We are seeking a strategic and commercially astute Head of New Space to lead and shape the delivery of our ambitious store expansion programme across Ireland. This is a strategically critical, high-impact leadership role, responsible for driving national growth through the identification, acquisition, and end-to-end delivery of new retail locations — from major supermarkets to high-footfall convenience stores.

As a senior leader within the Property team, you will report directly to the Property Director and play a pivotal role in engaging with the Executive Leadership Team and PLC stakeholders, influencing investment decisions, and aligning expansion strategy with overall business objectives.

You will lead a high-performing internal team and a trusted network of external consultants, while maintaining full accountability for planning, governance, risk, commercial delivery, and stakeholder engagement across all phases of development.

Strategic Leadership & Expansion Planning

• Define and deliver thestrategic growth roadmap for new store development across the Republic of Ireland
• Develop and maintain arobust new space pipeline aligned with business priorities and long-term objectives.
• Lead cross-functional alignment with Commercial, Finance, Retail Operations, and wider leadership teams.
• Present investment proposals and development updates to the Executive Team and PLC Board as required.

Executive & Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as theprimary property lead for senior internal stakeholders and PLC representatives.
• Build and manage strong relationships with local authorities, planning bodies, agents, developers, and legal partners.
• Champion transparent, proactive communication to ensure strategic alignment and stakeholder confidence throughout the development lifecycle.

Leadership & Team Development

• Build, lead, and develop ahigh-performance team spanning site acquisition, planning, and construction.
• Foster a culture ofownership, pace, and continuous improvement, ensuring delivery excellence and team engagement.
• Provide hands-on leadership and strategic direction to direct reports and project leads.

Planning, Development & Delivery Oversight

• Oversee all phases of development: site identification, due diligence, legal, planning, pre-construction, and build.
• Manage third-party consultants including architects, engineers, contractors, planners, and project managers.
• Ensure timely, efficient, and commercially sound delivery of new stores through effective planning and risk mitigation.

Governance, Commercial Management & Reporting

• Lead the development of compellingbusiness cases and investment proposals for new sites.
• Monitor pipeline performance against key metrics:cost, timeline, ROI, and delivery risk.
• Ensure adherence to all relevant planning, environmental, accessibility, and building control regulations.
• Stay ahead of market dynamics, competitor activity, and regulatory developments to maintain a competitive advantage.

Experience

• 8–10+ years of relevant experience in retail property development, site acquisition, or capital projects within Ireland.
• Demonstrated success delivering large-scale, multi-site expansion programmes, ideally in grocery, convenience, or retail.
• Deep understanding of planning processes, legal frameworks, and development lifecycles within the Irish market.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage external networks across acquisition, planning, legal, and construction.

Skills & Attributes

• Inspirational leadership with a people-first approach.
• Strong commercial and strategic acumen, with the ability to influence Board-level decisions.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Confident decision-maker with the ability to navigate complexity and drive results under pressure.
• High standards of professionalism, discretion, and integrity.

Qualifications

• Degree in Real Estate, Planning, Construction, Surveying, or a related discipline.
• Chartered status (e.g. SCSI, RICS) desirable but not essential.
• Full clean Irish or EU driving licence and flexibility to travel across ROI and NI.

Our vision at Tesco is to become every customer’s favourite way to shop, whether they are at home or out on the move. Our core purpose is “Serving our customers, communities and planet a little better every day”. Serving means more than a transactional relationship with our customers. It means acting as a responsible and sustainable business for all stakeholders, for the communities we are part of, and for the planet. Through initiatives like the Tesco Community Fund, our association with Children’s Health Foundation, our partnership with FoodCloud and our Stronger Starts programme, we have supported over 21,000 community groups, raised over €7.5 million for medical equipment, and provided almost 15 million meals nationwide, to those living in food insecurity.

Tesco has operated in the Irish retail market since 1997, and with 170 stores nationwide, we employ over 13,000 people in cities and towns around Ireland, supporting almost 45,000 jobs directly and indirectly. We partner with over 500 Irish suppliers - of which almost three-quarters are small and medium enterprises - which in turn supports almost 13,000 farming families around Ireland. Tesco is the single largest buyer of Irish food and drink in the world, buying €1.6 Billion a year; more than any other single country in the European Union, more than even the USA which you perceive as a massive buyer of Irish food.

We work closely with suppliers across Ireland who are dedicated to making the best products for our customers and this is reflected in the numerous awards our products have won over the years including Blás Na hÉireann, World Steak Challenge and Great Taste Awards.

We are proud to have an inclusive culture at Tesco where everyone truly feels able to be themselves. It is embedded in our values: we treat people how they want to be treated. At Tesco, we not only celebrate diversity, but recognise the value and opportunity it brings. We always want our colleagues to feel they can be themselves at work and we are committed to helping them be at their best.

At Tesco, we champion a balance that lets you thrive both in and out of work. Spend 60% of your week collaborating with colleagues at our office locations or local sites and the rest remotely. Whether you're just kicking off your career, juggling passions, or navigating big life events, we're here to support you. We always welcome a conversation about flexible working, so talk to us throughout your application about how we can support.

We are building an inclusive workplace, a place to actively celebrate the cultures, personalities and preferences of our colleagues – who in turn help to build the success of our business and reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. We’ve taken steps to ensure our stores are places where everyone feels welcome to shop too, with colleagues all trained to support those with a visible or hidden disability through the Sunflower Lanyard programme.

We’re a big business with diverse working patterns and many business areas which means that we can find something that works for you.

Tesco is committed to celebrating diversity and everyone is welcome at Tesco. We're committed to providing a fully inclusive recruitment process, allowing candidates the opportunity to thrive and inform us of any reasonable adjustments they may require. For further information on the accessibility support we can offer, please click http://roi.tesco-careers.com/accessibility/

How can I let Tesco know I need additional support?

Please let us know you need additional support by emailing tescoireland.recruitment@tesco.ie

This will allow us to understand more about you and how we can best support you through the recruitment process.