Director of Group Strategy

Holland & Barrett; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus up to 33%

Car allowance

Product allowance (£50)

Private medical insurance for self & 1

Job summary

Holland & Barrett is seeking a Director of Group Strategy to own the enterprise strategy and translate long-term ambitions into clear, actionable priorities. The role requires leading cross-functional thinking and shaping investment decisions at the highest level, working closely with the CEO, CFO and Exec Committee.

You will connect customer, commercial, financial and operational insights to steer growth, partnerships and international opportunities while challenging assumptions to unlock value.

Qualifications

• Significant senior strategy experience influencing enterprise-level decisions.
• Experience in complex multi-channel environments such as Retail, Consumer, Health & Wellness.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including investment cases and scenario modelling.
• Ability to see cross-functional fit and challenge when needed.
• Curiosity about external developments and confidence to question assumptions.
• Experience influencing CEO/Executive/Board stakeholders in tough trade-offs.
• Good judgment on when to push, align, or adapt view.
• Experience in growth strategy, M&A, partnerships, market entry, transformation or portfolio strategy.
• Direct, no-nonsense communication focused on outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Own H&B's 3–5 year Group strategy and value-creation agenda.
• Connect customer, commercial, financial and operational thinking for holistic decisions.
• Challenge investments and business cases with clear economic rationale.
• Shape thinking on future growth including international opportunities and data/AI.
• Lead critical strategic questions and provide actionable recommendations.
• Collaborate with Finance and senior leaders to align strategy with resource allocation.
• Present and defend strategy with confidence to CEO, Exec Committee and Board.

Skills

Senior strategy experience

Complex multi-channel business

Commercial & financial lens

Systems thinking

External perspective & curiosity

Stakeholder influence (CEO/Board)

Judgment & decision making

Growth strategy / M&A / partnerships

Direct, straight-talking style

Job description

London or Nuneaton | Full-time | Permanent | Hybrid

We offer hybrid working, with an expectation that you'll be present in one of our H&B offices in London or Nuneaton for a minimum of 3 days a week. Travel will be required as the role demands.

The Role

The next phase of Holland & Barrett will be shaped by the choices we make now.

As Director of Group Strategy, you'll help us decide where to grow, where to invest and where we should change course.

You’ll own the enterprise strategy for Holland & Barrett and help turn our longer-term ambition into a small number of clear choices the business can act on.

That means looking beyond the next six months. Joining up thinking across the business. Challenging what we hear with an outside‑in perspective. And making sure investment decisions add value for H&B as a whole, rather than simply optimising one part of the business.

You’ll work directly with our CEO, CFO and Executive Committee, and play a visible role in Board and shareholder discussions. You’ll be expected to frame the big questions, shape the recommendation and have the confidence to challenge when needed.

There's also an opportunity to prove what a focused Strategy capability can do for H&B. You'll have the backing to show where it can make the biggest difference, establish its value and build the case for what comes next.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own H&B's 3–5 year Group strategy and value-creation agenda, turning ambition into a small number of clear priorities, choices and trade-offs.
• Connect customer, commercial, financial and operational thinking so decisions are made with H&B as a whole in mind.
• Challenge the business to look beyond the immediate horizon, bringing a clear view of the changes that could shape H&B over the next 3–10 years.
• Challenge major investment choices and business cases, making sure the economics, strategic fit and potential value creation stack up.
• Look across our portfolio of strategic initiatives and growth bets, helping decide where to increase, reduce, sequence or stop investment as evidence changes.
• Shape our thinking on future growth - from personalised wellness and partnerships to international opportunities, new business models, data and AI.
• Bring insight from customers, competitors, science, technology, regulation and the wider health and wellness landscape into strategic decisions.
• Work with Finance and senior business leaders to connect strategic choices to investment decisions, resource allocation and measurable value creation.
• Lead the most important strategic questions facing H&B, turning ambiguity into clear choices, recommendations and investment implications
• Establish a clear, practical Strategy approach that earns the confidence of senior leaders and demonstrates where the function can make a genuine difference.

What You'll Bring

• Significant senior strategy experience, whether from strategy consulting, an in-house strategy team or a closely related discipline, with evidence that your work has influenced enterprise-level decisions.
• Experience working in a complex, multi-channel business; Retail, Consumer, Health & Wellness or another customer-led environment would be particularly relevant.
• A strong commercial and financial lens - you'll understand value creation, investment cases, scenario modelling and the relationship between growth, cost, cash and return.
• The ability to step back from individual functions and see how the pieces fit together - and to challenge when they don't.
• A natural curiosity about what is happening outside the organisation, with the confidence to question internal assumptions and bring a different perspective.
• Experience influencing CEO, Executive or Board-level stakeholders, including when there are competing views, difficult trade-offs or incomplete information.
• The judgement to know when to push, when to align and when the evidence means changing your own view.
• Strong experience across areas such as growth strategy, M&A, partnerships, market entry, transformation or portfolio strategy would be valuable.
• A direct, straight-talking style that challenges thinking without creating noise - high challenge, low ego and focused on getting to the right answer.

Benefits

Holidays

• 33 days, including bank holidays
• Holiday purchase scheme

Health & Wellbeing

• 24/7 Virtual GP access
• Private medical insurance – Self & partner cover
• Annual free at-home health testing kit (after 6 months' service)
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme and a network of Mental Health First Aiders whenever you need support

Financial Wellbeing

• Enhanced workplace pension via salary sacrifice, with employer contribution
• Life assurance (3x salary, after 6 months' service)

Reward

• Annual Bonus (subject to company and individual performance) up to 33%
• Car Allowance
• £50 Colleague product allowance on Holland & Barrett products (after 6 months' service)

Lifestyle & Everyday Benefits

• Access to cashback and discounts from a wide range of retailers
• 25% colleague discount, available in store and online
• Free Wellhub membership, with discounted access to gyms, studios and premium wellbeing apps
• Cycle to Work scheme

If you're good at taking a complicated question, working out what really matters and getting people to make a decision, this is a chance to do that at enterprise level.

You’ll have a genuine seat at the table - shaping strategy, challenging assumptions and helping decide where H&B puts its money and energy next.

We'd like to hear from you.

About Holland & Barrett

At Holland & Barrett, we exist to make health and wellness a way of life for everyone, adding quality years to life.

We've been trusted for more than 150 years, but we're focused on what comes next. We're strengthening our core business while exploring new ways to grow through personalised wellness, partnerships, international opportunities, data and technology.

This role sits at the centre of those choices — helping H&B decide where to focus, where to invest and how to create long‑term value.

Inclusion & accessibility statement

We want Holland & Barrett to be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected and able to contribute.

Different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences help us make better decisions. We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every requirement listed.

If you need any adjustments or additional support during the recruitment process, please let us know.