Retail Development Officer

Retail Development Officer

Harrogate, with regular travel across Yorkshire.

We offer hybrid working and we are committed to paying the Real Living Wage.

About Us

Yorkshire is one of the regions hardest hit by cancer. Together, we can change this.

Yorkshire Cancer Research is a charity dedicated to funding research so that you and those you love live longer healthier lives, free of cancer.

Thanks to supporters, the charity funds vital cancer research and pioneers innovative new services for people with cancer. These life-giving medical breakthroughs are helping more people survive cancer – in Yorkshire, and beyond.

As an inclusive employer, our aim is to ensure our workforce reflects the rich diversity of our region. We believe a diverse workforce is vital to us taking action to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer more effectively in Yorkshire. We offer equal opportunities regardless of race, religion or belief, age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnerships.

The Benefits

We offer all employees a wide range of benefits including an enhanced contributory pension scheme, 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays (increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service), flexible working arrangements, private medical insurance, enhanced maternity leave, career progression, learning and development, wellbeing initiatives, offices within walking distance of Hornbeam Park train station, free onsite parking and a whole lot more.

We’ve got a strong set of values that inform everything we do and we’re looking for people who are aligned with these. As our Retail Developement Officer, you will put people in Yorkshire at the heart of everything you do, unite with colleagues and other organisations in this cause, and dare to think big and bold to make positive solutions happen.

The Role

Reporting to the Retail Development Manager, the Retail Development Officer will support with the continued growth and development of our retail network.

The role holder will actively support the Retail Development Manager to build, deliver, and implement a pipeline of new sites development in retail, including shops, cafes and superstores, Yorkshire Cancer Research Centres, and other retail related projects.

You will have responsibility of supporting the Retail Development Manager with market analysis and feasibility studies of potential new sites, contributing to the development of business cases, projects plans and delivery of these plans as well as contributing to compliance and ongoing maintenance and required improvements within the retail real estate. There will also be an opportunity for the role holder to inform future decision making through the delivery of business insight, KPI data and other metric reports relating to income.

Specifically, you will:

New Developments in Retail

• Support the Retail Development Manager in exploring and identifying the best locations for new shop openings, including market analysis, feasibility study, site visits, and site presentation.
• Assist in developing business cases for each new shop, ensuring they are financially viable and key decisions are documented.
• Support the development of project plans for shop openings, closures, and refits by ensuring suppliers, tradespeople and internal stakeholders are engaged and informed of key dates.
• Maintain and nurture relationships with appointed property agents to develop a pipeline of potential new shops.
• Support where possible the recruitment process for new shop managers and volunteers and ensure this is complete in time for each new shop opening.
• Work alongside the Retail Development Manager to identify new suppliers, ensuring they are suitable, competent, and aligned to our values.
• Work closely with the Facilities Manager to ensure new shops are in good condition and compliance documents are in place before being handed over to operate under business-as-usual activities.
• Work collaboratively with the Retail Area Manager, with regards to monitoring compliance with retail policies and procedures, as well as Health & Safety standards.
• Act as a visible leader in relation to all health and safety responsibilities, taking reasonable care for your own safety and the safety of others. Adhere to all Health & Safety requirements, processes and procedures.
• Assist as a contact for leasing and tenancy negotiations and discussions with relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Support the Retail Development Manager in developing and testing new income streams, processes, and systems before moving to business-as-usual activities.
• Undertake regular shop visits/shop floor inspections, directing and supporting the team to deliver creative and inspiring layouts, space planning and use of point of sale to ensure that each shop maximises its sales potential, and that the visual presentation of the shops represents the brand image of Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Retail Estate Development

• Support the Retail Development Manager, Retail Area Manager, Director of Retail & Operations, and Shop Managers in regularly reviewing our current retail estate, identifying maintenance and other improvements required.
• Assist in developing business cases for each project, ensuring they are financially viable and key decisions are documented.
• Support development of project plans for refurbishments and improvements by ensuring suppliers, tradespeople and internal stakeholders are engaged and informed of key dates.

Other duties:

• Support the development and execution of the ten-year Retail business strategy.
• Deliver key business insight to drive improvements through analysis.
• Provide regular KPI and metric reports on income to inform future decision making and planning.

About You

To be considered for this role, you will need:

• To be ideally educated to A Level or equivalent or able to demonstrate experience in a similar role at a similar level.
• To have evidence of continued professional development relevant to the role purpose and level.
• To ideally hold a Project Management Qualification : IE APM, PRINCE2
• To have experience of supporting in the delivery of multi-stakeholder projects
• To have excellent business acumen and an in-depth understanding of market trends
• To have experience of working cross functionally, both within an organisation and externally.
• To have experience of planning and implementing store openings.
• To be highly organised with good time management skills and the ability to prioritise own workload to meet deadlines.
• To have convincing and persuasive written, oral and presentation skills with the ability to present ideas and issues, clearly, and coherently to a wide range of audiences
• To have excellent IT skills with confident use of Microsoft Office packages including Word, Advanced Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. .

Application

Before applying, please visit our Careers Page to view the full role profile and find out more about working for Yorkshire Cancer Research.

To apply please submit a CV and cover letter outlining your suitability for the role to the recruitment team before 30th August 2025. Please read our privacy notice before applying.

Yorkshire Cancer Research is a responsible and flexible employer. We welcome any discussion for flexible working at the interview/offer stage where we will consider an individual’s circumstances against the needs of the charity.

We positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates from all backgrounds. If we can make any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact us via our website.

Please click on the apply button to access and view the full job role profile.