Head of Program Management

At Rituals, we believe our store teams are at the heart of creating meaningful moments for our customers. To empower them, we are looking for a Head of Program Team & Retail Operations Programs who will design and lead global training initiatives that ensure every colleague from store teams to retail leaders feels confident, equipped, and inspired to deliver operational excellence and exceptional customer experience.

This is a newly created senior leadership role where you will set the strategic direction for Retail Operations training globally, lead and develop a high-performing program team, and partner closely with senior Retail, HR, and Business Technology stakeholders to drive impact at scale.

You will:

• Lead & Inspire – Manage and develop a team of 4–5 Learning & Development professionals, building governance, frameworks, and ways of working that elevate how we design and deliver programs.
• Design & Deliver – Create scalable training programs for store operations, covering onboarding, systems & tools, compliance, and workforce management. Programs should be practical, high-quality, and tailored to different roles (store staff, managers, area managers).
• Collaborate & Influence – Act as a strategic partner to Retail leadership and cross-functional stakeholders, aligning program priorities with company goals while confidently managing demand and expectations.
• Innovate & Improve – Bring in fresh thinking, from blended learning to AI-enabled solutions, ensuring Rituals stays ahead in how we train and empower our frontline teams.
• Measure & Report – Define success metrics, monitor adoption and impact, and continuously improve programs based on data and feedback.

Low on ego, high on humour, you will use your leadership, program management, and stakeholder skills to make a global impact. Success means store teams feel trained and supported, programs are consistently adopted across all 22 markets with measurable business impact, governance is clear and effective, and the Program Team is united, high-performing, and recognised as a trusted partner.

To be successful, you will bring:

• Leadership & stakeholder management – Proven experience leading teams (5+ years in retail operations or training, 3+ years managing people), with the senior-level credibility to influence and challenge executive stakeholders.
• Global program delivery – A strong track record of designing and scaling training or operational programs across multiple markets (local-only experience will not be sufficient).
• Industry expertise – Background in retail, food & beverage, or hospitality, with a deep understanding of fast-paced, customer-facing environments.
• Innovation & future focus – Knowledge of blended learning, digital solutions, and ideally AI-enabled training approaches.
• Education & languages – A bachelor’s or master’s degree in a business-related field, fluency in English; other languages are a plus.

Please note, that only those candidates that reside in the Netherlands will be considered.

Grow with us! The next steps:

• Please apply via our career site
• Our recruiter, Frederik van Zeggeren, will contact you within 10 working days
• An introductory meeting with a team member and the hiring manager follows
• An online assessment and business case to prepare for the second interview
• A final interview
• In the event of a positive outcome, you will receive a proposal with the terms of employment

Questions? Please reach out to Recruitment via [email protected].

Note that applications via email are not considered.