Title:  Director of Commercial Strategy and Continuous Improvement

The Director of Commercial Strategy and Continuous Improvement serves as a central architect of Univar Solutions’ mid- to long-term growth agenda within the Ingredients + Specialties (I+S) business. This role focuses on identifying, shaping, and accelerating the initiatives that will fundamentally change the trajectory of the business—including go-to-market evolution, market expansion, commercial capability development, and portfolio transformation. 

 
Operating as a conductor of a broad growth ‘orchestra,’ this role brings together commercial, product, marketing, operations, and external partners to align around a cohesive set of strategic priorities. While business leaders remain focused on running the current business, this role ensures the organization is continuously building the next wave of growth with rigor and focus. 

 
The role owns a portfolio of forward-looking initiatives—defining opportunities, building business cases, and mobilizing cross-functional teams to deliver. Success requires moving seamlessly between strategy and execution while maintaining momentum across multiple initiatives. 

 
Reporting to the SVP, Growth, Innovation & Strategy, the role sits at the center of the I+S growth agenda. The ideal candidate combines analytical rigor with strong commercial instincts and the ability to influence across a complex organization. 

Growth & Commercial Strategy (Primary Focus) 

• Identify, prioritize, and shape mid- to long-term commercial growth opportunities across the I+S portfolio, including pricing optimization, customer segmentation, channel mix, private label strategy, cross-sell/upsell, and supplier partnership expansion 

• Own a dynamic portfolio of forward-looking growth and transformation initiatives end-to-end, managing scope, schedule, budget, risk, and interdependencies through structured PMO governance 

• Develop enterprise-grade business cases that frame strategic choices and quantify value creation including ROI, risk assessment, and change readiness for each initiative. Develop hypotheses and build plans based on performance drivers, whitespace, and wallet share expansion – with particular focus on complex decisions involving multiple teams with downline P&L impacts. 

• Build and pressure-test business cases for growth initiatives, specifying value accelerators, investment requirements, management plans and how/where outcomes will hit the I+S P&L 

• Partner with commercial, product, marketing, and FP&A leadership to evolve go-to-market models, product leadership, and commercial operations to design and implement commercial process improvements  

• Develop forward-looking, data-driven frameworks for customer and product profitability analysis across specialty verticals, informing resource allocation and strategic prioritization 

• Identify where advanced analytics, AI, and digital capabilities can accelerate growth 

Continuous Improvement & Operations   

• Map current-state business processes with emphasis on decision quality, cost-to-serve, and operational bottlenecks across the value chain 

• Lead cross-functional teams to design future-state operating models that integrate people, process, and enterprise technology 

• Estimate financial value and operational impact of cost and efficiency initiatives, clearly linking outcomes to EBITDA bridge and value tracking 

• Plan change management activities required for value capture, including communications, training, and technology cutovers, working alongside business/functional owners in their execution 

• Flex across supply chain, procurement, logistics, or SG&A work streams as priorities shift 

Program Management & Execution 

• Facilitate requirements gathering, vendor selection, and proposal structuring with external partners (consultants, technology vendors, analytics providers) 

• Oversee build and activation phases, often managing multiple consulting firms, contractors, and internal teams simultaneously 

• Hold regular Steering Committee meetings with executive sponsors to communicate progress, escalate issues, and advance through stage gates 

• Ensure accurate, auditable tracking of initiative performance and the integrity of VCP financial reporting 

• Develop clear value cases and monitor their progress, ensuring hypothesis become a reality in the annual budget and P&L 

Stakeholder Management 

• Align diverse stakeholders around a single vision, set of priorities, and shared understanding of portfolio status, finances, timelines, and risks 

• Organize and lead portfolio review meetings tailored for multiple audiences (Board, C-Suite, functional leads, project teams) 

• Escalate potential roadblocks quickly and with urgency to mobilize resources proactively 

• Drive ownership, accountability, and sense of urgency with all stakeholders across all initiatives 

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required, Advanced degree preferred (MBA, Economics, Operations Research, Statistics, Data Science or related disciplines) 

• 10+ years of experience, including 2+ years of managerial or team lead experience, in management consulting, corporate strategy, commercial excellence, continuous improvement, or enterprise transformation roles 

• Demonstrated track record leading growth and commercial workstreams: pricing, go-to-market, customer segmentation, sales force effectiveness, or revenue optimization 

• Experience leading multiple large-scale ($1m+) initiatives, preferably spanning both growth/commercial and cost/operational improvement programs 

• Experience managing external advisors, including management consultants, technology vendors, and analytics partners 

• Private equity portfolio company or PE-backed environment experience strongly preferred 

• Industry experience in specialty chemicals distribution, ingredients, food & nutrition, personal care, or B2B distribution is a plus but not required 

Skills & Competencies 

• Commercial acumen: ability to translate market and customer data into actionable growth strategies with clear P&L impact 

• Financial acumen: ability to translate business plans and strategies into FP&A, budget and financial models that impact valuation of the business 

• Analytical rigor: strong data fluency and data storytelling, financial modeling ability, and comfort with hypothesis-driven problem solving 

• Program management: structured approach to managing complex, cross-functional initiatives with multiple stakeholders and dependencies 

• Change management: ability to set targets, gain buy-in, establish milestones, and hold people accountable for results 

• Stakeholder influence: ability to drive outcomes through example, influence, and consensus-building rather than formal authority 

• Communication: exceptional written and verbal skills, including presentation preparation and delivery to senior leadership and Board 

• Technology fluency: comfort with enterprise systems, analytics platforms, and AI/ML-enabled workflows; agile development awareness 

• Adaptability: willingness to flex across workstreams and operate autonomously in a fast-paced, PE-backed environment 

• MS Office proficiency (PowerPoint, Excel, Word) required; SQL, Python, or similar data analysis tools preferred; familiarity with optimization and ML models a plus 

What We Offer 

• Opportunity to contribute to impactful marketing initiatives 

• Collaborative and supportive team environment 

• Professional growth and development opportunities