Head of Acquisitions - North

Lead the acquisitions strategy for M&S’s store estate, identifying, evaluating and securing new sites that support the long-term property pipeline and growth ambitions. The role is accountable for delivering the right space in the right locations, balancing customer reach, commercial return and strategic fit across full line and food formats.

What You Will Do

• National accountability for identifying, building and converting a robust pipeline of new store, relocation and renewal opportunities.
• Lead negotiations with landlords, agents and key stakeholders through to Heads of Terms, ensuring successful deal completion.
• Manage and develop a team of Acquisitions Managers, providing leadership, direction and support to deliver estate growth objectives.
• Partner cross functionally to translate property strategy into executable transactions that support business priorities and commercial goals.
• Oversee market scanning, site appraisal, investment cases, governance processes and risk management to drive informed decision making.
• Build and maintain strong landlord and agent relationships, with direct impact on estate growth, sales potential and effective capital deployment.

Who You Will Be

• An experienced retail property professional with a strong track record in acquisitions, asset growth and portfolio development.
• A strategic thinker who can translate long-term business objectives into a clear and actionable property pipeline.
• A confident negotiator with the credibility to influence senior stakeholders and external partners.
• Commercially astute, with the ability to balance customer, financial and operational considerations when making decisions.
• An inspiring leader who develops talent, drives accountability and creates high-performing teams.

What You Will Bring

• Significant experience in retail property acquisitions, site appraisal and estate growth strategies.
• Strong financial and analytical capability, including investment appraisal, risk assessment and business case development.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience leading complex property transactions from origination through to completion.
• Strong knowledge of the UK retail property market and a well-established external network across landlords, developers and agents.

What’s In It For You

Being a part of M&S is exactly that – playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day. We’re an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever‑evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value and service to every customer, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us.

• 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third‑party brands for you and a member of your household.
• Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.
• Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
• A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
• A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
• Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
• Industry‑leading parental, adoption and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
• Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues, including our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist for you and your family.
• A charity volunteer day to support a cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.

Everyone’s welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together. If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.