About the role
Permanent
From £55,000 + Pension + Private Medical + ShareSave + 6.6 weeks holiday + Hybrid Working
Southampton, Store Support Office
To lead and manage the Retail Talent Acquisition team in delivering strategic and operational recruitment services across the retail business. This role ensures consistent, high-quality hiring outcomes through effective leadership, talent strategy development, and execution of best-in-class hiring processes. The Retail TA Manager partners with senior stakeholders to proactively forecast hiring needs and drives continuous improvement in candidate experience, quality of hire, and time-to-hire.
Key responsibilities
- Lead, inspire, and develop a team of Retail Talent Acquisition Partners and Specialists to deliver against hiring goals. Conduct regular 1:1s, set performance objectives, and support team growth through coaching, mentoring, and development plans.
- Ensure consistent delivery of high-quality, end-to-end recruitment processes. Maintain oversight of volume hiring and retail management recruitment to ensure they meet agreed KPIs for time-to-hire, quality of hire, and candidate experience.
- Work in partnership with Retail and HR leaders to forecast hiring needs across all regions and formats.
- Translate workforce plans into effective talent acquisition strategies that align with business goals, seasonal peaks, new store openings and long-term growth plans.
- Drive the execution of diversity hiring initiatives and inclusive recruitment practices across the function.
- Provide recruitment leadership and resource support for business transformation, organisational design changes, or retail restructuring, ensuring minimal disruption and effective redeployment or hiring outcomes.
- Contribute to or lead projects within the wider Talent Acquisition or HR function, such as technology rollouts, assessment tool implementation, or workforce planning initiatives.
- Ensure compliance with all internal policies and external legislation relating to recruitment.
- Monitor recruitment metrics and regularly report insights to the Head of Talent Acquisition and HR leadership.
- Manage relationships with external agencies and vendors to ensure quality and cost efficiency.
- Identify and implement process improvements to enhance the candidate and hiring manager experience.
- Serve as the escalation point for complex or high-priority retail hiring issues or disputes.
Required skills & experience
- Proven leadership experience within a high-volume, multi-site recruitment environment (preferably in retail or similar sector).
- Strong track record of managing and developing recruitment teams.
- Strategic mindset with the ability to balance operational delivery.
- Ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders with credibility and commercial awareness.
- Deep understanding of the end-to-end recruitment lifecycle with a focus on improving hiring quality, reducing time-to-hire, and enhancing hiring manager and candidate experiences.
- Strong understanding of candidate markets, EVP, and sourcing trends.
- Strong understanding of retail structures, seasonal recruitment cycles, and frontline hiring challenges is highly advantageous.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present data and proposals clearly to a variety of audiences, including Director level stakeholders.
- Comfortable managing competing priorities in a fast-moving, high-volume environment while maintaining quality and stakeholder satisfaction.
- Proven ability to lead through change, streamline recruitment processes, and implement innovative practices, such as automation, to improve scalability and effectiveness.
What's in it for me?
As part of a great team, you’ll be valued for who you are. We’re committed to making B&Q more diverse and representative of the communities we serve, where everyone can feel they belong and have equal opportunities. You will have access to a range of networks that represent our colleagues and allies and help us to continue to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our business.
We also recognise that wellness means different things to different people, and we want to help colleagues be at their best and feel well by offering a range of benefits to help you. As well as a competitive salary, our benefits package includes an award-winning pension scheme, bonus, ShareSave options, 6.6 weeks holiday, payroll giving, an Employee Assistance Programme, shopping discounts, colleague wellbeing benefits and lots more!
So we can support you during the application or interview process, please contact recruitment@b-and-q.co.uk for any recruitment adjustments.
We want to ensure that all employees, future employees and applicants to all Kingfisher companies are treated equally regardless of age, gender, marital or civil partnership status, colour, ethnic or national origin, culture, religious belief, philosophical belief, political opinion, disability, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.
If you require any additional support or adjustments to help you make an application, please contact us at recruitment@b-and-q.co.uk.
Training &
development
Learn & Develop at B&Q
When you join B&Q, we want you to be all you can be. From the minute you walk through our doors to the exciting moment you make that next career move, we're here to help you make the most of every opportunity. Thanks to our friendly learning system, Leo, we make sure you always have the support you need to take on every challenge and fit your learning around your life. Here, we know that the best way to grow is together.
Flexible learning with Leo
Leo is your every day, on the go learning and development partner. Helping you build the knowledge you need now and in the future. With Leo, you can access training and content, anywhere, anytime and on any device. You can even influence the type of training on offer by rating and recommending content, and letting us know what we can do to improve. Award-winning and featuring over 150 different learning activities - like short videos, articles, workshops and webinars - think of Leo as your 24/7 training pal, designed to help you make the most of your B&Q career journey.
Developing in role
Learning never stops at B&Q. Whether you've been in your role for one day or five years, there's always something to be curious about. It's why we're always creating learning opportunities and experiences that'll give you the chance to develop your skills. Like our First Line Manager programme: a course that helps our newest line managers build their confidence and management skills. Or our Leadership Development programme that challenges our more experienced leaders to reflect on and adapt their approach for our ever-evolving ways of working.
Building expertise and know-how
We believe anyone can learn the technical skills to do their job with excellence. It's all about attitude and behaviour here. So, if you're passionate about customer service and design, we'll teach you how to create beautiful kitchens. If you're someone who loves being outdoors, we'll help you learn about our garden ranges. And, if you're someone who just loves what we do but doesn't know where to start, we'll help you find the perfect role for you to grow into.
Accelerated Development Talent Programmes
Whatever goal you're working to at B&Q, we want to help you get there. We do this by designing a number of programmes which help you to practice your skills and learn new ones, gain valuable experiences, learn from others and jump on opportunities that are right for you. From leaders taking their first steps into management to those simply looking for a new challenge, we're there to make sure you achieve your ambitions.
Induction
At B&Q, we want every new colleague to understand our values, our customers, and how we work together to achieve our purpose. That’s why we’ve designed an induction programme that’ll give you real insight into our business, our culture and help you feel included from day one. For your first few weeks on the job you’ll work with your team and line manager, mixing online learning with practical tasks, to grow your knowledge a little every day.
Explore our
store support office
Facilities
In B&Q house, you’ll enjoy an onsite gym, a subsidised Costa, a canteen and restaurant, prayer room, plus open plan and cosy work spaces, an outdoor picnic area, and bike sheds for those who cycle in.
Sustainability
B&Q House has a biomass boiler, solar panels and a rainwater harvesting system. Our building also makes use of upcycled and recycled furniture and fittings, and features natural ventilation, heat retention and CO2 management, all via our very own weather station on the roof.
Ready to apply?
Step 1:
Apply via bandqcareers.com
Step 2:
We'll contact you for a phone interview
Step 3:
We’ll carry out a face to face or online interview (and we may request a 2nd interview if the role you're applying for is more complex).
Step 4:
We’ll contact you with feedback, and maybe even a job offer.
Check out our FAQs for more information about interviewing at B&Q.