource it deliberately. Lead the vertical to raise its commercial standard year on year rather than hold it.

Skills & Experience

• 8+ years of commercial leadership experience within consumer goods; pet care or FMCG food categories preferred

• Proven P&L ownership at vertical or business-unit level, including pricing architecture, trade terms and promotional frameworks

• Track record of top-to-top retailer engagement and JBP or exclusivity negotiation with major mass, grocery, pet specialty or e-commerce accounts

• Strong commercial analytics capability with POS, sell-through and syndicated data, and demonstrated adoption of AI and automation in commercial workflows

• Experience recruiting, developing and leading high-performing, autonomous commercial teams

Who thrives at ZURU

This isn't a 9-to-5. We move fast, think big and set goals most companies would call impossible, then go after them. The people who thrive here are entrepreneurs at heart. They own their work, chase bold ideas and never stop raising the bar.

At ZURU, you drive your career, and we give you the platform to take it as far as you can. There are opportunities here that you won’t find anywhere else, and you'll be surrounded by talented people who make things happen. We're a true meritocracy: we reward impact, not tenure.

How we work

Big ideas happen when great people work side by side, so we're office-first by design. Being together means faster collaboration, sharper decisions and stronger teams, and it's where the real learning happens. Some flexibility may be available depending on the role, location and business needs, but most roles are office-based.

Want to see what life at ZURU really looks like? Follow @LifeatZURU on Instagram or visit www.zuru.com.

ZURU – Reimagining tomorrow 🚀

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