Transformation & Operational Development Manager
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Retail
Closing date: 10 October 2025
Requisition ID: 400012490
We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. As the link between sellers and buyers, retail and head office, our retail operations team is the cog that keeps things running. With teams focused on store facing, labour, transformation, online, delivery and contact centre work, we touch almost every part of the business. It’s an incredibly fast-paced environment where you need to pivot not just daily, but often hourly. So while we plan all we can, it’s vital that we all think outside our job descriptions and look to optimise and improve how we do everything. There’s also a real team ethos. After all, it’s people like you who are going to truly transform this part of the business.
Join our dynamic Transformation & Operational Development team, where you'll play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our Retail and Digital Operating Models. You'll be responsible for the identification, planning, and successful implementation of complex, cross-functional programmes that drive our business forward. This role requires a challenger mindset and the ability to build brilliant relationships across the business.
What You Will Do:
- Own the end-to-end design and successful implementation of detailed and complex programmes that support the delivery of the Sainsbury's Strategy and Goals.
- Ensure programmes are implemented successfully ‘Right first time’ within Retail and Digital, delivered on time, within scope, and to budget.
- Think creatively and challenge the status quo to drive strategic and operational improvements.
- Stay close to relevant business developments, market insights, and retail industry best practices.
- Coordinate qualitative and quantitative analyses to draw insights, develop business cases, and measure results.
- Model various options for new business and operating model designs, highlighting strengths and limitations with clear recommendations.
- Work cross-functionally, building strong relationships with key stakeholders to deliver meaningful change.
- Participate in post-implementation reviews to continually develop and promote business change best practices.
What You Need to Know and Show:
- Essential: Strategic thinking (must be from a retail background)
- Essential: Strong experience in complex E2E transformation, programme, project, and relationship management
- Essential: Analytical thinking / commercial acumen - ability to quickly analyse processes and data to find insights, identify opportunities, and measure improvements
- Essential: Great communication and influencing skills
- Essential: Prior knowledge of ecommerce / retail operating models.
- Understand how businesses work both operationally and financially
- Proactive in strategic orientation and hypothesis-led problem solving
- Comfortable working at pace in an ambiguous environment
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them: Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform. Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday, and we provide private healthcare. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme. Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave. Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
