Special Projects Lead - Category Expansion

Role Overview

Special Projects Lead (Category Expansion) — Founder-operator role in the Commercial team, owning new business bets end to end. You will run multiple category expansion initiatives that each could add £5M+ in GMV, with no existing playbook.

Responsibilities

• Own bets end to end: take each opportunity from thesis → signed deal → live pilot → proven economics; then hand it off as a repeatable motion and move to the next bet.
• Close in a relationship-led market: sell primarily to factory owners, brokers, and small shop owners using fast, informal channels (often WhatsApp/Instagram).
• Prove or kill the unit economics: map the competitive landscape and unit economics for each bet.
• Instrument pilots for truth: design pilots so results reach a clear feasible-or-not read within months, not years.
• Run several bets in parallel: manage 3–4 projects at once, maintaining strong judgment and speed to evidence.
• Drive cross-functionally without formal authority: partner with Supply, Ops, CX, and Commercial teams to launch new lines across the organization.
• Build AI-first workflows and tooling to replace manual work and meet required numbers (build workflows/tools, not just process or headcount).

Requirements / What You Bring

• Operator and commercial capability in one person (not pure strategy, not pure sales).
• Experience leading zero-to-one initiatives: new lines/markets/products cross-functionally within an existing organization, working through operations.

Nice-to-haves (implied)

• Experience building and scaling AI-enabled workflows for operations and commerce.
• Strong ability to operate as an individual contributor with direct founder partnership.