Head of Commercial Transformation
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Fixed-Term Assignment
Business area: Sainsbury's Commercial & Sustainability
Closing date: 26 August 2026
Requisition ID: 400076024
Why join us
Joining Sainsbury's Commercial Change team on a 12-month Fixed Term Contract, means playing a pivotal role in one of the most significant transformation programmes in our business. As part of our ambition to "Win in Food", we are partnering with SAP to transform our core commercial systems and processes, creating the foundations for future growth and innovation. This multi-year programme will fundamentally reshape how we work across our Commercial Food Division, unlocking new capabilities, improving efficiency, and enabling better outcomes for our customers. You'll have the opportunity to influence strategic decisions, shape future ways of working, and lead a high-profile change programme that will have a lasting impact across the organisation.
What you'll do
As the Head of Commercial Transformation for Core Commercial Transformation, you will be responsible for defining and delivering the future operating model for our Commercial Food Division. Leading a team of business process analysts, you will work closely with senior stakeholders, process owners, and technology partners to design scalable and effective commercial processes that support our long-term ambitions.
You will lead the design workstream for a complex, technology-enabled transformation programme, ensuring robust planning, governance, and delivery across multiple interconnected initiatives. Working collaboratively across the business, you will challenge existing ways of working, identify opportunities to simplify and improve processes, and drive alignment on key programme decisions.
Using your expertise in programme leadership and transformation, you will manage risks, issues, dependencies, and stakeholder engagement while ensuring high-quality outcomes are delivered at pace. You will also bring external insights and industry best practice to help shape the programme approach and future operating model.
Who you are
You are an experienced transformation and programme leader with demonstrable SAP expertise and a strong track record of delivering large-scale, technology-enabled change within a commercial environment. You combine strategic thinking with pragmatic execution, enabling you to navigate complexity, influence senior stakeholders, and drive meaningful business outcomes.
You bring strong design leadership credentials, with the ability to own the complex delivery of a design workstream from approach through to execution. You are confident defining the design approach, ensuring plans are robust and progress is actively monitored, while managing risks, issues and dependencies across interconnected workstreams.
You thrive in ambiguous environments, demonstrate resilience when facing challenges, and have the confidence and credibility to engage effectively with both internal and external partners. As a leader, you inspire and empower others through clear communication, collaboration, and a commitment to delivering results.
Essential Criteria
Significant experience leading large-scale technology-led transformation programmes involving SAP solutions within Commercial Food Retail, with strong knowledge of commercial operations, supplier relationships and related processes.
- Proven experience designing and implementing end-to-end business processes and operating models.
- Ability to lead complex programmes involving multiple workstreams, stakeholders, risks, dependencies, and governance requirements.
- Strong strategic thinking skills, with the ability to translate vision into practical delivery plans and outcomes.
- Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, including the ability to build consensus across diverse viewpoints.
- Experience working successfully within large retail matrix organisations and managing relationships with internal and external partners.
- Demonstrated resilience and adaptability when leading change within fast-paced and evolving environments.
- Ability to identify risks proactively, develop mitigation plans, and drive solutions to complex business challenges.
- Proven people leadership experience, with the ability to inspire, coach, and develop high-performing teams.
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 65% of salary, depending on how we perform (in cash and shares). 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, 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. You'll also receive a company car cash allowance unless you are going to travel 10,000 business miles in your role, then you'll be able to choose a car. 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).
