BELFAST BORN

McConnell’s Irish Whisky

McConnell’s was the name that delighted whiskey-lovers around the world for over 150 years. Now the Legend is Reborn. Pride in Belfast and its whiskey heritage is our reason for being.

OUR STORY

Cast your mind back. No, further still. All the way to 1776. A lot happened that year. Captain Cook set off on his final expedition. Something called the United States of America was getting going. And here in Belfast, something equally momentous was taking place.

McConnell’s whisky was born. A whiskey with few peers and no superiors.

Our distillery would remain in business up until 1930 – making it the longest-surviving in the city’s long and distinguished history of whiskey-making. Eventually, though, like so many Irish distilleries before, it fell silent. The name passed into whiskey legend.

Now, one of the oldest names in Irish whiskey is also one of the newest.

And the legend is re-born…

McConnell’s. Whisky. Belfast.

THE J&J MCCONNELL’S DISTILLERY
AND VISITORS EXPERIENCE

J&J McConnell’s Distillery Renders

RESTORING
THE LEGEND

Belfast Distillery Company, the venture behind McConnell’s Irish Whisky, was established with a single goal: Restoring the Legend. And we’re well on our way.

We have triumphantly revived McConnell’s, a brand that dates back to 1776 and which is once again finding great success across the city, from its local pubs to its most prestigious bars.

It is also winning international awards and building the profile of our portfolio in global spirits markets, including the US, Canada, Australia plus of course the major Irish whiskey markets in Europe.

And most excitingly of all, we’re only getting started.

BE PART OF IT

We are doing our part to help bring Irish Whiskey Distilling Back to Belfast, and we want you on board.

Even though our latest vacancy has been filled, you can search for new opportunities on our site or contact Denholm Associates today on 03303 359 818. Alternatively, you can drop us a note at connect@denholmassociates.com.

We’re ready to help!

ALL VACANCIES PLACED

This opportunity offers a unique chance to play a defining role in shaping our brand, company, and long-term success through the creation and management of a world-class Distillery Visitor Centre Experience. As the face of the McConnell’s Distillery Visitor Centre Experience, you will be driven to help us become one of Northern Ireland’s top tourist attractions. Your responsibilities will encompass daily tours of the distillery, which includes a retail store, café, experiential tasting rooms, and a vibrant bar/events space.

Working closely with the Board and Senior Management team, you will balance developing the Visitor Experience proposition with overseeing day-to-day operations. Given our small but rapidly growing business, this role requires a “hands-on” approach, coupled with the strategic mindset needed to realise the long-term vision for the Visitor Experience.

  • Developing the overall Distillery Visitor Centre Experience strategy and proposition.
  • Establishing the organisational structure and recruiting the team required for a successful launch.
  • Overseeing day-to-day operational excellence to maintain our premium/luxury brand positioning.
  • Leading and developing the visitor team to provide a world-class experience.
  • Ensuring clear customer service standards and continuous staff training.
  • Engaging visitors emotionally through tastings and tours, creating brand advocates.
  • Developing a distinctive merchandising program to enhance the McConnell’s brand.
  • Creating complementary activities that extend the Visitor Experience beyond the distillery.
  • Marketing the Distillery Visitor Experience to attract and engage visitors.
  • Collaborating with McConnell’s Brand Head of Sales & Marketing to align with brand strategy.
  • Taking full ownership of the annual Distillery Visitor Experience P&L.
  • Building strong relationships with key external partners, such as tour operators.
  • Enhancing investor shareholder value and strengthening our community impact.
  • Becoming an integral part of Belfast Distillery Company’s leadership team.
  • A strong background in customer/visitor experiences, ideally within the alcohol industry.
  • A passion for creating engaging and inspiring events.
  • Demonstrate a track record of delivering world-class customer service.
  • Be commercially aware and comfortable managing a P&L.
  • Prioritise quality and attention to detail.
  • Be skilled at recruiting, training, and empowering teams.
  • Be forward-thinking, willing to learn, and focused on inspiring those around you.
  • Display a strong sense of ownership and pride in your work.
  • Thrive in high-pressure situations and critical decision-making.
  • Be a motivated, enthusiastic individual with a passion for excellence and innovation.
  • Given our small yet fast-growing team and business, the cultural fit and mindset of the Head of Visitor Experience are of paramount importance.
  • We are seeking structured, passionate, creative, motivated, and action-oriented individuals to thrive in this role.

APPLY.

If you’d like to find out more about this fantastic new opportunity with McConnell’s Irish Whisky, please get in touch with Denholm Associates today.

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Andy Brady

HEAD OF HR

Andy Brady is a seasoned HR recruitment specialist, with over two decades of expertise in the field. With a foundation in Human Resource Management from the University of Derby, Andy swiftly transitioned into specialised HR recruitment. His diverse portfolio spans FMCG, Manufacturing & Engineering, Financial Services, the Third Sector, and Supply Chain, working at all levels from entry to executive positions.

