Job title: Head of Commercial & Strategy
Job type: Permanent
Emp type: Full-time
Industry: Retail & E-Commerce
Location: Singapore
Job published: 06-02-2026
Job ID: 32405

Job Description

Head of Commercial & Strategy

Location: Singapore (primary) | Melbourne considered
Reporting to: CFO
Role Type: Senior Leadership | Confidential Search

The Context

Our client is a fast-scaling, international consumer and retail business with a strong footprint in Asia. The organisation is entering its next phase of growth, requiring sharper commercial judgment, disciplined market prioritisation, and faster, data-informed decision-making across diverse Asian markets.

This role sits at the centre of growth, performance, and strategic execution. It is designed for a commercial operator, not a pure strategist. The successful candidate will shape strategy through numbers, market insight, and real-world trade-offs — not slides.

Deep, lived experience in Asia is non-negotiable.

The Role

The Head of Commercial & Strategy will act as a trusted partner to the executive leadership team, driving growth decisions, market entry logic, and performance management across Asia.

This is a hands-on leadership role that blends strategic thinking with operational execution. The individual will be expected to move seamlessly between high-level direction and detailed commercial analysis.

Key Responsibilities

  • Shape and drive the commercial strategy for Asia, grounded in financial reality and market insight

  • Lead market prioritisation, entry assessments, and scaling decisions across multiple Asian markets

  • Partner closely with the CEO and commercial leadership on growth planning, performance, and trade-offs

  • Translate data, consumer insight, and market dynamics into executable commercial plans

  • Build and challenge business cases, scenarios, and unit economics with imperfect information

  • Improve the speed and quality of decision-making across the organisation

  • Act as a bridge between strategy, finance, operations, and local market teams

What This Role Is

  • A commercial leadership role, not a theoretical strategy position

  • A decision-making role with real accountability for outcomes

  • A partner to senior leadership, not a back-office function

  • A blend of strategy, finance, and execution

What This Role Is Not

  • ❌ A career consultant or slide-driven strategist

  • ❌ A head-office-only role disconnected from markets

  • ❌ A pure FP&A or finance controller position

Critical Experience & Capabilities

1. Deep Asian Market Experience (Essential)

  • Lived and worked experience in multiple Asian markets

  • Strong understanding of how consumers, partners, and regulators operate in Asia

  • Able to distinguish between theory and on-the-ground reality

2. Retail / Consumer Business Scaling

  • Proven experience scaling a retail, consumer, or omni-channel business in Asia

  • Exposure to market entry, localisation, pricing, assortment, and supply chain trade-offs

  • Understands execution complexity, not just strategy design

3. Strong Commercial & Financial Acumen

  • Excellent grasp of unit economics, commercial finance, and performance analysis

  • Uses numbers to inform forward-looking decisions, not just report history

  • Comfortable building scenarios with incomplete or imperfect data

4. Multi-Cultural Leadership Effectiveness

  • Proven ability to work across cultures, languages, and operating styles

  • Influences without relying on hierarchy

  • Balances local nuance with regional and global direction

5. Data-Driven and Digitally Fluent

  • Highly comfortable with data, dashboards, and analytics

  • Understands how digital tools and AI can support better commercial decisions

  • Not a technology leader, but a sophisticated consumer of technology

6. Start-Up and Builder Mindset

  • Thrives in ambiguity and low-structure environments

  • Comfortable with limited resources and evolving priorities

  • Willing to roll up sleeves and personally drive outcomes

  • Makes decisions, learns fast, and adapts quickly

Ideal Background (Indicative)

  • Senior commercial leadership experience in retail, consumer goods, or omni-channel businesses

  • Roles may include Head of Commercial, Commercial Director, Head of Strategy (operator-led), or similar

  • Has worked inside Asia, not merely managed Asia from a global HQ

  • Energised by building and scaling rather than maintaining mature systems

What Success Looks Like

  • Clear, data-led market prioritisation across Asia

  • Faster, higher-quality commercial decision-making

  • Strong alignment between strategy, financial reality, and execution

  • Executive leadership views this role as a true thinking and execution partner