Commercial director · job description template
Commercial director job description
The short answer · updated
A commercial director job description sets out the senior role that owns how a company earns from its markets. The core responsibilities are the commercial strategy and targets, pricing and margin, leading sales and key accounts, negotiating major contracts and partnerships, and reporting commercial performance to the chief executive and the board.
Job purpose
The Institute of Directors describes commercial directors as responsible for planning, developing and implementing commercial strategies to support business development and growth. The purpose line should say that, then name the commercial problem the next commercial director has to solve: growth that has stalled, margins under pressure, a new market, a large contract to win or renew, or a sales team without direction. For the role itself, see what does a commercial director do.
Choose the title deliberately. In one company the commercial director leads sales, pricing and key accounts; in another, marketing and partnerships report in too; in a group, a chief commercial officer sits above divisional commercial directors. Acas publishes an outline job description template whose headings (the main duties and who the post reports to) suit any of these.
Key responsibilities
Order the duties by importance and start each with a verb. A typical commercial director job description covers:
- setting the commercial strategy and revenue and margin targets from the business plan;
- owning pricing, discounting and commercial terms;
- leading the sales and key account teams, and hiring where there are gaps;
- negotiating major contracts, renewals and partnerships;
- working with the marketing director on the markets, customers and campaigns that build revenue;
- forecasting revenue and working with finance on budgets and margin;
- researching markets and competitors, and deciding where to grow;
- measuring commercial performance and reporting it to the leadership team and the board;
- keeping the sales team within competition law: no price-fixing, bid-rigging or market sharing with rivals;
- supporting the company’s procedures to prevent bribery, which are its defence to the failure-to-prevent offence under the Bribery Act 2010;
- improving the commercial systems, data and reporting.
Reporting line and scope
The commercial director reports to the chief executive or managing director, or to a chief commercial officer where there is one. The sales director or head of sales, key account managers and any pricing or bid team usually report in; in some companies so do marketing, partnerships or customer success. List what reports to the role and what stays elsewhere.
Some commercial directors sit on the board; others attend for their items. A commercial director appointed to the board owes the general duties that Companies House guidance sets out under the Companies Act 2006, and the Competition and Markets Authority’s guide warns that a director involved in a competition law breach can be disqualified from managing a company. Say in the job description whether the role carries a board seat.
Skills, experience and qualifications
No qualification is required by law to be a commercial director. Ask for experience of the commercial problem the company has now and describe it specifically, rather than counting years.
- experience leading sales and commercial teams at a comparable scale, in a comparable market;
- a record against the specific problem: growth, a new market, a margin recovery, a major contract or a turnaround;
- pricing and contract negotiation at the size of deal the role will handle;
- forecasting and reporting that a board can rely on;
- working closely with marketing, finance and operations;
- sales capability against a recognised standard where it helps, such as the Institute of Sales Professionals’ Sales Capability Framework, which underpins Ofqual’s specification of sales qualifications;
- sector knowledge where the buyers, contracts or regulation are specialised.
Fractional commercial director job description
A fractional commercial director works a set number of days a week or month, so the job description narrows. Name the days, the outcomes expected over the first six to twelve months (a commercial plan agreed, pricing reset, a sales leader hired, a major contract won or renewed, a forecast the board trusts), what the role owns and who runs sales on the days they are not there.
Where the brief spans every revenue function and a board seat, it is a chief commercial officer brief: our page on how to hire a fractional CCO or commercial director sets out how the engagement works.
A fractional commercial director working through their own company may fall within the off-payroll working rules (IR35). Status depends on how the engagement runs in practice, not on the wording of the job description, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
Interim and permanent versions
Interim. An interim commercial director works full-time for a fixed period, so the job description leads with the situation (a sales team to rebuild, pricing to reset, a large bid, or cover while the permanent search runs) and the date or event that ends the assignment. Where the gap is mainly in sales leadership, see our interim sales director page.
Permanent. The permanent version looks further ahead: the markets, the team and the revenue model over several years. When the commercial director is hired as an employee, the job title or a description of the work goes into the written statement of employment particulars they must have on the first day, so keep the two consistent. For a permanent search, see our commercial director recruitment page.
We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors. For a commercial director brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.
A template you can copy
Copy these headings and write one short block under each. Keep pay out of the job description and state it in the offer.
- Job title: commercial director, and whether the role is fractional, interim, part-time or permanent.
- Reports to: the CEO, managing director or CCO, with any board seat; list the sales, account and other teams who report to the role.
- Purpose: two or three sentences on why the role exists now and the commercial result it must deliver.
- Responsibilities: eight to twelve duties, each starting with a verb, in order of importance.
- Requirements: essential and desirable experience, described specifically, and a qualification only where the job needs one.
- Terms: full-time or days a week, location and travel, start date, fixed term or permanent, and the pay basis (salary or day rate).
Questions people ask
What should a commercial director job description include?
The job title and type of engagement, who the role reports to and which teams report in, the purpose, the key responsibilities, the experience and skills required, and the terms. Keep the commercial problem the role must solve at the top.
How long should a commercial director job description be?
Long enough to cover purpose, responsibilities, reporting line, requirements and terms, and short enough to read in a few minutes: one to two pages is usually enough. Targets and account detail belong in the candidate pack and the interviews.
What is the difference between a commercial director and a sales director job description?
A sales director job description centres on the sales team, pipeline and targets; a commercial director job description adds pricing, margin, major contracts and often marketing and partnerships, and the sales director may report to the commercial director. See what does a commercial director do.
How is a fractional commercial director job description different?
It names the days a week or month, the outcomes expected over the first six to twelve months and who runs sales in between. See how to hire a fractional CCO or commercial director.
What does a commercial director earn?
It depends on the size of the company, its sector and whether the role is permanent, interim or fractional. Our commercial director salary page sets out pay and day rates, each figure with its source.
How do I hire a commercial director?
Define the commercial problem, choose between permanent, interim, part-time and fractional, write the job description around that problem, and test every candidate against it. Our commercial director recruitment page sets out the process; we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
