Job Requisition ID: 167737
Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group's entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organisation to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.
By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day.
Overview of the role
The Head of Digital will be accountable for the entire Digital operations across all MENA regions to deliver sales and profit targets whilst providing market leading customer experience. The job holder is responsible for developing the current operation, landscape and spearheading growth whilst delivering service levels, meeting business objectives in line with budget and company business plan for the entire MENA region. The role holder is responsible for 7 x external Food 3rd Party relationships across the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and KSA which operate in over 20 stores, the M&S App across UAE, QA (Being developed) and KSA (Being developed), our C&H 3rd party external Partnerships in Egypt, KSA and the UAE and our Website which trades across the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and KSA.
The job holder will be responsible for the entire operation from strategy to process flow, improvement, technology and operations; including, but not limited to the commercial calendar, financial profitability, outsourcing, vendor selection, legal and performance of the sites in collaboration with the Digital MD. The individual will form part of the M&S leadership team and operate across the brand to ensure consistency, economies of scale and performance in each territory.
This position is critical to the success of the M&S MENA operations which include the overall business growth strategy in Foods, the clothing & home goals and the shift in customers shopping habits. This will be achieved through holding end to end P&L accountability and delivering best practice and experience.
The role is responsible for the stakeholder engagement with the Principle, the M&S department function leads, the central retail & digital team. Markets covered are UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, KSA with support to Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
What you will do: -
Description of Accountability:
Strategy & Business Development
xc2xb7 The role holder develops, builds and lead the Brands Digital Strategy and roadmap for business development
xc2xb7 Focused on expanding the brand presence, running profitable operations and following the group priorities
xc2xb7 Understanding the Digital trends across each region, remain relevant and ready to adopt and grow
xc2xb7 Constantly explore opportunities to drive customer experience, growth, loyalty and data
xc2xb7 Ability to recognise new opportunities in a retail environment to drive sales
xc2xb7 Build and develop the Digital team and structure; ready to adapt & deliver at pace
Trade & Operations
xc2xb7 Trade all platforms 7 countries across the MENA region (7 active market, 20 Stores active with Digital Presence with plans to cover entire estate)
xc2xb7 Ensure Merchandising excellence
xc2xb7 Deliver market specific solutions that drive locality and reward our customers
xc2xb7 Ensure the promotional and marketing activity drive sales across each BU, building loyalty
xc2xb7 Use the commercial calendar and BU strengths to ensure consistency, economies of scale and performance in each territory
xc2xb7 Scope, build and deliver the AFG platform; launching in the UAE & KSA
xc2xb7 Broaden our footprint through active participation with strategic partners: Build on Deliveroo/Talabat, Instashop introduction.
xc2xb7 Explore other 3rd party opportunities for clothing and drive Amazon proposition to deliver 3M additional sales (C&H)
xc2xb7 M&S Food App in Abu Dhabi & Qatar
xc2xb7 Digital first development: Store openings, 3rd parties, in-store process & experience
xc2xb7 Drive engagement and awareness of digital channels and business development throughout our territories through training, development and continuous improvement
xc2xb7 Drive customer engagement and feedback through NPS/VOC in each region
Financial and Business Planning
xc2xb7 Manage stakeholders effectively with Retail Operations, Merchandising & Buying and Group Logistics to deliver KPI'S in line with the sales plan and budgeted costs
xc2xb7 Build and deliver annual budget in line with business plan
xc2xb7 Budgets are as below:
o Flagship C&H Website
o AFG C&H Website
o Food App Qatar
o Food App UAE
o 3rd Party Foods
o 3rd Party C&H
xc2xb7 Conduct feasibility study on new markets to understand requirements to achieve the margin.
xc2xb7 Projects:
o M&S Platform Migration
o Qatar Food App
o RFID
o Egypt presence
o Identify and deliver new initiatives
People
xc2xb7 Work with HRBP to deliver targeted people solutions to create employee engagement, compliance to HR Policies and local legislation
xc2xb7 Set up succession plans to sustain continuity and development
xc2xb7 Maintain a training and development program with HR to ensure the team have relevant training in place from induction to up-skilling training.
xc2xb7 Role model M&S and AL Futtaim Leadership Competencies and Way behaviours as a Senior leader
xc2xb7 Build, coach and develop the team across each region ensuring the talent pipeline
xc2xb7 Ensure clear goals and accountabilities are set and communicated to the team
xc2xb7 Drive a Digital as usual mindset across the business
Corporate and Brand
xc2xb7 Promote Brand and Corporate Values throughout the Digital team and the ways of working with M&S, stores, operations and depending functions within Al Futtaim
xc2xb7 Ensure compliance with all relevant legislation, regulation and corporate governance practices
xc2xb7 Works in partnership M&S UK to develop best practices and maintain a good working relationship
xc2xb7 Regularly and proactively communicates with M&S brand principle to establish and maintain a good working relationship and partnership.
xc2xb7 Work with M&S principle to resolve issues and deliver opportunities for driving availability at lower
Required Skills to be successful:

• Proven track record of success in managing end to end digital operations to budget and timeline
• Strong working knowledge across digital ecosystems including back end business integration
• Stakeholder management and engagement
• Up-to-date knowledge of the latest trends and best practices in Digital within the retail industry.
• Experience in managing and driving multiple teams in different locations
• Motivated and can deliver Financial Budget and Key Performance Indicators
• Understanding of customer research and the ability to amend the range to reflect customer requirements and feedback
• Strong Leadership and people management skills
• Excellent time management skills with the ability to multi-task
• Fact based, assertive and respectful
• Strong problem identification, resolution & conflict management skills.
• High level of motivation, enthusiasm and persistence.
• Ability to be a change agent within the organisation.
• Customer centricity and individual Accountability
• Continuous Improvement
• Motivated and can deliver Financial Budget and Key Performance Indicators
• Competent is using MSOffice Tools, SAP or similar ERP pack
• Demonstrated experience in leading and executing complex supply chain operations in a multi country environment
• Strong presentation and communication skills to deliver information, results and coordination among different parties

What equips you for the role:

• Bachelor Degree with similar background 7-10 years work experience in multichannel retail environment
• Experience managing all aspects of Digital including Trade, commercial, training and development, procedural creation and ownership and the daily management of the operations.
• Building roadmap & Strategy
• P&L Accountability
• Highly analytical person with great precision and attention to detail
• Problem solving

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