Lead Area Manager Healthcare - NorthHead Office

The Healthcare Lead Area Manager – North Division is a field‑based leadership role responsible for driving commercial performance, operational excellence, and regulatory compliance across Asda’s Optical and Pharmacy departments within the North division.

The role leads and develops a team of Area Managers, with overall accountability for 60 Optical departments and 84 Pharmacies across all devolved nations. Working closely with the Head of Field Operations, the postholder will play a critical role in shaping and delivering the healthcare strategy, ensuring consistent execution of operational change, and embedding a strong performance and compliance culture.

This role requires exceptional relationship‑building skills to work effectively with Home Office teams, retail stakeholders, and store leadership, alongside a strong coaching presence in stores. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong commercial acumen, data‑led decision‑making, and an appetite to continually learn and develop within GPhC and GOC contractual frameworks.

Leadership & People Development

  • Lead, coach, and inspire a team of Area Managers, ensuring strong capability, engagement, and succession planning across the North division.

  • Maintain a visible, field‑based presence to support Area Managers in their store environments, providing effective coaching, feedback, and performance management.

  • Foster a high‑performance culture aligned to Asda’s values, focusing on accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Commercial & Operational Performance

  • Drive the commercial agenda across Optical and Pharmacy, ensuring delivery of all Key Result Areas (KRAs) including sales, profitability, productivity, and customer outcomes.

  • Analyse performance data and insights to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, translating analysis into clear actions for Area Managers and stores.

  • Ensure consistent execution of operational standards and best practice across all departments within the North division.

Compliance, Governance & Risk

  • Maintain robust compliance with GPhC and GOC contractual and regulatory requirements, ensuring safe, effective, and compliant healthcare services.

  • Support Area Managers in managing regulatory inspections, audits, and improvement plans, embedding a strong culture of governance and patient safety.

  • Demonstrate a proactive approach to learning and development within regulated healthcare environments.

Strategy & Change Delivery

  • Support the Head of Field Operations in shaping the Healthcare strategy for the North division, contributing insight from field operations and performance data.

  • Lead the implementation of all operational change initiatives across the division, ensuring clarity, consistency, and pace of execution.

  • Act as a change leader, ensuring Area Managers and store teams are fully engaged and supported through periods of transformation.

Stakeholder Management

  • Build strong, credible relationships with key Home Office functions, retail leadership teams, and wider healthcare stakeholders.

  • Act as a trusted partner to store leadership, ensuring alignment between healthcare, retail operations, and commercial priorities.

  • Represent the North division professionally within cross‑functional forums and senior leadership discussions.

Key Skills & Capabilities

  • Proven field leadership experience within a multi‑site retail or healthcare environment

  • Strong commercial acumen with the ability to interpret and act on complex performance data

  • Excellent coaching, influencing, and stakeholder management skills

  • Experience operating within regulated environments (or a strong appetite to learn within GPhC/GOC frameworks)

  • Ability to lead large‑scale operational change with pace and discipline

  • Highly organised, resilient, and comfortable working in a geographically dispersed, field‑based role

Everything you'll love

To ensure we balance moments where we know we need to collaborate together and the need for flexibility, Asda has a hybrid way of working with a minimum 3 days a week in one of our Home Offices. Over and above this, each area of Asda may have additional requirements which may require spending more days in the office, visiting suppliers, stores or depots.

You will also get an excellent benefits package including:

  • Discretionary company bonus

  • Company pension up to 7% matched

  • Company Car allowance of £5,700

  • 15% colleague discount in store and online

  • Free access to wellbeing services such as Stream, 24/7 virtual GP, counselling, health and dental cash plans and a 24/7 employee assistance helpline, alongside discounts across a range of services and activities, from airport parking, enhanced to theme parks and cinemas.

  • Asda Allies Inclusion Networks – helping colleagues to make sure everybody is included and that our differences are recognised and celebrated

  • Excellent parental leave policies, including maternity & adoption leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave, and support for those doing fertility treatments.

