Leadership Recruitment in Blackburn
Leadership appointments set the trajectory of a commercial function for years, and they are the hires where a misstep is most costly and most visible. We do this for SMEs and scale-ups across Blackburn and the wider North West, with on-the-ground knowledge of the Blackburn commercial market.
Blackburn's commercial fabric is built on a deep manufacturing heritage that has modernised into a diverse industrial economy spanning food and drink, industrial engineering, aerospace supply and packaging. The Whitebirk and Walker Park industrial zones and the manufacturing belts around the town, plus a position on the M65 close to the M6, drive demand for in-factory handling, hygienic conveyors, racking and mezzanine systems and the automation linking production to dispatch. The East Lancashire catchment, shared with Burnley and Preston, supports a broad technical and commercial talent pool.
Food and drink manufacturing
Manufacturing
A substantial food and drink production base drives demand for hygienic handling, conveyors and cold-store racking.
Aerospace and engineering supply
Manufacturing
Aerospace and engineering supply sites in and around the town sustain in-factory handling and storage demand.
Distribution and logistics operators
Warehousing and distribution
Distribution along the M65 and M6 sustains a steady forklift, racking and storage market.
Packaging and industrial sites
Manufacturing
Packaging and industrial manufacturers drive line-side handling, conveyor and mezzanine demand.
Blackburn's commercial talent pool is broad across industrial, food and drink, packaging and aerospace supply, with strong account management and business development supply at mid-level. The dual catchment with Burnley, Preston and Bolton via the M65, M61 and M6 effectively makes East Lancashire a single travel-to-work area for senior commercial roles. Director-level supply is thinner locally, and many businesses recruit leadership across Greater Manchester, where the cost-of-living advantage lands well.
Blackburn Station gives direct services to Preston (20 min) and onward to Manchester (70 min). The M65 connects east to Burnley and west to the M6 at Preston, with the M61 giving direct access to Bolton and Greater Manchester.
How we work
01
We start with the commercial mandate the leader must deliver: the growth plan, the team they inherit or build, the customers and channels, and the stakeholders they answer to. We design the seat before we search for the person.
02
We build a confidential map of the relevant leadership pool across competitors and adjacent intralogistics sub-sectors, protecting both the hiring business and the leaders we approach.
03
Senior people are approached with a sanitised, credible narrative. Named-employer messaging is held back until second-stage conversations, so a sensitive search stays sensitive.
04
Leadership assessment goes beyond track record to judgement, team building, change capability and the ability to operate at board level. We test the things that actually predict success in the seat.
05
A considered shortlist, then full support through offer, acceptance and a structured first-100-days plan agreed with the board. We are as comfortable advising on team design and succession as filling a single seat.
What you get
Why Evara
Local
On-the-ground in North West. We know the Blackburn employer base, the talent pools and the comp norms first-hand, not from a database.
Operator-led
Every Evara partner has carried a number. Leadership Recruitment engagements are run by people who have built and led commercial functions, not pure intermediaries.
Honest
If a hire is the wrong move for your stage in Blackburn, we will say so. We would rather lose the fee than place a senior leader into a seat that will not work.
FAQs
Blackburn offers one of the most diverse manufacturing economies in the North West, spanning food and drink, aerospace supply, industrial engineering and packaging. That mix drives consistent handling, conveyor and storage demand, with a cost base well below Manchester and a deep East Lancashire technical-sales pool.
Food and drink production handling and cold chain, aerospace and engineering supply handling, packaging line-side handling, and distribution along the M65 and M6, with the associated forklift, racking, conveyor and automation vendors.
For industrial, food and drink and aerospace supply remits, often yes, especially when recruiting across the East Lancashire catchment. For software-led commercial leadership, most businesses extend the catchment to Greater Manchester via the M65 and M61.
Key account managers, business development managers and sales engineers with food and drink, packaging, aerospace supply or industrial engineering experience, often with long tenures and technical roots.
Yes. Most leadership appointments are run discreetly, protecting both the hiring business and the candidates being approached. We work to a strict confidentiality protocol with a sanitised brief in market.
Heads of Sales, Sales and Commercial Directors, Managing Directors, country and regional leaders, VP Sales and Chief Commercial Officers, plus board and non-executive appointments across the intralogistics industry.
Nearby
Blackburn-based engagements regularly cover the wider commuter belt, including Darwen, Accrington, Great Harwood, Rishton, Oswaldtwistle, Clayton-le-Moors.
Related tools
Related Guide chapters
Decision guides
Email Rachel Lunn and the Evara team. We will reply within one working day with live market data for the role you have in mind.
Email Rachel Lunn