Overview
Head of Transformation & Programmes – Store Launch –
Everyone is welcome at M&S. No exceptions. It’s your background, abilities and differences that make you, uniquely you. And when you’re part of M&S, that individuality has the potential to make waves.
Summary
This role will define and deliver a clear, data-led growth agenda that improves operational efficiency, reduces cost to serve and strengthens commercial performance across new and renewal stores. Working within a matrix leadership model, you will ensure alignment across Property, Retail, Supply Chain, CIU and Central Functions, driving simplification and embedding a consistent, future-fit operating model.
You will own the end-to-end sign-off process and delivery against strategic priorities, ensuring transformation principles are embedded throughout store design, implementation, launch and aftercare. Through strong governance, insight and cross-functional leadership, you will deliver measurable value and ensure new and renewal stores are operationally efficient, commercially successful and ready to perform.
All the details
What you will do:
- Define and optimise efficiency-led store design, layout and operating model principles across new and renewal stores, partnering with FH&B to ensure solutions are fit for purpose, scalable and drive simplification.
- Establish a consistent, data-led framework to measure end-to-end cost to serve across operations, supply chain and space planning, tracking key drivers including labour productivity, availability, waste, service execution and CER performance.
- Set and prioritise the transformation plan, identifying commercial and operational opportunities, tracking benefits realisation and ensuring delivery against business case commitments and strategic priorities.
- Refine the Operational Efficiency pre-AFL framework, identify future-risk stores unlikely to meet CER targets and develop effective mitigation plans before investment and implementation decisions are made.
- Own the end-to-end FH&B stage gate and sign-off process, with clear governance, milestones, accountabilities, resourcing and capability plans aligned to key launch dates.
- Define and embed consistent Aftercare and Ready to Renew frameworks, ensuring stores meet operational, people and commercial criteria and that feedback informs future design, operating model and investment decisions.
Who you will be:
- A strategic and commercially focused leader who can define a long-term approach to reducing overall cost to serve, rather than focusing only on short-term savings.
- Data-led and analytical, with the ability to establish baselines, measure performance, identify emerging trends and translate insight into clear priorities and decisions.
- Confident working within a matrix leadership model, acting as the senior integration point across Property, Retail, Supply Chain, CIU, FH&B and Central Functions.
- An influential decision-maker who can align senior stakeholders behind transformation priorities, resolve cross-functional conflicts and manage trade-offs at pace.
- Focused on simplification, operational efficiency and customer experience, ensuring proposition changes are practical, scalable and commercially justified.
- A strong people leader who can build capability, coach teams, establish clear operating standards and create a performance-driven culture with shared accountability.
What you will bring:
- Proven experience leading complex operational transformation, store development, renewal or growth programmes across multiple functions and workstreams.
- Strong commercial and financial capability, including cost-to-serve measurement, business case development, benefits realisation, investment prioritisation and risk mitigation.
- Experience defining and governing target operating models, stage gate processes, store design principles and operational frameworks from design through to implementation, launch and aftercare.
- Strong programme governance and delivery capability, with experience managing strategic priorities, milestones, dependencies, resources, risks and delivery constraints.
- Excellent stakeholder leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to provide executive-level reporting to ExCo and governance forums and land clear recommendations.
- Experience using customer insight, operational data and commercial performance measures to influence trading, product range, service proposition, logistics and investment decisions.
What’s in it for you:
Being a part of M&S is exactly that – playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day. We’re an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value, service to every customer, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us.
- Here are some of the benefits we offer that make working for M&S just that little bit more special…
- 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
- Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days!
- Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
- A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
- A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
- Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
- Industry-leading parental, adoption and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
- Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
- A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you’re passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.
Everyone’s welcome
We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.
We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.
If you feel you’d benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.
Lead with purpose. Own the outcomes. Raise the bar. This is your store. And your chance to shape the future of M&S. Are you ready for it? Take Your Marks and apply today.
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
