Deputy Chief Marketing Officer (Store Development)

Hі! We are talanovyti agency — a recruitment agency by FRACTAL.

Our team supports a fast-growing value retailer of Ukrainian origin, scaling across multiple European markets, in the search for a Deputy CMO. You will be accountable for the full lifecycle of company's global physical store network — from site identification and lease negotiation through to store opening, and from format concept development through to operational standards.

The company operates 1,800+ stores in Ukraine and 65+ stores in Romania, offering a broad assortment of household, personal care, and lifestyle products at compelling price points.

Hard Skills:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in retail store development, real estate, or network expansion within an international retail chain.
• Proven track record managing large-scale store rollout programmes — ideally 100+ store openings annually across multiple markets.
• Experience working at senior or director level, managing cross-functional teams and multi-country operations.
• Strong expertise in retail site economics, including: atchment analysis, footfall modelling, rent-to-sales benchmarking, investment appraisal.
• IRR / NPV modelling.
• Experience developing and scaling retail store formats, including: small format stores (100–200 sqm), medium format stores (400–600 sqm).
• Experience building or managing pipeline management systems with clear stage gates and conversion metrics.
• Proven ability to lead teams in fast-growing, entrepreneurial retail environments. Preferred Background:
• Experience within European value retail or variety retail sectors, such as: Action, TEDi, Pepco, Mr.DIY, Normal, Primark, JYSK, or international mass-market retailers like IKEA, H&M, or Decathlon.
• Experience leading HQ-level functions, including setting global standards and rolling them out across multiple markets.
• Experience working across CEE or Eastern European markets.
• Track record of building or transforming store development functions from scratch.
• Knowledge of the Romanian or Bulgarian retail real estate market, including retail parks and regulatory environment.
• Experience working with Retail Park development, including landlord/developer relations, anchor tenant positioning, and tenant mix strategy.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Real Estate, Urban Planning, Architecture, Economics, or a related field.
• MBA or postgraduate degree is considered an advantage but is not mandatory.

Languages:

• English: minimum B2, ideally C1 — mandatory. Regular communication with the international leadership team.
• Romanian: a strong advantage for the Bucharest-based role, but not mandatory.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the global store development strategy across company's markets.
• Oversee the full store development lifecycle: site sourcing, feasibility analysis, lease negotiation, store design, construction coordination, and store opening.
• Manage large-scale store rollout programmes across multiple countries.
• Develop and scale store format strategies, including pilot testing and implementation of different formats.
• Ensure strong retail site economics, including catchment analysis, footfall modelling, rent-to-sales benchmarking, and investment evaluation.
• Implement structured pipeline management systems for store expansion (CRM or structured tracking with stage gates and conversion metrics).
• Collaborate cross-functionally with real estate, operations, finance, and marketing teams.
• Build and lead high-performing teams responsible for store development and network expansion.
• Establish and implement global standards and methodologies for store development across all markets.

What company offers:

• A pivotal senior leadership role with direct access to the CMO and strategic influence across company's global growth agenda.
• The mandate and resources to lead a large, globally-scoped Store Development function across multiple markets.
• Competitive compensation with performance-based incentives tied to expansion milestones, format performance, and pipeline KPIs.
• A dynamic, entrepreneurial environment with fast decision-making and flat leadership culture.
• The opportunity to shape the physical retail footprint of one of Europe's fastest-growing value retailers.
• Exposure to a multi-country retail group with operations across Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and growing European markets.

Interested in taking on this challenge? We look forward to your application!