Vacancy Introduction

We are on a journey to become the East of England's most valuable organisation.  We are best known for our Food business, but we have a portfolio of other businesses including Funeral, Property, Stonemasonry and Travel.  We are looking for a Talent Acquisition and Development Leader that will lead the high-quality delivery of talent acquisition and development activities within our co-op, which places skills and people capabilities at the heart of our talent strategies.

It is an exciting time to be part of the East of England Coop and you could be part of our journey to become the East of England's most valuable organisation; we are ‘playing to win’ by focusing on, growing our business, widening our membership appeal, delivery of brilliant basics, and being a place for people to grow.

The role is based at our offices in Ipswich but is a hybrid-working position which will require you to balance time in our office and working from home (for which you will need a suitable workspace and broadband facilities) or from other sites.

Role Responsibility

Our Talent Acquisition and Development Leader will lead the development and implementation of Talent acquisition and development strategies alongside management of our recruitment activities and colleague development programmes.

You can learn more about this role within our job description which can be downloaded at the bottom of this webpage.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for a colleague who can:

• Lead, motivate and inspire a team, foster a positive work environment, and encourage teamwork and collaboration.
• Communicate, persuade and influence effectively with all levels of the organisation, and builds strong relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, and external partners.
• Determine goals and priorities, and to assess the actions, time and resources needed to achieve those goals.
• Establish the root cause of issues / opportunities for improvement; along with the ability to shape and design solutions alongside the expertise and input of others.
• Understand our business operations with the ability to align Talent strategies and initiatives with business goals.
• Demonstrate and apply an in-depth understanding of the latest talent acquisition and development trends, tools and technologies.
• Use data and analytical skills to identify opportunities for improvement and make informed decisions and recommendations.
• Use Microsoft software products such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.

Package Description

What’s in it for you

At the East of England Co-op, we strive to be the best place to work. We invest in our colleagues to help them to progress in their careers and achieve their full potential. How do we do this?  

• Competitive rates of pay
• 20% discount in our food stores, along with other discounts across our family of businesses
• 22 days holiday (plus bank holiday entitlement) which increases with service
• 5% employer pension contribution
• Death in service benefit
• Access to our colleague communications app, The Loop
• Enhanced* family leave and pay arrangements
• Opportunities to grow, with award-winning training and apprenticeship programmes
• Great deals and discounts across 100’s of high street and online retailers
• Financial wellbeing support, including Wagestream®

Check out the detail of all our colleague benefits here.

* Enhanced on statutory terms, subject to service criteria.

We recognise the challenges people face trying to balance commitments both in and out of the workplace -  perhaps studying, caring commitments, or other employment. We therefore aim to be as flexible as possible, to create shift patterns that work for both our co-op and our colleagues.

About the Company

The East of England Co-op is the largest independent retailer in East Anglia, with over 230 stores and branches across Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex.

Owned by over 260,000 members – including our colleagues – our vision is to be the most valued organisation in our region, by being a better kind of business and using our profit to make a positive impact on our communities.

Our Community Cares Fund provides hundreds of thousands of pounds to support groups and good causes, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing, food justice for all and creating community spaces. 

With a focus on environmental sustainability, we’re proud to have led the way on reducing food waste, being the first major retailer to sell food past its Best Before date for just 10p. 

At the East of England Co-op, we strive to be the best place to work. We invest in our colleagues to help them to progress in their careers and achieve their full potential, whether in food retail, funeral services, property investment, travel, security, stonemasonry, events, or our support functions. 

Find out more at www.eastofengland.coop

Our Recruitment Process

If this is the job for you, simply click ‘apply’. You will be required to register a profile on our careers page. To do this simply click apply. The good news is you’ll only have to register once – after this, it’ll be easier and quicker to apply for any roles in the future too.

Please note that our working patterns are non-contractual. The advertised working pattern represents the normal working pattern for the role at time of advertisement and is subject to change.

East of England Co-op