Retail Operations Manager
*Internally this role is known as Divisional Operations Manager
£45,000 - £52,000 plus benefits (Pro Rata)
Reports to: National Operations Manager
Directorate: Marketing, Fundraising & Engagement
Contract: Fixed Term Contract until end of Jan 2027*
*due to the short term nature of this role we will only be able to consider candidates who are availability immediately or on short notice periods.
Hours: Full time 35 hours per week
Location: Homebased **
** This role supports our North Division and Superstores. Applicants must be based within the North Division (which covers Scotland and Northern England as far as Wellington, West Midlands), with the ability to reach at least 50% of the territory when required. Travel will be prioritised based on performance insights, compliance, store openings, projects, and trials.
Closing date: 12 July 2026 23:55
Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.
Recruitment process: Screening calls followed by Competency based interview, including presentation via Microsoft Teams
Cancer Research UK are looking for an experienced, commercial or charity retailer to join team Trading as a Retail Operations Manager across Scotland and Northern England
As part of our retail strategy, we’ve introduced a new operations structure designed to strengthen how we deliver performance, consistency and compliance across our shop network.
As we start to implement this new structure, we are looking for a Retail Operations Manager, to play a key role in identifying new opportunities and developing innovative ideas to drive income, contribution, and compliance across the division. This role will provide strong line management to Divisional Operations Executives, fostering effective leadership, performance, and alignment with strategic objectives, while also taking ownership of analysing divisional performance to identify risks and opportunities, implementing data-driven solutions that support continuous improvement and growth.
What will I be doing?
Understanding the divisional performance & positions of each Division. Utilise monthly and quarterly reports to identify risk, trends and under benchmarking.
Lead on and undertake specific projects alongside the Divisional Business Manager to support the financial, team, people and customer goals of the Division, and the wider retail strategy.
Develop excellent relationships with key internal stakeholders and departments both inside and outside in particular Volunteer Fundraising, Volunteering, HR and Research Engagement.
Work with the National Retail Performance Manager to deliver strategic goals, specifically facilitating the efficient delivery of new processes and procedures.
Collaborate with the National Operations Manager to drive compliance through excellent communication between retail stakeholders and the field team.
Line manage the Divisional Operations Executives, including objective setting, coaching, development, and performance reviews. Ensure their outputs align with divisional goals and retail strategy.
Manage divisional compliance through the Divisional Operations Executives. Ensure organisational and statutory Health & Safety standards are implemented in shops, prioritizing the safekeeping of staff, volunteers and general public.
Work pro-actively with the Divisional Operations Executives to ensure Health & Safety audits are delivered efficiently and are results focussed, directly measuring compliance performance.
Work alongside the Profit, Protection and Compliance team to support stock take compliance, providing hands on support in shops when required
To lead on the implementation of the trading ops plan/retail strategy across the retail field operations team plus monitor performance against its aims in collaboration with key partners.
What are you looking for?
Experienced commercial or charity retailer with experience in a field management capacity working in a large and complex organisation, have an understanding of leadership and management of multi-site retail shops at a national or regional level
Proven leadership skills to drive, develop and deliver results via a geographically diverse team.
Experience of initiating and implementing change, receptive to new ideas and able to participate fully in developing business plans and strategy
Experience of identifying, monitoring and meeting customer needs using sector lead insights
Evidence of strong leadership and people management.
Creative and innovative, able to influence decisions at a senior level and articulate the reasons behind their ideas in a challenging environment.
Significant experience in meeting strategic compliance objectives, spanning Health & safety, profit protection & stock management.
Significant experience of managing substantial budget and P&L documents.
Significant analytical skills and the ability to work with complex information
Able to manage extensive travel and stay overnight
Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.
Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination
Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism
Human: Act to have a positive impact on people
Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively
We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.
If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you.
What will I gain?
We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.
You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.
How do I apply?
We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.
For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk.
Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.
We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.
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