Zoe Lumsden

Business Support & Employee Engagement Executive

Zoe joined Denholm in 2022 as Recruitment Administrator, after working in administration roles for nearly a decade. Most recently within the recruitment industry, she joins us with experience of supporting consultants, clients and candidates at all levels. Zoe has a passion for helping people and applies her positive attitude and approachable manner to support our team and deliver the best possible service to our clients and candidates at all times.

Callum Beveridge

SENIOR CONSULTANT - TECHNOLOGY, CHANGE & TRANSFORMATION

Callum has been working in recruitment since 2018 where he has solely focussed on the Technology, Change and Transformation market across the UK and ROI. He works closely with his clients and candidates to build long-lasting relationships across several industries, including Technology, Financial Services, Professional Services, Healthcare, Education, Public Sector and more. He specialises in engineering roles across Software, Infrastructure, Systems, DevOps and Cloud, along with Software Testing.

Michelle Weir

Senior Finance Executive

Michelle is enthusiastic, practical, and adaptable – with 15 years experience across Finance. She is known for being trustworthy, hardworking, and enjoying a challenge. Michelle excels, both independently and as part of a team, bringing a methodical approach to her work. Combining a friendly and professional demeanor, allows her to effectively engage with colleagues and clients at all levels. Client and candidate care is paramount to Michelle and to Denholm.

Alana Sim

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR - CONSUMER

Alana has been working in recruitment since 2012, predominately within the FMCG & Consumer markets. Having recruited in both the UK & Asia Pacific markets, Alana has a sound knowledge of local & international recruitment. Partnering with brands to attract & hire the best sales talent in the market, Alana focuses on mid to senior level Sales appointments within the Consumer space. With a strong commercial & sales background, Alana identifies and engages the best commercially focused talent for our clients.

Scott Caithness

CLIENT RELATIONSHIP PARTNER

Scott started his career working for one of the leading Advertising & Comms agencies in Edinburgh where he spent 7 years before moving in to recruitment in 2011. As such, he is well-networked in the Marketing & Comms space across Scotland. With a friendly and consultative approach, Scott is genuinely passionate about providing a positive journey to both candidates and clients alike and believes communication plays a big part in this.  A “thinking-outside-the-box recruiter”, he is known for helping candidates portray the best version of themselves and helping clients find talent for those hard to fill roles.

Andy MacEwan

HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY, CHANGE & TRANSFORMATION

Andy has been recruiting in Technology, Change & Transformation since 2001. Delivering tailored resource solutions as trusted advisor to clients ranging from start-ups through to global blue-chip organisations across contract, permanent, fixed term, and managed service/statement of work solutions. He has experience providing candidates for Helpdesk through to CIO and takes great pride in providing excellent customer service and ensuring each candidate journey is a positive one. An expert in his market he can provide guidance across current market trends.

Our Community

As well as working in close collaboration with our clients, and the online marketplaces, we are active members of groups that have been established to combat illicit trade. These include the Scottish Anti-Illicit Trade Group, the European Intellectual Property Office, The Scottish Business Resilience Centre, the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, and the China Britain Business Council. Members of our senior management sit on the boards of ACID (Anti-Copying in Design), the Scottish Ministerial Trade Board, and the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s Observatory Panel for SMEs, amongst others.

Each team member nominates good causes or charities that are supported on both an individual and corporate basis. Wherever possible, we support the employee’s involvement whether through time or fundraising events.

Our Environment

We deliver purpose-driven work from an extremely welcoming environment near the City Centre. We actively encourage the responsible use of resources, from using public transport to reuse, recycling, and, of course, a minimal impact office environment. We have benefited from the advice of the Energy Saving Trust and Resource Efficient Scotland. Our waste contractor also provides us with a monthly report on volumes and types of material and the carbon emissions avoided through recycling.

Over 80% of our employees can walk or cycle to The Lair and, pre-pandemic, 10% were using public transport as their normal daily commuting mode. Without doubt, online meetings will replace considerable miles, going forward, saving resources, time and energy. Where possible, when possible, the train remains our preferred option. 

Our People

Our people are our most important asset, and their mental well-being and happiness are core to our success. We love our diverse workforce, actively embrace flexible working (even pre-pandemic!) and encourage a healthy work-life balance. We have been recognised as one of the most diverse SME workplaces in the UK and are holders of the Scottish Business Pledge which exists to promote a fairer Scotland. We have also just been included in the 2021 Culture Leaders Top 25 – an accolade of which we are very proud!

