Head of Retail

Join English Heritage at this pivotal time of growth and transformation as their Head of Retail, as the Charity continues to protect one of the most important collections of historic properties. From Stonehenge to Whitby Abbey, as Head of Retail, you will lead the Retail proposition for the Charity across its national portfolio of sites.

• Location: London, Swindon, regional office or homebased
• Salary: £63,000 per annum outside London / £70,000 per annum inside London

English Heritage cares for over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. Through these, they bring the story of England to life for over 10 million visitors each year.

No matter what you do or where you do it, by joining English Heritage, you’ll be playing a vital role in looking after some of the greatest places in England so that they can be enjoyed today and for generations to come. English Heritage is quite simply a workplace like no other – taking you behind the scenes of these extraordinary sites and supporting you to share your ideas, inspire others and make a difference.

The Head of Retail is a visible and inspirational leader within the organisation who will lead on the strategic direction and delivery of their on-site shops and e-commerce (off-site) retail businesses. This role will be responsible for a £20m+ turnover business area across 104 shops within a matrix structure and will drive increased contribution to the Charity.

As part of the strategic development work, you will proactively lead the transformation of their retail offer, identify new business opportunities both at their sites and extend their reach outside their properties to contribute to the profitable growth of the retail business. This will include leading their retail investment requirements, compiling business cases and influencing stakeholders. You will thrive in an environment where continuous improvement is the focus that drives its positive working culture.

As part of the team, you will be developing and implementing the long-term retail strategy and business plan for the profitable growth of the retail business. You will have the opportunity to lead the delivery of sales, ensuring that profit budgets are developed with the Territory teams. You will lead a central and field team of retail operational experts who will lead on the retail aspects of their area and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

As Head of Retail, you will take responsibility for a programme of new product development and will lead a team that will work in collaboration with the content (design), and insight teams to creatively develop ranges which remain relevant to existing audiences and attract both new and under-represented audiences too. Through the Buying and Merchandising team, you will ensure appropriate stock management systems are in place and deliver high levels of availability and optimum stock turn. You will take responsibility for the management of the warehouse and distribution contract to deliver efficient stock distribution, achieving performance against Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and budgets.

Working in collaboration with the Head of Food and Beverage, you will ensure the retail presence in their cafés is cohesive, aligned and delivers to brief. You will lead the development of the English Heritage investment needs, including technology system requirements and a programme of shop fits and refurbishments, ensuring that innovation, design, efficiency and quality are delivered within the budget set. You will provide expertise to the English Heritage Site Investment Programme (SIP) for retail and lead a team of Retail experts, providing strong central support, coaching and policy frameworks for the Retail operation

Adept at achieving targets, you will lead this able and driven team on a path of continuous improvement, organising periodic sector/competitor visits, active networking and involvement in cultural and commercial advisory bodies.

With experience of successful accountability for performance in a multisite, multimillion-pound retail environment, we seek an individual with extensive experience in leading a team in a matrix environment with an inspirational vision. As a highly organised person, you will have experience in business planning and budget management and a proven track record of developing and implementing a retail strategy with demonstrable results.

With excellent communication and presentation skills and agility in your approach, you will be a leader in innovative product development and have a host of experience in buying strategies to meet financial targets. With experience in e-commerce management and strategic development, you will be comfortable working within a fast-paced environment and will present with a highly organised approach to managing deadlines and budgets. Possessing resilience and high emotional intelligence, you will be able to distil and resolve and come with experience of transformational change within the heritage/gift retail markets.

With strong interpersonal skills, you will possess the tools necessary to engage partners and third-party organisations to identify and leverage brand opportunities.

With collaboration, empowerment and innovation being at your core, you will lead a collaborative and dynamic culture and uphold the values of English Heritage in working with stakeholders, executives and teams.

You will possess:

• The ability to set and articulate a clear vision.
• The ability to manage at scale (prioritise/re-prioritise).
• A good balance between driving operations and creative thinking.
• Strong organisational and methodical skills.
• Sound judgement.

You will be based at either their London, Swindon, one of their regional offices or as a homeworker, but will be working with colleagues across the organisation to lead the delivery of the retail strategy.

For further information about the role, or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Rebekah Abbott