We are hiring a Head of Redemption to join our Team on a 2 year fixed term basis to support and lead our Redemption Strategy.
The Head of Redemption is accountable for designing, delivering and optimising a national redemption strategy that increases return rates across all consumer segments and geographies. This role blends strategic planning, project management, partner mobilisation, and data-driven performance improvement.
You will work closely with retailers, reverse vending machine (RVM) operators, logistics, producers, community organisations, local authorities and government stakeholders to remove barriers to redemption and improve consumer experience.
You will own the redemption performance plan end-to-end—from diagnosing friction points through to piloting interventions, scaling what works, and maintaining governance, measurement and reporting to demonstrate progress against national targets.
What You’ll Achieve:
The role will typically be measured on outcomes such as:
National redemption rate achieved vs targets (monthly/quarterly/annually)
Regional and segment improvement (closing gaps in underperforming areas and customer groups).
Retail coverage and readiness metrics (active sites, capacity, uptime, accessibility).
Consumer experience indicators (wait times, satisfaction feedback, complaints/issue resolution times).
Operational effectiveness (RVM uptime, collection frequency adherence, rejection rates).
Delivery of initiative roadmap (on-time/on-budget delivery, quantified impact of pilots scaled nationally).
What you’ll do:
National Redemption Strategy & Performance Delivery
Develop and own a multi-year redemption growth strategy aligned to national DRS targets and organisational objectives.
Translate strategy into a clear annual operating plan with initiatives, milestones, budgets, resourcing and measurable outcomes.
Monitor national redemption performance (weekly/monthly/yearly), target underperforming segments/regions, and deploy bespoke action plans.
Lead performance reviews with internal teams and external partners to drive continuous improvement and rapid issue resolution.
Initiative Generation & Optimisation (Innovation + Continuous Improvement)
Build an “initiative pipeline” to improve redemption rates, e.g.:
consumer convenience interventions,
retailer enablement supports (training, operational toolkits, incentives),
targeted programmes for rural/urban variance, tourism peaks, campuses, events, and high-footfall locations,
accessibility improvements for older adults and people with disabilities.
Design pilots with clear hypotheses, success metrics and evaluation plans; scale proven initiatives nationally.
Apply Lean/continuous improvement methods to reduce friction in the end-to-end redemption journey.
Programme & Project Management
Lead a portfolio of redemption improvement projects with robust governance, risk management and reporting.
Establish clear project charters, plans, RAID logs, and delivery cadence; ensure dependencies are managed across teams.
Manage external agencies and vendors (research, communications, operational support) to deliver to time, cost and quality.
Data, Insights & Reporting
Build a comprehensive redemption insights framework: consumer behaviour, drop-off points, retailer performance drivers, geographic variance, peak-time patterns, operational downtime impacts, etc.
Define and track KPIs and service-level measures, turning insight into action.
Provide clear reporting to executive leadership, Board/steering committees and relevant stakeholders, with recommendations and next steps.
Consumer Experience & Service Standards
Champion the consumer experience: convenience, clarity, accessibility, and reliability.
Partner with Operations and Marketing to reduce confusion and improve consistency of messaging, signage, and user guidance.
Drive improvements that reduce operational pain points (e.g., machine downtime, queues, contamination, site constraints).
Who Are you?
You’re a strategic & commercial thinker: balancing consumer outcomes, retailer practicality, and cost-effective delivery.
You’re delivery focused: setting a clear plan, driving pace, removing blockers, and ensuring measurable impact.
You can influence & negotiation: building alignment and shared accountability across diverse stakeholder groups.
You’ve analytical judgement: using data and insight to prioritise interventions and evaluate results.
Consumer-first mindset: relentlessly improving accessibility, convenience and service reliability.
You’re resilient & adaptable: thriving in public-facing, high-scrutiny environments and managing competing priorities.
Essential
Significant experience (typically 8+ years) in programme leadership, operations transformation, service delivery, regulatory/compliance environments, or consumer-facing national initiatives.
Proven track record of improving performance against measurable targets at scale (national/regional, multi-site, multi-partner).
Strong stakeholder engagement experience, including influencing senior leaders and coordinating across multiple organisations.
Demonstrated capability in project management (portfolio delivery, governance, risks, budgets, vendor management).
Highly data-literate: ability to interpret performance data, identify drivers, and convert insight into interventions.
Excellent communication skills—able to explain complex operational issues clearly and mobilise action.
Full clean drivers licence is essential
Desirable
Experience in circular economy, waste management, recycling, FMCG, retail operations, logistics, or infrastructure rollouts.
Behaviour change / consumer campaign experience, including trial design and evaluation.
Familiarity with service-level frameworks, operational KPIs, and continuous improvement methodologies (Lean/Six Sigma).
Relevant professional qualifications (e.g., PRINCE2, PMP, Agile, Lean, Business/Engineering/Environmental degree).
About our benefits
We offer a competitive salary and benefits packaging which includes:
23 days’ holidayplus 2 company days (Good Friday & Christmas Eve) plus 10 bank holidays
Hybrid working: we operate a hybrid working arrangement with 2 days home working permitted per week (1 to be a Friday)
Flexible working: 37 hour week with core times Monday to Thursday 08:45 to 15:45 & Friday 08:45 to 12:45
MyFutureFund pension scheme 1.5% employee matched by 1.5% employer contribution
Laya Well-being portal & Employee Assistance Programme
Parking on site
Subsidised Canteen
We are an equal opportunities employer and happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments that may be needed for successful candidates.
Closing Date:
10th July 2026