Head of Central Operations
Department: Retail
Location: Handforth
Band: Band C
Role Overview
The Head of Central Operations leads our Central Operations function, ensuring every Pet Care Centre (PCC) delivers simple, consistent, and commercially sound operations that bring our strategy to life. Highly structured and exceptionally organised, the role requires the ability to programme manage multiple priorities simultaneously, balancing short term needs with long term strategic delivery through robust planning, governance, and prioritisation.
Accountable for retail operational communications, operational excellence, CPA, and cross functional alignment with Support Office and Distribution, the Head of Central Operations drives the flawless execution of change, retail initiatives, and process. They ensure information flows clearly and effectively communicating with PCC colleagues in a straightforward, action orientated way while also demonstrating the gravitas and credibility to influence, challenge, and manage stakeholders up to Exec level.
Success hinges on anticipating change, thriving in ambiguity, and constructively challenging established ways of working to build the world’s best pet care platform. Operating at the intersection of strategy, execution, and continuous improvement, the Head of Central Operations safeguards business performance by embedding operational excellence, strengthening governance, and driving data led decision making that supports sustainable growth and profitability.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Vision
* Shape and champion the Central Operations roadmap, which enables the business to meet its commercial, operational, and customer centric goals.
* Translate strategic goals into clear, actionable objectives for Retail Operations and Operational Excellence teams, nurturing a culture of accountability and resilience.
* Act as a visible ambassador for operational best practice, influencing senior stakeholders to adopt solutions that simplify work for PCC colleagues and elevate customer care.
* Continuously aligned to internal and external environments to anticipate emerging trends, enabling rapid adaptation and sustained competitive advantage.
* Anticipate risks, capacity needs, and operational pressures, providing proactive solutions and frameworks that support long-term success.
Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
* Lead the Operational Excellence strategy, identify, quantify, and deliver improvements that streamline processes, reduce cost, and improve PCC productivity.
* Enhance test and learn methodologies, encouraging teams to experiment, learn quickly, and embed successful practices at pace.
* Champion a mindset of constructive challenge, empowering colleagues to question the status quo and co-create resilient, future proof solutions.
* Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, using analytical thinking to reengineer workflows and enhance productivity.
* Establish consistent standards, governance, and operating models that drive clarity, quality, and accountability across PCC and central functions.
Data Driven Decision Making
* Champion a culture of evidence based operational leadership, ensuring that decisions are grounded in accurate, timely, and high-quality data, supported by strong insight, performance metrics, and transparent reporting across all areas of Operations.
* Leverage advanced data trends, analytics, and forecasting to anticipate operational needs, identify emerging risks and opportunities, and inform strategic choices that drive efficiency, service quality, and long-term business performance.
* Embed robust data governance and reporting routines, ensuring consistency, clarity, and alignment of insight across functions to support effective prioritisation.
Communication & Engagement
* Own the PCC communications strategy, ensuring information is timely, concise, and easy to action enabling colleagues to deliver exceptional operational standards consistently.
* Oversee the creation and governance of all retail operational communications, ensuring clarity, consistency, and alignment with the Pets at Home brand voice, purpose, and values while driving continuous improvement in how information flows across the business.
* Establish robust feedback channels that capture PCC insight, leveraging data and colleague sentiment to refine communication channels, reduce noise, increase engagement and operational performance.
* Drive cross functional programmes and initiatives, acting as the central point of alignment to ensure priorities are coordinated, risks are mitigated, interdependencies are understood, and delivery remains on time and to a high standard.
* Embed disciplined operational routines and governance structures, including cross functional forums, performance reporting rhythms and structured operational reviews, to create transparency, accountability, and strong organisational cadence .
Team Leadership & Development
* Inspire, coach, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of inclusivity and adaptability.
* Set clear objectives, provide regular feedback, and celebrate successes, ensuring colleagues understand their contribution to our purpose.
* Champion wellbeing and resilience, equipping the team to manage ambiguity and maintain performance through change.
* Build talent pipelines and succession plans that futureproof Central Operations capability for continued growth.
Cross-Functional Partnership
* Collaborate with Support Office, Distribution, and commercial teams to remove operational friction and deliver seamless customer experiences.
* Represent PCC requirements in business planning, ensuring new initiatives are designed for easy execution and measurable benefit.
* Facilitate end-to-end readiness for retail initiatives and change activity, balancing ambition with operational reality to safeguard delivery.
* Champion seamless collaboration between central functions and PCCs, building trusted relationships and guiding stakeholders through complex and competing priorities with clarity.
Planning & Coordination
* Lead end to end operational planning, ensuring all plans are rigorous, data informed, and aligned to strategic priorities, with clear milestones, dependencies, and success measures.
* Own and orchestrate complex cross functional programmes, acting as the central point of accountability to ensure activities are fully coordinated, risks and interdependencies are proactively managed, and delivery remains on track across multiple workstreams.
* Embed highly structured and disciplined operating rhythms, including governance forums, decision making routines, progress reporting, and operational performance reviews ensuring consistency, transparency, and clear accountability across all stakeholders.
Skills and Attributes
Data Driven & Analytical‑Driven & Analytical
* Exceptional ability to interpret data, identify trends, and translate insights into operational plans and strategic recommendations.
* Skilled at building dashboards, metrics, and data governance frameworks that enable informed decision making.
Highly Organised & Structured
* Adept at creating order, clarity, and well-defined processes in complex or fastmoving environments.
* Strong programme and project management capability, with a disciplined approach to planning, prioritisation, and sequencing.
Operationally Astute
* Deep understanding of operational systems, workflows, and how different business functions interconnect.
* Strong problem solving skills, with the ability to diagnose issues, build solutions, and implement them at scale.
Clear Communicator & Influential Leader
* Able to translate complex operational concepts into simple, actionable language.
* Effective at influencing senior stakeholders and driving alignment across multiple teams.
Continuous Improvement Mindset
* Passionate about optimisation, efficiency, and elevating the quality of organisational operations.
* Proactive, curious, and committed to fostering innovation and better ways of working.
Experience & Qualifications
Essential
* Significant senior leadership experience in multi-site retail or consumer-facing operations, with a track record of delivering operational excellence and commercial results.
* Proven ability to design and execute communication strategies that drive engagement and behavioural change across large, dispersed teams.
* Demonstrated success in leading continuous improvement programmes, underpinned by data-driven decision making and robust performance metrics.
* Strong stakeholder management skills, with experience influencing at exec level and collaborating across complex matrix environments.
* Evidence of leading teams through change, fostering resilience, and thriving in ambiguous, fast moving contexts.