Role Purpose:

Here at Fortnum’s, we have been in the business of making joy – for our customers, our people and our connected communities – for over 300 years. Our challenge now is to define a new future, building on this rich history by taking inspiration from our heritage, alongside new trends and innovations.

The Strategy & Portfolio team is a small team (comprising our Head of Strategy and this Strategy Manager role), reporting directly into the CEO. The team are right at the heart of Fortnum & Mason’s strategic thinking and prioritisation; they facilitate the development, communication and ongoing monitoring of company strategy, whilst also supporting the development and governance of the company’s investment portfolio, helping to maximise the alignment of programmes and projects with broader strategic goals.

The Strategy Manager will play a critical role in Fortnum & Mason’s ongoing evolution, working in close partnership with the Executive Team and the wider business. There is lots of varied work to get involved with and there are good opportunities for future progression (in time to the Head of Strategy role, or to roles within the wider business).

Reports to: 

Head of Strategy

Key interfaces:

CEO, CFO, broader Executive Team, Management Group, and all other Business Functions

Key Accountabilities:

• Facilitate the development of company strategy.
• Work with the Executive Team and wider business on priority strategic projects.
• Work with Commercial Finance to assess the financial merits of potential priorities. In addition, conduct internal / external analysis (including customer insight) to help assess and validate potential priorities, enabling the Executive Team to make informed decisions.
• Help to translate agreed strategic priorities into a clear plan.
• Support communication of agreed strategy to the broader business.
• Provide analysis and updates on key strategic KPIs to the Board, Executive Team and wider business to highlight progress and risks.
• Partner with team members to support execution of key initiatives across the business.
• Support Executive Team members / Business Sponsors to develop high quality business cases for agreed strategic priorities.
• Help facilitate the process to build, prioritise and communicate the strategic investment portfolio.
• Help manage and refine the process for ongoing governance of the strategic investment portfolio (including any ‘stage gates’ and business case approvals).
• Help shape strategic projects, plans and roadmaps. Provide challenge and counsel to ensure that projects reflect organisational strategic priorities.
• Support with regular updates to Executive Team, Business Sponsors and the wider business as to the status of strategic projects (including any key risks to cost, scope or timing).

Role Specific Criteria

(Experience / Behaviours / Technical Ability)

We expect the successful candidate to have the following skills and experience:

‘Essential’

• Experience in developing, analysing and monitoring strategy. You may have had some experience in Strategy consulting and/or you may have honed your skills in-house.
• Strong quantitative, analytical, critical thinking and presentation skills, including the ability to evaluate, interpret and summarise data to help recommend future opportunities.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly and with impact to a range of audiences.
• Ability to work collaboratively across multiple teams and to build credibility and influence amongst a broad set of stakeholders.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity and to help provide objective advice, based on the best available evidence and analysis.
• And, perhaps most importantly, a positive, proactive, flexible and hands-on approach to work, with a willingness to take on a broad range of tasks, prioritising based on what is most critical.

‘Desirable’

• Knowledge of (and ideally some experience using) programme management techniques.
• Experience in supporting business case development and (ideally) in managing the governance of investment decisions.
• Ability to identify and summarise they key risks within projects / programmes and to articulate the potential impact of these.
• Experience working with Finance teams to build and assess detailed business cases.
• Experience within the Retail sector and/or the Luxury sector and a solid understanding of the key trends within these sectors.

We are committed to developing your career and nurturing your talent, regardless of age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation. We respect and embrace each other’s differences, to create a truly inclusive environment. In the last year alone, our people have been recognised and celebrated, winning awards for their outstanding contributions to Retail, Technology, Global Hospitality & Tourism, Visual Merchandising & Display, Customer Service and Local Community Awards.

In return, we offer:

• A competitive salary
• A generous store and restaurant discount of up to 40%
• 25 days holidays pro rata (excluded bank holidays) and an extra day off for your birthday
• A fantastic subsidised staff restaurant which uses Fortnum’s ingredients
• A range of opportunities to develop and grow personally and professionally
• Excellent pension scheme