Strategic Retail Manager (2549)

Do you want to create a better world for animals? At the RSPCA, we believe all animals deserve kindness and respect. Through RSPCA Assured – our farm animal welfare assurance scheme – we're driving higher welfare standards across food and farming. By working with retailers and supply chains, we make it easier for shoppers to choose products from animals farmed to higher welfare standards. Choose a career with us and make a difference for every kind.

We are looking for a new team member to join us as a Strategic Retail Manager, where you'll work closely with Strategic retail partners and internal stakeholders to deliver Initiatives that create both measurable animal welfare benefits and commercial value.

• Working hours: 35 hours / Monday to Friday.
• Contract: 12-month fixed-term.
• Hybrid role: Your base will be at Horsham, West Sussex. Hybrid working isn't just a tick box exercise for us – we live the values. For this role, the expected commitment is 3 days per week in our London or Horsham office with 2 days working remotely. We're open to accommodating a flexible schedule that suits you, and our operational needs.

Are you ready to join our movement?

We think this role's going to be popular and are expecting to attract high interest so we strongly encourage early applications to avoid missing out - closing date is 25th September.

Here at RSPCA Assured we know it's a cliche but no two days are the same, as a Strategic Retail Manager, we've added a short summary of what a typical day might look like, for a full insight please refer to the attached job description.

• Leading the development and delivery of strategic initiatives with a small number of key retail partners.
• Acting as the main point of contact for high-impact retail initiatives, ensuring they progress on time and deliver strong welfare and commercial outcomes.
• Working closely with colleagues across RSPCA RSPCA Assured teams – including Commercial Planning, Certification & Assurance, and Farm Engagement – to ensure supply chains are aligned and ready to support change.
• Identifying risks, market shifts, or resource gaps that could affect initiative success and finding solutions.
• Analysing and reporting on the welfare and commercial impact of initiatives, ensuring we continually improve.

• Experience working in a commercial, retail, or FMCG environment, ideally in supply chain, category management, or strategic account roles.
• Knowledge of the UK retail sector and supplier engagement.
• A strong track record of delivering projects or partnerships with measurable outcomes.
• Excellent project management and stakeholder engagement skills.
• The ability to communicate confidently and clearly with senior stakeholders.
• Comfort with performance metrics and data to support decision-making.
• A collaborative mindset and the resilience to thrive in a dynamic, evolving environment.
• Above all, deep alignment with the mission and values of RSPCA Assured.
  
  

• It would be great if you also bring:

  • Experience in the food or farming sector, especially around certification or ethical sourcing.
  • An understanding of farm animal welfare or assurance schemes.
  • Familiarity with Salesforce or similar CRM/project tracking tools.

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK - We are unable to sponsor visas at RSPCA

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible

We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed  to our mission.  For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family! 

Should you need any support with your application or interview process please contact resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk / 0300 123 0685.

Our mission is to ensure animals have a good life by rescuing and caring for those in need, by advocating on behalf of all animals and by inspiring everyone to treat them with compassion and respect