The commercial print sector has undergone significant structural change over the past five years, and that shift is now playing out clearly in the senior hiring market. Consolidation continues apace — the number of independent printers turning over £5m+ has fallen sharply as trade printers, PE-backed groups and cross-media businesses have absorbed capacity and talent.
For candidates, this means the landscape of potential employers looks different. Many of the traditional mid-market independents that once provided the stepping stones for commercial print careers are now part of larger groups — with different career structures, different cultures and different expectations of senior hires.
For employers, the challenge is sharpening. The pool of commercially credible senior candidates who genuinely understand both the technical realities of production print and the commercial dynamics of growing a print business is not large — and those candidates are increasingly mobile, aware of their market value, and selective about who they work for.
What Businesses Are Actually Hiring For
The roles we’re placing most consistently in 2025 are Sales Directors and Commercial Directors at businesses undergoing genuine growth or transformation. These aren’t replacement hires — they’re strategic appointments at organisations that are making a deliberate decision to build commercial capability they currently lack.
Alongside those, we’re seeing strong demand for Operations Directors and Production Directors at businesses investing in new technology — particularly wide-format, digital print and inkjet. The ability to recruit and retain operators and supervisors alongside the capital investment is a real pressure point for many businesses.
Managing Director appointments are rarer but no less pressing. Many print groups that have grown through acquisition are now working through the integration phase and need leaders who understand both the P&L disciplines of running a print business and the people dynamics of post-merger integration.
What Candidates Are Looking For
The most commercially credible senior candidates in print are not looking for just a salary improvement. They want a clear narrative from the business: what are you trying to build, what’s your competitive position, what does the investment roadmap look like?
Businesses that can answer those questions convincingly — and back them up with evidence — attract a materially different quality of shortlist than those that can’t. In a market where the best candidates are employed, not looking, the initial approach and the story you tell matters enormously.
Flexibility and hybrid working remain relevant at every level, but in senior roles the expectation is nuanced. Most candidates understand that leadership roles in print require genuine presence — in the business, with clients, on the shop floor. What they want is a clear expectation, not a vague promise.
Our View on the Market
The businesses attracting the best senior talent in print share several characteristics: a clear commercial narrative, a convincing growth plan, real investment in people and equipment, and — crucially — leadership teams that candidates actually want to work for and learn from.
The market for exceptional senior print candidates is tight. The businesses that approach it with pace, structure and a genuinely compelling offer will win. Those that approach it with an extended process, vague expectations and a passive attitude to candidate engagement will lose.
Chad Harrison International has specialised in senior print recruitment since our founding. We work with a defined network of commercially credible candidates across the UK and internationally — people who are not on job boards, and whose career moves we are genuinely close to. If you’re planning a senior appointment in 2025 or 2026, we’d welcome the conversation.
