Lead Food Manager in Kent

Leading in our stores: Our management teams don’t just run stores - they’re the driving force behind our business. With bold leadership, a passion for service and an eye for opportunity, they empower teams to raise the bar every single day for our customers. Whether it's product availability, safety standards, or delivering seamless daily operations, they’re hands-on, sleeves-rolled-up changemakers. And the impact? Work becomes more rewarding for our colleagues, and shopping becomes a next-level experience for every customer who walks through our doors. This is how we bring our purpose to life, one powerful action at a time.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead a small team of food managers to manage the grocery shop floor in one of our supermarkets.
• Execute exciting trading events by working closely with the rest of the store leadership team.
• Regularly take full accountability for the store in the absence of a store manager, role modelling and coaching for high standards and efficiency across the food hall.
• Manage compliance to processes and safety whilst bringing the passion and flare for great shop keeping and creating fantastic shopping experiences.
• Be responsible for a large team of colleagues, ensuring they’re performing at their best and that all people matters are conducted properly.

What makes a great Lead Food Manager:

• A passionate leader who is consistently ambitious for their customers and colleagues, growing their team to do the same.
• Experience of managing managers in a fast-paced, customer-facing environment.
• An operator who is comfortable managing alone in the absence of more senior management.
• Driven to deliver high performance with a focus on efficiency and engagement.
• Confident in the use of data and understanding/interpreting KPI's or other performance indicators and transforming these into meaningful actions.
• A champion of inclusivity, using this passion to build an inclusive team and working environment.
• Comfortable in managing complex people matters such as managing disciplinaries, performance issues or other similar employee relations issues.

Essential Criteria:

• Experience leading large teams in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment.
• A track record of delivering exceptional customer experiences across complex operations.
• Proven success in delivering and improving KPIs.
• Experience managing sensitive and complex people matters with confidence, fairness, and sound judgement.
• Leadership experience in an operational environment where you’ve owned departmental performance.
• Can evidence leading change effectively.

Working for us has great rewards:

• Salary will be dependent upon your experience as well as the store size, complexity and location.
• Discount card – 10% discount off on your shopping at Sainsbury’s, Argos, Tu and Habitat after four weeks.
• An annual bonus scheme based on our, and your, performance.
• Free food and hot drinks provided for Colleagues in all our stores.
• Generous holiday entitlement, maternity and paternity leave.
• Pension – we’ll match 4-7.5% of your pension contributions.
• Sainsbury’s share scheme – build up an investment at discounted rates.
• Wellbeing support – access to emotional support, counselling, legal and financial advice.
• Colleague networks – link with like-minded people to help fulfil your potential.
• Cycle to Work scheme gives you the opportunity to hire a new bike and cycling equipment, whilst saving on tax and NI.
• Special offers on gym memberships, restaurants, holidays, retail vouchers and more.

An inclusive place to work and shop:

We are dedicated to being a truly inclusive retailer, where every colleague can achieve their full potential and every customer feels welcome when they shop with us. To support this commitment, our colleagues may be entitled to a range of enhanced discretionary leave for families, as well as support for carers. We provide our colleagues resources to help them understand and support their role and their team effectively. Our internal colleague networks seek to ensure true representation for everyone, helping us identify and remove barriers that our colleagues may face. We are proud to offer a range of development opportunities, including mentorship, training, and career progression pathways, to help our colleagues grow and succeed. We also celebrate diversity through various initiatives and events, fostering a culture of inclusion and respect.

If you would like to learn more about our commitment to inclusivity, please let us know, and we will endeavour to support you.