Head of Merchant Excellence

Join us in our mission to transform the way people shop and eat, where impact, innovation, and growth drive everything we do. Our Merchant Excellence team sits at the heart of Deliveroo’s marketplace—ensuring our restaurant and retail partners receive world-class support and seamless operational experiences. If you are a seasoned operations leader who thrives in complex, high-stakes environments and enjoys influencing global product and policy, this is the role for you.

We’re looking for a Head of Merchant Excellence to join our Merchant Leadership team. Based in our Manchester office with a hybrid work pattern (3 days in-office), you will be responsible for the strategic direction and performance of a c.80-person global operation across the UK and Italy.

What You’ll Be Doing

You will be the architect of our partner support strategy, moving between high-level executive discussions and granular operational performance management.

• Strategic Architecture: Recommend and own the global strategy for Partner Operations, including site selection and the balance between in-house and outsourced (BPO) solutions.

• Product & Tech Influence: Partner with Product and Technology teams to shape the future roadmap. You will provide the "voice of the merchant," identifying agent pain points and advocating for self-service vs. agent-led channel strategies.

• Operational Leadership: Set and achieve department-level targets for a team of c.80 colleagues. You will design the frameworks that ensure functional managers and vendors are held accountable to world-class KPIs.

• Stakeholder Management: Act as a trusted advisor to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and C-suite. You will lead deep dives into operational issues and present clear, data-driven solutions to complex problems.

• Culture & People Development: Foster a high-performance culture inclusive of experimentation and continuous learning. You will manage performance, drive employee satisfaction initiatives (Peakon), and mentor the next generation of Deliveroo leaders.

• Relentless Improvement: Surface operational friction and influence stakeholders across Product, Legal, and Finance to address root causes.

• On-Call Support: Participate in a 24/7 on-call rota for approximately 2 weeks per quarter to ensure our marketplace remains resilient.

What You’ll Need to Thrive

Our ideal candidate is a "detailed and action-oriented" leader with a heavy background in scaling complex operations:

• Scale Experience: Significant leadership experience in a large-scale, international contact centre or operational environment.

• Strategic Influence: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to build trust with local market senior management and global Exec stakeholders.

• Operational Rigor: A proven track record of building and scaling customer care organisations in fast-paced, consumer-facing tech businesses.

• Technical Savvy: Proficiency in CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and solid analytical skills (Excel pivot tables, INDEX MATCH). SQL skills are a major plus.

• People Management: Experience managing "managers of managers," implementing performance initiatives, and driving engagement across multi-site setups.

• Communication: Ability to write concise project documents that bridge the gap between technical operations and executive strategy.

Why Join Us?

At Deliveroo, you’ll solve some of the most interesting questions in the tech-logistics space. Working here you can expect to:

• 🚀 Make a Visible Impact: Your strategy directly affects the success of thousands of merchants across the globe.

• 🌱 Fast-Track Progression: As a member of the Merchant Leadership team, you are at the forefront of the company’s strategic growth.

• 🧠 Autonomy and Ownership: We move fast and empower our leaders to take accountability for their own departments.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At Deliveroo, we know that a great workplace reflects the world around us and that true diversity and inclusion make us stronger, more creative, and better at what we do. We’re committed to fostering an environment where everyone can do their best work and feel they belong.

We believe in equality of opportunity and welcome candidates from all backgrounds regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion, or belief.

If you have a disability or long-term health condition and need support to apply for one of our roles, or require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, you’ll have the opportunity to let us know once you’ve submitted your application. We’ll share details on how to request support so we can ensure you have a fair and equitable experience.

If you’re excited about making a real impact in a fast-moving marketplace and growing your career alongside ambitious, supportive teams, we’d love to hear from you!