Lead Manager - Retail Operations & Communications

Job Title Lead Manager - Retail Operations & Communications Location Asda House Employment Type Full time Contract Type Fixed Term Hours Per Week 37.5 Salary Competitive salary plus benefits Category Corporate Store Operations Closing Date 20 October 2026 Lead Manager - Retail Operations & Communications Function: Central Operations Reports To: Senior Manager / Head of Central Operations Location: Head Office Role Purpose The Lead Manager - Retail Operations & Communications leads the planning, governance, communication, and execution of activity across the retail estate, ensuring initiatives are operationally deliverable, commercially aligned, and effectively measured. Acting as the voice of Retail, the role partners across functions to prioritise and deliver key business activity while owning the strategy to simplify and modernise retail communications. This is a high-profile role with significant exposure to senior leaders across the business, offering the opportunity to influence major decisions, build a broad network, and gain valuable experience. Widely recognised as a strong development opportunity, it is an excellent stepping stone to broader leadership roles within the organisation. A strong retail operations background, exceptional stakeholder management, and the ability to influence senior leaders are critical for success. Key Accountabilities Retail Activity Planning & Governance Own and manage the Retail Activity Plan, ensuring all initiatives are aligned to strategic priorities and operational capacity. Lead activity governance processes covering resource requirements, budget impacts, operational readiness, and performance measures. Maintain visibility and control of all key retail initiatives through robust critical path management. Challenge stakeholders to improve quality, adherence, and delivery performance throughout the activity lifecycle. Closely monitor the final six weeks of all activity delivery, ensuring: Critical path adherence. Risk mitigation and issue resolution. Operational readiness. Excellence in execution across stores. Establish clear success measures and monitor delivery against agreed outcomes and benefits. Project & Programme Leadership Represent Retail Operations in the design, development, and governance of projects that impact stores. Act as a strategic business partner to Commercial Directors and functional leaders to ensure retail considerations are embedded from project inception. Provide operational insight and challenge to ensure initiatives are practical, scalable, and customer-focused. Lead selected strategic projects on behalf of Central Operations, delivering measurable improvements in execution and retail performance. Stakeholder Management & Performance Accountability Build strong relationships across Retail, Commercial, Supply Chain, Technology, Finance, and Central Functions. Influence senior stakeholders to improve compliance, execution standards, and operational outcomes. Hold project and activity owners accountable for delivery commitments and agreed performance measures. Facilitate effective cross-functional collaboration to remove barriers and accelerate delivery. Post Implementation Review & Continuous Improvement Own the Post Implementation Review (PIR) process for all major retail activity. Evaluate delivery outcomes against objectives, operational impact, colleague feedback, and financial performance. Partner with Category, Commercial, and Operational teams to identify lessons learned and embed continuous improvement. Create mechanisms to ensure learning is captured and applied to future activity planning and execution. Retail Communications Strategy Own the end-to-end retail communications approach for stores. Simplify communication channels and reduce unnecessary communication volume across the business. Drive consistency, clarity, and prioritisation of messages reaching stores. Develop modern communication methods by leveraging technology and digital solutions to improve engagement and efficiency. Ensure communications support operational execution and colleague understanding of business priorities. Establish governance and measurement frameworks to evaluate communication effectiveness and colleague engagement. Key Relationships Internal Retail Directors Commercial Unit Directors Operations Leadership Team Category Teams Technology Teams Supply Chain Finance Change & Transformation Teams Communications Teams External Technology partners and solution providers Third-party project and communication partners (where applicable) Knowledge, Skills & Experience Essential Significant operations leadership experience within a large, multi-site organisation. Strong understanding of store operations, activity planning, operational readiness, and execution. Proven experience managing complex cross-functional programmes and critical paths. Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills at senior leadership level. Experience holding stakeholders accountable for delivery and performance outcomes. Excellent communication and presentation skills. Strong analytical and problem-solving capability. Experience leading governance, planning, and post-implementation review processes. Ability to balance strategic thinking with operational execution. Desirable Experience in retail transformation or change programmes. Knowledge of project management methodologies and governance frameworks. Experience using operational performance and communication effectiveness metrics to drive improvements. Success Measures Delivery against Retail Activity Plan objectives and timelines. Improved operational execution and critical path compliance.Increased stake