We are a fully inclusive and nurturing employer and, despite being in tech, the majority of our team are women, leading to accolades in the Computing Magazine Women in IT Awards and the Amazon Growing Business Awards. We currently represent 15 nationalities and speak 20 languages. Age is no barrier, and we recruit for attitude, providing and encouraging appropriate learning and training for each and every role.

We are also proud members of IP Inclusive, a network of professionals working to make the intellectual property industry more diverse.

Our Purpose

Our aim is to combat illicit online trade by identifying and removing counterfeits for sale. Counterfeits not only damage brands, their reputations, and revenues, but can cause significant harm to the end customer – whether as a fake toy or a fake medicine – and the consequences can be life threatening.

Counterfeiting is a significant economic and social issue.

The OECD reports that counterfeit and fake goods make up more than 3.3% of the world’s global trade. Those involved in the trade of counterfeits have been linked to people trafficking, prostitution, and drug dealing.

As such, reducing illicit trade is about much more than brand protection but also about human rights, safety, and social equity.

And this is what we do, every day.

APPLY HERE:

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Communication Advisors

We’re a passionate and professional team who thrive in issue-rich environment and we’re looking for Senior Communication Advisors, Communications Advisors and Communications Executives to join their fast-growing team. 

You’ll have previous agency experience at Senior Account Manager or Account Manager level and be passionate about delivering excellent results for clients. You might be a specialist in PR and media relations who produces compelling editorial content across a range of topics and sectors or you might be a public affairs expert who understands the policy landscape and helps clients build influential relationships. Whatever your specialism, you’ll be an excellent writer, full of creative ideas, with proven client management experience and the ability to provide expert advice our clients.

Your key duties will include:

  • Supporting the key account lead with day-to-day client liaison, providing strategic counsel on day-to-day account matters when required
  • Active involvement in planning and delivering global PR, marketing and digital campaigns
  • Managing content programmes, including mapping out content themes, spotting industry trends and story angles, writing copy when required which may include opinion articles, web and social
  • Building strong media relationships, creating pitches based on your story ideas and delivering content in-to suit the client’s target media and securing opportunities
  • Planning and running client’s social media programmes, and management of their channels
  • Continuously identifying opportunities to grow brand awareness and profile our client’s businesses within their target sector through events, webinars, thought leadership
  • Producing comprehensive and timely reports on client activity 
  • Supporting in the development of client proposals to help grow or win parts of the business


In addition, to be considered for this role, you must be able to demonstrate:

  • Proven background in account handling and direct client liaison – 4 years’ minimum
  • Experience in an agency setting focusing on B2B communication or PR
  • Strong communications skills, verbal and written
  • A background in delivering creative, digitally led B2B communications such as LinkedIn campaigns
  • An innate understanding of earned media, with the ability to create stories and generate coverage across traditional media, digital and social
  • Experience working on content management programmes, with an awareness of the changing way business audiences consume information and an appreciation of search, paid and wider customer marketing activity, and how it all fits together
  • A history of working with clients in a variety of sectors is welcomed but experience in the tech and energy industries is advantageous.

Communication Lead

We’re a passionate and professional team who thrive in issue-rich environment and we’re looking to add a Communication Lead to our fast-growing team. You’ll be a trusted advisor to clients across several sectors in all aspects of communication, external affairs, marketing and issues management. Coming from an agency or consultancy environment, at Account Director level or above, you’ll report directly to the Managing Director and be responsible for a small and busy multi-disciplinary team. You’ll have first-class project management skills, be solutions-driven and excellent commercial acumen too. Alongside the senior team, you’ll work to drive the strategic growth of Aspect.

Your core duties will include:

  • Working with the MD to develop and deliver growth strategies 
  • Attracting and retaining profitable clients across a range of sectors 
  • Leading the creation and execution of strategic communication programmes
  • Inspiring, leading and developing multi-disciplinary teams
  • Developing strong relationships with clients, colleagues and associates
  • Producing high quality pitches and proposals to secure new business 
  • Curating, nurturing and managing a team of talented associates.

You’ll be a skilled communicator, interested and knowledgeable about the key issues shaping the external environment. In addition, to be considered for this role, you must be able to demonstrate:

  • 7+ years of senior leadership experience within an agency or consultancy
  • Experience in Energy, Renewables, Financial Services or Life Sciences would be very desirable
  • Outstanding writing skills and the ability to engage and excite an audience
  • An impressive track record of client attraction, retention and growth 
  • The ability to thrive fast-paced environment managing multiple projects simultaneously
  • Strong influencing and leadership skills to motivate and inspire those around you
  • Excellent planning, evaluation and project management skills
  • To develop new processes, systems and ways of working to drive performance

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CVs and interviews will take you to Level 2. Our behavioural profile will take you to Level 3, vital to identifying future potential.

LEVEL 1

Appears to...

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LEVEL 2

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LEVEL 3

Will do

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