We want all colleagues to be able to bring their best and true selves to work, every day. Simply put, we want our colleagues to be Proud to be Asda and proud to be themselves

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Rewards and Recognition

Benefits you’ll only find here

10% off Asda pet insurance

10% off selected Asda Pharmacy services

10% off Asda Tyres

10% off Asda Travel insurance

20% off Asda Mobile bundles

Free remote GP service

Available to you, your partner and your children, 24/7, year round.

Pension

Save for retirement with contributions paid into your pension account by you and Asda.

Free physiotherapy consultations

Helping you and your partner take care of yourselves with 8 free sessions per year.

Colleague discounts

15% off at our stores - get discounts on groceries and George all year round.

Car cash allowance

Eligible colleagues will receive a cash allowance as part of their benefits package. In addition, all salaried colleagues can choose to register for the Salary Sacrifice Electric Car scheme*.

(*Conditions apply)

Mortgage advice

Whether you’re a first-time buyer, renewing your mortgage, looking at buy to lets, or simply after some advice in getting a mortgage, get free* unbiased advice through the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), one the UKs largest mortgage brokers.

Confidential support helpline

Find free emotional, practical, and financial support that’s fully confidential, through a helpline that’s available 24/7, year round.

Cycle to work

Buy a bike through this scheme and save on tax and national insurance.

Financial support

Find financial wellbeing tools and support, including the ability to stream your pay.

Free eye tests

Head to our in store opticians for a free checkup and take care of your vision.

Bonus

Sharing our success with a discretionary bonus scheme for salaried colleagues that really rewards your contributions.

Cancer support

Guidance and support for you and your family, from before diagnosis, to treatment and beyond.

Paid time off

From holiday to sick leave and other types of leave, such as parental leave.

Mental health support

Access free mental health support for you and your family.

Support and advice with care

If you’re supporting older family or friends with care and support, find free, confidential information, expert support, and guidance about later life care for your loved ones through the Legal & General Care Concierge service.

Hybrid working

To ensure we balance moments where we know we need to collaborate together and the need for flexibility, Asda has a hybrid way of working with a minimum 3 days a week in one of our Home Offices. Each area of Asda may have additional requirements which may require spending more days in the office, visiting suppliers, stores or depots

Save money on every day spends

Access to hundreds of high-street discounted Vouchers, discounts on days out, gym memberships, airport parking, and more

Setting your loved ones up for the future

As part of the team, you’ll get life assurance.

Guaranteed contracted hours

All colleagues are guaranteed weekly contracted hours / guaranteed weekly shifts via their contract of employment which is agreed with the hiring manager.

Holiday buying

Once a year our salaried colleagues are able to buy up to 5 additional days holiday via salary sacrifice (subject to eligibility).

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Our commitment to the Armed Forces

Here at Asda, we’re dedicated to helping the Armed Forces rediscover their everything after service. We guarantee interviews for people who have left service and meet the minimum criteria for a role, provide leave for reservists’ training, support for cadet training, and employment opportunities for their partners. And that’s why we have over a thousand new colleagues from the Armed Forces Service Leaver Community join us every year.

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Head Office roles

Thinking bigger, looking forwards, and always asking what’s next, Our Head Office teams aren’t afraid to challenge how we think, and embrace fresh perspectives, experiences, and change – all to keep us growing.

Discover our Head Office departments
If you're looking for a new opportunity and you want a challenge within a fast-paced environment with great culture then a role at Asda would be ideal for you.

Polly,

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The flexibility is great, I can attend school events like sports days and I can go for my morning run when I'm working from home and in the office as they have showers.

Tom,

Seasonal Packaging Design Specialist

The role is really varied and diverse. You get involved in so many different things! Everyone is so supportive and really cares about your personal development.

Hayley,

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Work where it works

Here at Asda, we think that the best way to work is to do it where it works best. That’s why all of our teams who are able to work from home, work with each other to figure out a pattern that works for you all, and the business needs. So you can get the most out of work, whether that’s at home, the office, or both.

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