Head of Commercial & Customer Value

Woolworths Group; Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Team discounts

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

Woolworths Group in Auckland is seeking a Head of Commercial & Customer Value to optimise pricing, buying, and promotions. You will lead the Next Generation buying evolution, align with the Annual Operating Plan, and ensure grocery code compliance across NZ markets.

In this senior leadership role, you will empower trading teams with tools and insights for fact-based decision-making, collaborate with Woolworths Australia and WIQ, and drive value through strategic initiatives across merchandise

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in commercial partnerships within complex matrix environments.
• Extensive category analysis experience in retail or FMCG with actionable insights.
• Strong communication and influencing skills for executive stakeholders.
• Proven stakeholder management across multiple levels to achieve outcomes.
• Deep understanding of customer metrics and data-driven recommendations.
• Inspirational leadership with a customer-first mindset and inclusive culture.

Responsibilities

• Deliver measurable value by supporting and building capabilities of the commercial pricing and promotional optimisation team.
• Lead Better Buying and COGs workstream and partner with Commercial Optimisation to deploy new processes and toolkits.
• Maintain governance by supporting merchandise trading teams in Range Reviews and Cost Price Increases.
• Participate in commercial forums and provide updates to the Executive Team.
• Build cross-group relationships with Woolworths NZ, Woolworths Australia, and WIQ.

Skills

Senior leadership

Commercial analytics

Stakeholder management

Customer metrics

People leadership

Data-driven decision making

Tools

Excel

SQL

Tableau

Job description

• Full time permanent position
• Auckland location. Hybrid working (3 days in office, 2 days WFH)
• Key strategic leadership position

We are Woolworths Group | Ko Woolworths Tātou

We are Woolworths Group. 200,000+ bright minds, passionate hearts, and unique perspectives across Australia and New Zealand. Connected by a shared Purpose - 'to create better experiences together for a better tomorrow'. That Purpose fuels our ambition to explore new ideas, make brave commitments, and innovate better ways to meet the food and everyday needs of more than 24 million customers every week.

If you're excited to turn today's blue-sky thinking into a better tomorrow for future generations, you'll find yourself supported and enriched in a dynamic, inclusive, and empowering workplace. With a culture of genuine care, a flexible approach to work, and opportunities across the group to grow your career and make a meaningful impact, the possibilities for what we can achieve together are endless.

As the Head of Commercial & Customer Value, you will optimise pricing, buying, and promotional strategies to enhance customer value and deliver successful commercial targets. Leading our Next Generation buying evolution, you will hold responsibility for the execution of our buying and commercial optimisation strategy - partnering on Range Reviews, aligning with our Annual Operating Plan, and ensuring compliance with grocery code obligations.

This highly collaborative role is about equipping trading teams with the tools and insights needed for fact-based decision‑making. As a senior leader, you’ll provide critical thought leadership for commercial performance optimisation across merchandise teams, and act as a key interface with Woolworths Australia and our analytics partners at WIQ.

What you’ll do | Hei mahi

• Deliver measurable value and uplift business performance by supporting, guiding, and building the capabilities of our commercial pricing and promotional optimisation team.
• Unlock commercial improvements for Woolworths New Zealand by leading the Better Buying and COGs workstream and partnering closely with the Commercial Optimisation team to deploy new processes and toolkits.
• Maintain commercial integrity and robust governance by supporting merchandise trading teams through Range Reviews and Cost Price Increases, ensuring correct tools, tracking, and processes are embedded.
• Ensure transparent progress and strategic alignment by actively participating in and facilitating regular commercial forums for the merchandise leadership team and delivering updates to the Executive Team.
• Build collaborative, end‑to‑end relationships across the Group by establishing strong connections across our commercial trading and optimisation teams, our Woolworths Australia counterparts, and our advanced analytics partners at WIQ.
• Realise key merchandise OKRs, including sales, profit, and value perception, by developing and leading strategic initiatives that improve our overall range health and price competitiveness.
• Unlock ultimate value for our customers by upskilling category teams to confidently develop and execute effective, market‑leading Category Review strategies.
• Provide critical, high‑level business support to the Head of Commercial Trading Optimisation, GM Customer Offer Reset, and the broader commercial team on general business performance.
• Champion the New Zealand business on a Group level by representing Woolworths New Zealand in various Group Chapters focused on Commercial Optimisation.
• Shape future trading and promotional strategies by providing specialist commercial optimisation input during merchandise strategic planning forums.
• Embed best‑practice across our trading teams by developing, maintaining, and continually refreshing our Category Review processes in close partnership with the Range & Space team.

What you’ll bring | Hei koha

• A strong track record of commercial business partnering at a senior level, with a proven ability to build deep relationships based on trust and strategic thought leadership within complex matrix environments.
• Extensive category analysis experience from the retail or FMCG sectors, where you have successfully derived and delivered actionable insights that drive profitable growth.
• Confident communication and influencing skills, with the ability to easily craft compelling strategies and present clear commercial narratives to executive‑level stakeholders.
• Demonstrated expertise in stakeholder management, allowing you to effortlessly engage, align, and negotiate with partners at all levels of the organisation to achieve collaborative outcomes.
• A deep understanding of customer metrics, backed by the analytical capability to synthesise complex data into clear, business‑optimising recommendations.
• Inspirational people leadership capabilities, with a genuine passion for coaching diverse teams, building inclusive cultures, and consistently role‑modeling customer‑first values.
• High attention to detail and strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel, ideally complemented by exposure to SQL and Tableau to help accelerate your data‑driven decision‑making.
• Natural tenacity, resilience, and curiosity, which enable you to thrive in a fast‑paced environment and successfully navigate teams through ongoing retail innovation.

What you’ll experience | Ngā Huanga

Our Team Members Are At The Heart Of Everything We Do And We’re Always Looking For Ways To Support Your Career Journey And Reward Great Work

• A commitment to flexibility through a hybrid working model which combines time spent at a support office or hub and time working from home, supporting both in‑person connection and balancing the flexibility that remote working provides for our teams
• High‑impact role supporting our teams who enrich our communities.
• A global business with endless career possibilities around every corner and across every discipline – with valuable exposure to a vast and exciting business network.
• A range of programs to help you prioritise and manage your wellbeing, including 24/7 access to the Sonder app.
• A progressive and competitive leave policy that gives you more space for what matters to you.
• Team discounts across our range of Woolworths Group brands you know and love and a robust rewards program that celebrates and incentivises purpose‑driven work.

Everyone belongs at Woolworths Group | No Woolworths tātou

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are key to realising our purpose of better together for a better tomorrow. We recognise the value our team’s diversity brings to our business, customers, and communities and that teams with diverse experiences and backgrounds enrich our group and are better able to innovate and solve problems. As one of the largest employers in Australia and New Zealand, we aim to create a truly inclusive workplace where everyone feels that they belong, can be their best selves, and reach their full potential.

We encourage all candidates to apply; please let us know in your application if we can support you with any adjustments in the hiring process.