Security Services Manager

Sainsbury's Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Colleague discount

Pensions & life cover

Performance bonus up to 20%

Private healthcare

Season ticket loans

Cycle to work

Job summary

Sainsbury's Limited is seeking a Head of Physical Security to shape and deliver security across stores, distribution centres and corporate buildings. You will lead supplier relationships, manage budgets, and turn security risks into practical, value-for-money solutions.

As the role evolves, you’ll partner with Crime & Security and internal stakeholders, ensuring policies are current and compliant while overseeing acquisitions of new technologies and services to protect people and assets.

Qualifications

• Experience of physical security equipment and installations.
• Experience managing security providers and monitoring SLAs.
• Experience identifying security risks and mitigations including data protection considerations.
• Ability to develop and deliver security strategies with budget governance.
• Strong leadership, communication and cross-functional partnering skills.
• Familiarity with security policies, procedures and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Shape and deliver the physical security strategy across stores, DCs and offices.
• Oversee security equipment, installations and services to deliver integrated, customer-friendly solutions.
• Lead third-party supplier relationships and contract performance with SLAs.
• Identify and manage security risks and establish robust responses to threats.
• Manage security capital and revenue budgets and build business cases with ROI.
• Act as a trusted security partner to internal and external stakeholders.
• Keep security policies up to date and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Improve cost effectiveness of security services and support weekend/out-of-hours cover as required.

Skills

Physical security

Supplier management

Risk management

Strategic delivery

Leadership

Stakeholder influence

Policy compliance

Job description

Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Hours: Full time
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Retail
Closing date: 4 November 2026
Requisition ID: 400090232

We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. As the link between sellers and buyers, retail and head office, our Retail Operations team is the cog that keeps things running. With teams focused on store-facing activity, labour, transformation, online, delivery and contact centres, we touch almost every part of the business. It’s an incredibly fast-paced environment, where you need to pivot not just daily, but often hourly. So while we plan as much as we can, it’s vital that we all think beyond our job descriptions and look for ways to optimise and improve everything we do. There’s also a real team ethos here. After all, it’s people like you who will truly transform this part of the business.

In this role, you’ll shape and deliver the physical security services, equipment and third-party contracts that protect our people, property and products across stores, distribution centres and corporate buildings. Working closely with Security Services, Crime & Security colleagues and stakeholders across the business, you’ll turn security risks into practical, customer friendly solutions, lead supplier performance and manage budgets to deliver effective protection and value for money.

What you’ll do

• Shape and deliver the physical security strategy across our stores, distribution centres and corporate buildings, protecting people, property and products.
• Oversee security equipment, installations and services, delivering integrated, customer friendly solutions and using new technology where it adds value.
• Lead third party supplier relationships and contract performance, setting stretching service level agreements and holding providers accountable for quality, cost and delivery.
• Identify and manage security risks, including across our Store Support Centres, and establish robust responses to business threats that help prevent incidents and reduce loss.
• Manage security capital and revenue budgets, adapt spending plans to business needs and develop business cases that demonstrate return on investment.
• Act as a trusted security specialist, partnering with internal stakeholders and external organisations and agencies to support informed decisions and anticipate threats.
• Keep security policies and procedures accurate and up to date, communicate changes and ensure solutions meet internal standards and relevant legal requirements.
• Continuously improve security services and cost effectiveness, keeping abreast of sector developments and supporting Crime & Security and Channel Operations through rotational weekend and out-of-hours cover as required.

What you’ll bring

• Physical security expertise (Essential): Working knowledge of physical security equipment and practical experience of managing security installations and solutions.
• Third-party supplier and contract management (Essential): Experience of managing security providers, monitoring service level agreements and securing effective services that deliver value for money.
• Security risk management and compliance (Essential): Experience of identifying security risks and implementing mitigations, with a working knowledge of legislation affecting security systems, including data protection requirements.
• Strategic delivery and commercial management (Essential): Strong project management skills, with the ability to develop and deliver security strategies, manage capital and revenue budgets and build business cases showing return on investment.
• Leadership and stakeholder influence (Essential): Strong leadership, communication and business partnering skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and work effectively with internal teams and external partners.
• Sound judgement, a high level of integrity and the confidence to make timely decisions and take ownership in a changing business environment.
• A continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to support changes to policies, processes and security solutions, improve services and costs, and take responsibility for your own development.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing business priorities, specialise in particular service areas and support rotational weekend and out-of-hours cover as required.

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.

Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday, and we provide private healthcare. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme.

Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.

Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).