Director of Stores (North)

At Specsavers, our purpose is to change lives through better sight and hearing. We’re looking for an experienced and values-led retail leader to join our Retail Leadership Team and lead our store network across the North of the UK.

As Director of Stores UK (North), you’ll lead and inspire our General Managers, Retail Support Teams, partners and stores to perform at their best. You’ll drive commercial performance, elevate the customer experience and champion a culture where colleagues can thrive, and customers feel genuinely cared for.

The role

You’ll be responsible for:

• Leading, coaching and developing three General Managers, creating a culture of high performance, engagement and accountability.
• Driving store performance, profitability, market share and customer loyalty across the region.
• Championing our Total Care approach and using customer insight to continually improve the experience across our stores.
• Building a strong retail talent pipeline through effective succession planning and development.
• Bringing retail initiatives and change programmes to life through clear communication and consistent execution.
• Working closely with partners and senior stakeholders across Retail, Commercial, Marketing, Finance, Technology, Property, HR and other specialist functions.
• Contributing to the short, medium and long-term direction of the UK retail business.
• Drive trading mindset and capacity management initiatives to optimise store performance through the GM’s.
• Provide thought leadership on retail strategy, contributing to the evolution of our customer, people and growth ambitions.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to identify and implement initiatives that enhance the customer journey.
• Role-modelling Specsavers’ values and creating an inclusive, supportive environment where colleagues and partners can succeed. 

What you’ll bring

• Proven senior leadership experience within a large, multi-site retail environment.
• A strong track record of delivering commercial results through people and customer-focused strategies.
• Experience of improving sales, managing costs and maximising profitability.
• Strong financial planning, forecasting and budget management capability.
• The ability to lead through change and turn strategy into consistent operational delivery.
• Deep understanding of retail operations, customer experience and talent development.
• The credibility and influencing skills to build strong relationships with partners and senior stakeholders.
• A warm, collaborative and values-led leadership style that reflects the Specsavers culture.

Why This Role?

If you’re an experienced retail leader who combines commercial drive with genuine care for customers and colleagues, this is an opportunity to shape performance across an important part of our UK store network and help us deliver on our purpose.

Location: This role will be based in the North, with frequent travel across the region to support and connect with our teams.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. We may close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.

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