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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a high-growth business unit in the convenience and value retail sector.
- Company: One of Europe's largest private-label food manufacturers with a focus on innovation.
- Benefits: Six-figure salary, executive benefits, and opportunities for career progression.
- Why this job: Shape the future of UK retail and drive significant commercial success.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in grocery retail and strong leadership skills required.
- Other info: Join a dynamic team with a clear vision for long-term growth.
The predicted salary is between 72000 - 108000 £ per year.
Location: North - Office Focused
Remuneration: Six Figures + Executive Benefits
The Business
Our client is one of the largest private-label food manufacturers in Europe, partnering with a broad portfolio of UK grocery retailers across mainstream, value, and convenience sectors. With deep commercial capability in chilled categories and an ambitious innovation pipeline, they are investing heavily in future growth through customer partnerships, operational scale, and long-term category leadership.
Their three-year strategic ambition is bold, to lead the industry in delivering unbeatable value, operational excellence, and brand-building through own label. Alongside their existing strengths, they are now elevating their focus on the fast-paced, commercially agile world of value-led and convenience retail, a channel where speed, service, and trusted relationships shape success.
Significant group investment and a clear long-range plan are already in place. This role has been created to lead the charge in one of the most strategically important growth areas in UK retail.
The Role
As Business Unit Director – Convenience & Value Retail, you will take full ownership of a high-growth, multi-category business unit. This includes a broad customer base spanning grocery convenience, value-led retail, frozen specialists, and hybrid formats.
You will shape the end-to-end commercial strategy, lead a high-performing customer team, and deliver both short-term commercial wins and long-term structural growth. This is a customer-facing and internally transformative role.
You will work cross-functionally with peers across supply chain, category, operations, and innovation, embedding new ways of working, sharpening execution, and positioning the business as a partner of choice.
This role offers exceptional visibility across the organisation, as well as direct influence with senior customers who play a central role in shaping modern retail and shopper behaviour.
Customer Scope will cover:
- Convenience: Co-op, Nisa, Spar, Costcutter
- Grocery Convenience Formats including Tesco Express, Sainsbury’s Local, and Morrisons Daily
- Value Retail / Hybrid: B&M, Home Bargains, Poundland and Farmfoods.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and lead the total commercial agenda for the UK Convenience and Value Retail business unit
- Develop and execute short, mid, and long-term commercial strategies that drive margin, share, and growth
- Lead key partnerships across Iceland, Lidl, Heron, B&M, and other major customers
- Build and inspire a first-class commercial team across sales, category, and customer management
- Drive change by embedding agile processes, data-led thinking, and faster, sharper execution
- Work cross-functionally to shape and deliver operational excellence across chilled categories
- Create customer-specific plans that balance short-term trading performance with long-range innovation
- Represent the Convenience business unit at board level, influencing investment decisions and shaping the overall strategic direction of the group
- Lead a mix of traded, value-driven products alongside higher-margin innovation and development ranges
- Act as the voice of the customer internally, ensuring exceptional service, responsiveness, and category alignment
Why Apply
- Lead a strategically critical business unit in one of the fastest-growing sectors in UK retail
- Own major customer partnerships across value and convenience channels with multi-million-pound P&L responsibility
- Work directly with the executive board to shape future investment, innovation, and commercial direction
- Join a well-resourced, future-focused group with a clear vision for long-term category leadership
- Be part of a lean, agile, and high-performance culture where pace, creativity, and accountability are rewarded
- Build a platform for further executive progression, from Commercial Director to future GM or MD pathways
Candidate Profile
We are seeking a senior commercial leader with a track record of delivering results in UK grocery, ideally across chilled, short shelf-life, or own-label categories. Experience in convenience or value retail is highly desirable.
- Proven experience leading large retail accounts such as Iceland, Lidl, B&M, or other high-volume customers
- Commercially astute with strong P&L ownership, pricing, and customer strategy expertise
- Track record of growing customer portfolios, driving margin, and managing complex product mixes
- Inspirational team leader who builds trust, develops capability, and drives high performance
- Comfortable leading change in dynamic environments and embedding agile ways of working
- Exceptional internal stakeholder management skills, especially within matrix structures
- Ready to operate at pace with high visibility and real accountability
Business Unit Director - Convenience in England employer: PT Executive
Contact Detail:
PT Executive Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Business Unit Director - Convenience in England
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, and don’t be shy about reaching out on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews! Research the company and its competitors, and come armed with questions that show you’re genuinely interested. Practice your answers to common interview questions, but keep it natural – we want to see the real you shine through!
✨Tip Number 3
Follow up after interviews! A quick thank-you email can go a long way in making you memorable. It shows your enthusiasm for the role and gives you another chance to reiterate why you’re the perfect fit for the team.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! We’ve got loads of opportunities waiting for you, and applying directly can sometimes give you an edge. Plus, it’s super easy to navigate and keeps everything in one place.
We think you need these skills to ace Business Unit Director - Convenience in England
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the Business Unit Director role. Highlight your experience in convenience and value retail, and showcase any relevant achievements that align with the job description. We want to see how you can bring value to our team!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to tell us why you're the perfect fit for this role. Share your passion for the industry and how your skills can help us lead the charge in convenience retail. Keep it engaging and personal!
Showcase Your Leadership Skills: As a Business Unit Director, leadership is key. In your application, make sure to highlight your experience in leading teams and driving change. We’re looking for someone who can inspire and build trust within their team, so don’t hold back on those examples!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother process. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates. Plus, we love seeing applications come directly from our site!
How to prepare for a job interview at PT Executive
✨Know Your Numbers
As a Business Unit Director, you'll need to demonstrate your commercial acumen. Brush up on key metrics related to P&L, margin growth, and customer strategy. Be ready to discuss how you've driven results in previous roles, especially in the convenience or value retail sectors.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Style
This role requires an inspirational team leader. Prepare examples of how you've built trust and developed high-performing teams. Think about specific instances where your leadership made a tangible difference in performance or culture.
✨Understand the Customer Landscape
Familiarise yourself with the major customers mentioned in the job description, like Iceland and Lidl. Be prepared to discuss how you would approach building partnerships with these retailers and what strategies you would implement to drive growth in the convenience sector.
✨Emphasise Agility and Innovation
The company is looking for someone who can lead change and embed agile processes. Prepare to share examples of how you've successfully navigated dynamic environments and implemented innovative solutions that have led to operational excellence.
