Interim Commercial Sales Director - Precision Engineering

Interim Commercial Sales Director - Precision Engineering | £750-£1000/day PAYE (DOE)

Day Rate: £750-£1000 per day (PAYE | Dependent on Experience)
Contract Type: Interim - 6 Months

Location: West Sussex

We are supporting a UK-based manufacturer of advanced precision-engineered equipment, part of a private-equity-backed international group, in appointing an Interim Commercial Sales Director to lead a critical phase of commercial transformation.

This role is a confidential interim assignment within a technical B2B environment, reporting directly to the Group Managing Director. The brief is clear: assess, stabilise, and restructure the commercial function to reverse declining revenues and position the business for sustained growth across global markets.

About the Business

Our client designs and manufactures complex, high-precision equipment used by engineering, manufacturing, and quality professionals worldwide. Their systems are sold globally into industrial sectors such as aerospace, medical devices, electronics, packaging, and advanced manufacturing - supporting operational excellence, compliance, and production performance.

Following recent acquisition by a global private equity firm, the business is undergoing strategic realignment - transitioning from brand-specific sales structures to regional commercial leadership (EMEA, Americas, APAC). As part of this change, a seasoned Commercial Sales Director is required to conduct a full diagnostic of the current commercial function and define a future-proof strategy and operating model.

The Challenge

This is a pivotal interim leadership assignment requiring a commercially astute, hands-on leader to assess, stabilise, and reshape an underperforming commercial function during a period of significant organisational transition.

Revenue is currently down year-on-year. Sales forecasting lacks rigour, and the commercial team is largely reactive, with minimal proactive business development activity. Distributor relationships are under-managed, customer feedback is not being systematically captured or acted upon, and internal commercial processes lack cohesion.

The business requires a different type of leadership - someone with strategic insight, structural clarity, and strong executional capability in a private equity-owned environment.

You will be expected to:

Diagnose commercial capability gaps and recommend structural changes - including scenarios where team reshaping or redundancy may be necessary
Align internal, field-based, and distributor sales resources to market potential and revenue growth priorities
Design and implement a robust Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) process that integrates UK and international teams
Develop a credible go-to-market strategy, tailored to private equity expectations and supporting the group's post-acquisition integration agendaThis assignment is not about keeping the ship afloat. It's about reshaping it to compete and grow under new ownership.

Working directly with the Group Managing Director and in partnership with PE stakeholders, you will:

Stabilise and engage the team through visible, empathetic leadership
Conduct a commercial review across people, process, structure, and systems
Lead the creation and roll-out of a sales strategy that balances direct and distributor-led channels
Introduce and embed pipeline forecasting discipline and S&OP cadence
Engage the customer base to inform future pricing models and product development
Restructure and redeploy the team where necessary, building a performance-driven sales culture
Support the transition to a permanent or regional Commercial Director (EMEA) structure if required

Who We Are Looking For

We're seeking a seasoned commercial leader with a demonstrable track record of strategic turnaround, commercial transformation, and international growth delivery in technical B2B environments - ideally with a mix of blue-chip and SME/private equity-backed experience.

You will have operated in complex, precision-engineered product sectors - such as capital equipment, high-value systems, or engineered instrumentation - and understand the nuances of selling via both direct and distributor-led channels across international markets.

This is a hands-on leadership role, not one for arm's-length strategists. You must be capable of both shaping and executing a robust commercial plan, reviewing salesforce capability, influencing restructure or redeployment (where necessary), and collaborating closely with HR and senior leadership.

We're especially interested in individuals who can demonstrate:

Proven success in commercial strategy development, sales team optimisation, and revenue turnaround
Experience leading post-acquisition transformation, ideally in a PE-owned context with familiarity in reporting to investor boards
A player-coach leadership style, with the credibility to lead senior team members and the willingness to roll up sleeves
Experience designing or improving Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) processes across UK and international teams
High emotional intelligence and maturity to navigate change sensitively, influence legacy teams, and build trust in a transitioning business
Strong analytical, commercial, and communication skills - essential for diagnostic work, strategy development, and clear board-level reportingIf you've led from the front in challenging contexts - diagnosing issues, rebuilding teams, restructuring channels, and driving profitable growth - we want to hear from you.

This assignment offers the opportunity to shape and lead a transformation at the heart of a precision engineering business at a critical inflection point. If successful, the role may evolve into a permanent EMEA leadership position with a wider group remit.

Please apply in the first instance with a full CV and covering note outlining your availability, daily rate expectations, and relevant experience