Leadership Recruitment in Manchester
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 Manchester and the wider North West, with on-the-ground knowledge of the Manchester commercial market.
Manchester sits at the centre of the North West's distribution economy, anchored by Trafford Park and a dense network of logistics parks along the M60, M62 and M6, plus significant air freight through Manchester Airport. That concentration of warehousing, fulfilment and manufacturing creates one of the deepest markets in the country for forklift dealers, racking and storage installers, conveyor and sortation suppliers, and warehouse automation integrators. The city's universities produce one of the largest engineering and commercial graduate pools in the UK, keeping commercial and technical supply strong.
Major industrial and logistics estates
Warehousing and distribution
Trafford Park and the surrounding logistics parks drive exceptional demand for handling equipment, storage and automation.
E-commerce fulfilment centres
Fulfilment
Large fulfilment operations across Greater Manchester are major buyers of conveyors, sortation and warehouse software.
Air freight and distribution
Air freight
Manchester Airport freight operations add specialist handling and distribution demand to the regional market.
Warehouse automation integrators
AGV, AMR and robotics
Automation and robotics vendors maintain substantial commercial and pre-sales teams in the city.
Manchester has the deepest and most competitive commercial talent pool in the North for intralogistics sales. Business development, regional sales, key account and pre-sales supply is plentiful, and the city competes nationally for senior commercial leaders. Hybrid working is the dominant pattern for office-based seats, while field roles cover the wider conurbation. Talent is highly mobile, which makes both attraction and retention demanding.
Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria provide direct national rail. The Metrolink tram network connects MediaCityUK, Spinningfields, the Northern Quarter and Trafford. Manchester Airport gives the city national and international reach unique among UK regions.
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 Manchester 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 Manchester, we will say so. We would rather lose the fee than place a senior leader into a seat that will not work.
FAQs
Manchester is anchored by Trafford Park, one of the largest industrial estates in Europe, with dense logistics parks along the M60, M62 and M6 and significant air freight. That concentration of end users makes it one of the deepest markets in the country for handling, storage and automation.
A typical senior commercial search runs 8 to 12 weeks. The market is competitive, the best candidates are passive, and counter-offers are common, which lengthens the close phase.
Contract logistics and fulfilment, conveyors and sortation, forklift and storage systems, warehouse automation and software, plus air freight and manufacturing handling.
Office-based commercial roles are usually hybrid two or three days a week, while field sales and account management cover the wider conurbation and North West from a Manchester base.
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
Manchester-based engagements regularly cover the wider commuter belt, including Salford, Stockport, Bolton, Altrincham, Sale, Bury.
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