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Chief Commercial Officer – what are their duties, responsibilities and salary?

A Chief Commercial Officer, also known as CCO for short and sometimes referred to by the alternative name of Chief Business Officer, is an executive role. They are an individual who oversees the development and commercial strategies of a company. If you’re interested in finding out more about this job, what the salary is like and what the role involves, you’ve come to the right place.

We’ll take a look at how much money a CCO could expect to make and how experience could effect that salary, and also the differences between CCO roles and responsibilities compared with that of similar sounding, but different, members of the executive team.

Chief Commercial Officer duties and responsibilities

A company’s Chief Commercial Officer is responsible for overseeing the objectives and implementation of all commercial strategies.

As part of this work, they take the lead in detailing the definition of policies followed by the company on a national commercial level and need to make sure they fulfil the business’s annual budget.

There’s a lean towards having a marketing background with more and more brands merging the Chief Marketing Officer role and even the CEO role with this new CCO role

Depending on the industry and company they are working in, they could also have a share of responsibility in preparation of sales plans, marketing, profit and loss estimations and budgets, using market demand, corporate goals and historical figures to achieve this.

It’s therefore important for CCOs to have expert knowledge of the services and products the company offers, and how they’re used by clients and customers.

They are also responsible for developing and implementing objectives and goals and set the expected performance standards for the workforce.

 

executives discussing work on laptop

 

Other roles CCOs may have include determining the sales team size and structure, and the incentive/compensation system that is in place, as well as working with HR to select, recruit and train vendors.

Chief Commercial Officers have also been known to take part in the development of salesforce training plans, including everyone from sales assistants right up to sales managers.

Key Chief Commercial Officer tasks

Some of the key tasks a Chief Commercial Officer would be expected to perform include:

  • The analysis of activity within the company’s industry to develop the best and most effective business plans and establish realistic and meaningful KPIs.
  • Provide financial and revenue support to the rest of the company’s team of executives.
  • Manage the commercial and sales team while being heavily involved in the motivation, drive and development of new talent within the organisation.
  • Implementing and maintaining sales processes designed to achieve specific sales objectives.

What is the typical Chief Commercial Officer salary in the UK?

The average salary a Chief commercial Officer in the UK can expect is around the £117,000. It’s important to note, as is the case with many executive-level positions where there is a lot of competition, that the salary will vary depending on how much experience you have.

For instance, if you’re still in early stages of your career, and have between 1 and 4 years’ of experience, the average you could get paid as a Chief Commercial Officer may be closer to the £100,000 mark. Whereas if you have a little more experience under your belt, of say 5 to 9 years, it could be more.

Once you have more than 10 years of experience, the salary goes up even more.

Another factor to consider when looking at the salary CCOs can expect, is the location that you’re planning to work in that kind of role.

Chief Commercial Officer Vs Chief Operating Officer

There is a lot of confusion over what many executive-level positions involve, as many sound like they do exactly the same thing. To clearly note the difference, though, we look at the difference between a number of these positions. Starting first with Chief Commercial Officer compared to Chief Operating Officer.

While the CCO is responsible for the commercial development and strategy of a company, the COO or Commercial Operating Officer oversees all manner of business operations, such as manufacturing operations, when applicable, operations research and operations management.

This role can be very different from company to company and change when a company changes CEO too. Another name for this role is Director of Operations.

Chief Commercial Officer Vs Chief Revenue Officer

Another title that causes confusion is a Chief Revenue Officer. While it may sound like there is some crossover, what a CCO does is oversee the establishment and execution of commercial strategies, a Chief Revenue Officer is in charge of calculating and improving/enhancing a company’s revenue.

Hopefully, this has given you more of an insight into what a CCO role is and the responsibilities they have on a strategic as well as daily basis.

As CCOs become increasingly in demand, you can now find this job role advertised on many national and international jobs boards such as Jooble.

If you’re looking to hire a flexible full or part-time CCO we can help match you with some of the best talent available, just get in touch here.

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