Head of Strategy

We are looking for two Heads of Strategy who can join us here at M&S in our Strategy & Transformation team.

As a Head of Strategy, you will be accountable for identifying, developing and implementing future growth opportunities through the existing business and via new business opportunities.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with a background in top-tier strategy combined with retail and in-house experience. Making an impact and having the ability to influence stakeholders are key elements to the success of this role.

Key accountabilities and measures

• Acquiring and evaluate information about industry and market trends, competitive threats and possible business opportunities
• Supporting in defining the strategic direction of the business over a rolling 5-year period – developing a range of strategic options including M&A
• Driving the problem solving, including identifying issues and developing solutions
• Developing creative solutions to some of the most challenging problems facing the business, and understand how to get these implemented
• Working with the Business Units and Leadership teams to ensure the solutions are truly co-developed and owned at a local level
• Supporting the Finance Directors in shaping the financial planning and reporting process, ensuring all strategic opportunities are supported with robust financials
• Producing reports for the leadership teams and partners, which will play a key role in influencing decision-making across the business
• Lead, develop and motivate team of Strategy Managers and Analysts
• Leading communications across key collaborators, including director and ExCo level

Key skills

• Experience in a strategy leadership position in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
• A consistent record of success at a top-tier management consulting firm
• Ideally, a mix of strategy consulting and corporate strategy experience with top business leadership and a proven track record to work in a cross-functional and matrix business environment
• An excellent current knowledge of the UK retail market (key players, major trends etc) as well as a broader understanding of global retail markets
• Considerable experience of end-to-end management and delivery of sophisticated strategic problems (e.g., project set up, problem solving, solution development supported by analytical assessment, option evaluation and recommendation generation)
• To be commercially astute and able to understand how commercial decisions impact the broader business context
• Experience of bringing creativity and innovation to your problem solving
• Ability to move a cross-functional group and senior business leadership in a unified direction and with a unified vision
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to demonstrate credibility in dealings with colleagues at all levels
• Interpersonal Skills: must be a passionate team-builder; able to work well with multi-functional teams, be a strategic problem solver, comfortable with ambiguity, have a positive can-do attitude, and work well in a constantly evolving environment
• Open and welcoming to change, be result oriented, be self-motivated and proactive, have outstanding problem-solving skills, and demonstrate an ability to stay calm under stress and uncertainty, influencing the same in their team

M&S is ready to push boundaries to lead the industry into a greener, speedier, more inspiring digital era. That’s why we’re revolutionising how we work and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. There’s never been a better time to be part of our team. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and loved by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make an immediate impact. We are committed to an active Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunities Policy, which starts with our recruitment and selection process, and we are happy to talk smart/flexible working. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process. If you consider yourself to have a disability or learning difficulty which means you are unable to complete the application process online, we'd love to hear from you either by phone on 0345 300 3725 or by email recruitment.online@marksandspencer.com so we can make alternative arrangements for you.