Founding Adviser – Digital Growth & Commercial

Adopt Not Shop is a new national pet adoption website with a simple ambition: to make finding a rescue pet easier.

We’re creating one place where people can search for animals available for adoption from rescue organisations across the UK – helping charities of all sizes reach more potential adopters and giving rescue animals greater visibility.

The website is live, our network of rescue organisations is growing, and we’re now looking ahead to the next stage: building our audience, developing the website and creating a sustainable model that can support our long-term growth.

To help us do that, we’re looking for an experienced digital leader to join Adopt Not Shop as a Founding Adviser – Digital Growth & Commercial.

This is not an operational role. We’re looking for someone who has been there before.

Someone who understands what it takes to turn an early-stage digital proposition into a successful consumer destination – and who can bring experience, perspective and constructive challenge as we make the decisions that will shape Adopt Not Shop’s future.

Working directly with the founder, you’ll act as a senior strategic sounding board across areas including:

• Digital growth – building awareness, traffic, engagement and repeat use.
• Website and product strategy – advising on UX, functionality, user journeys, data and our future development roadmap.
• Marketplace growth – helping us think strategically about growing both sides of the website: rescue organisations and prospective adopters.
• Commercial strategy and monetisation – exploring sustainable revenue opportunities including partnerships, sponsorship, advertising, affiliate models and other potential income streams, while protecting the purpose at the heart of the brand.
• Scaling – helping us identify the priorities, capabilities and partnerships needed as Adopt Not Shop grows.
• Strategic counsel – providing an experienced, independent perspective on the bigger opportunities and decisions along the way.

We’re looking for your experience and judgement rather than a set number of hours or hands-on delivery.

You may be a founder, former founder, CEO, CMO, CDO, commercial leader, product leader or senior digital executive who has helped build or scale a successful consumer-facing digital business.

Experience of online marketplaces or businesses that bring together supply and consumer demand would be particularly valuable. That could come from sectors such as property, comparison, recruitment, travel, ecommerce or other major consumer websites.

You’ll ideally understand not only how to build an audience, but how a digital business turns that audience and proposition into a strong, sustainable commercial model.

Above all, we’re looking for someone who connects with what we’re trying to achieve and would enjoy applying their experience to something at an early enough stage that their input can make a genuine difference.

This is a voluntary, non-executive advisory position and there are no fixed working hours.

We’d agree a light-touch commitment that works for both parties, likely combining a regular strategic session with occasional input around significant decisions or opportunities.

The role is currently unpaid. In return, this is an opportunity to become one of Adopt Not Shop’s Founding Advisers, helping shape the strategy, growth and commercial future of a purpose-led business from an early stage.

Immediate start | UK-based | Predominantly remote | Flexible commitment

If you’ve built something at scale and like the idea of using that experience to help change how people find their next rescue pet, we’d love to hear from you.