Senior Retail Operations & Communications Lead

asda; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Company pension up to 7% matched

Car allowance £5,700

Colleague discount 15%

Wellbeing services

Employee assistance helpline

Discounts across services and events

Job summary

Asda leads the Lead Manager role in Retail Operations & Communications from Head Office, guiding planning, governance, and execution across the retail estate and aligning initiatives with commercial aims. This high-profile position works with senior leaders to simplify and modernise retail communications and drive measurable results.

The role requires strong retail operations experience, stakeholder influence, and the ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery while developing

Qualifications

• 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.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the Retail Activity Plan, aligned to priorities and capacity.
• Lead activity governance processes covering resources, budget impacts, readiness, and performance.
• Maintain visibility and control of key retail initiatives through robust critical path management.
• Challenge stakeholders to improve quality, adherence, and delivery performance.
• Establish clear success measures and monitor delivery against outcomes and benefits.
• Represent Retail Operations in design, development, and governance of projects impacting stores.
• Provide operational insight and challenge to ensure initiatives are practical and scalable.
• Lead selected strategic projects delivering improvements in execution and retail performance.
• Build strong relationships across functions and influence senior stakeholders.
• Own PIR processes and embed continuous improvement from lessons learned.

Skills

Operations leadership

Store operations

Program management

Stakeholder management

Accountability

Communication

Analytical skills

Governance

Strategic thinking

Job description

Asda leads the Lead Manager role in Retail Operations & Communications from Head Office, guiding planning, governance, and execution across the retail estate and aligning initiatives with commercial aims. This high-profile position works with senior leaders to simplify and modernise retail communications and drive measurable results.

The role requires strong retail operations experience, stakeholder influence, and the ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery while developing