Social Supermarkets Team Lead

Ko wai mātou – About us   

Kia ora. We’re Foodies. You know Gilmours, New World, PAK’nSAVE, and Four Square, right? That’s us!

With more than 320 stores and over 27,000 Foodies across Te Ika-a-Māui, Foodstuffs North Island is a co-operative proudly owned by our Members. Our purpose is simple – making sure New Zealanders get more out of life, and we’re driven by our aspiration to be one of New Zealand’s most customer-driven and productive retailers.

Te Tūranga – About the role

This is a meaningful leadership opportunity to shape the future of our Social Supermarkets programme and grow its impact across the North Island. 

You’ll lead a future-focused, values-driven team responsible for developing, delivering and continuously improving the programme.

Working across community organisations, stores, suppliers, government agencies and Foodstuffs teams, you’ll help create sustainable Social Supermarkets that give whānau experiencing food insecurity access to healthy and affordable food in a dignified, supermarket-style environment. 

You’ll be accountable for the programme’s strategic direction, operational performance and long-term sustainability, while ensuring strong partner outcomes and measurable social impact. 

In this role, you’ll: 

• Own the strategy, roadmap and ongoing development of the Social Supermarkets programme. 

• Lead the delivery and sustainable operation of new and existing Social Supermarkets across the North Island. 

• Build influential partnerships with community organisations, stores, suppliers, government agencies and internal stakeholders. 

• Strengthen programme governance, performance reporting and risk management. 

• Continuously improve the operating model, standards, frameworks and partner support approach. 

• Lead and develop the Social Supermarkets team, building capability, accountability and engagement. 

• Champion the programme internally and externally, including with senior leaders, governance groups and media when required. 

He kōrero mōu – About you

You’re a strategic, action-oriented leader who cares deeply about creating positive social impact. You’re equally comfortable setting long-term direction, navigating complex stakeholder relationships and rolling up your sleeves to solve operational challenges. 

You’ll bring: 

• Demonstrated experience leading complex programmes, initiatives or partnerships involving multiple stakeholder groups. 

• Proven people leadership experience and the ability to build high-performing, engaged teams. 

• Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to balance long-term programme development with operational delivery. 

• Exceptional relationship-building and influencing skills, including working effectively without direct authority. 

• Strong governance, reporting, risk management, operational and commercial capability. 

• Experience developing operating models, frameworks or processes that deliver sustainable outcomes. 

• Confidence using data, insights and feedback to improve performance and decision-making. 

• Excellent communication and presentation skills, including experience engaging senior leaders, boards or governance groups. 

• The resilience, judgement and adaptability to thrive in an ambiguous and fast-moving environment. 

Ngā painga - What we offer   

We’re committed to providing awesome experiences for our people, including offering a range of benefits

• Free carparking - we’ve got over 1,000 carparks including EV plugs


• Southern Cross Healthcare Coverage


• Onsite café with subsidised meals, mini mart, 5% discount at our retail stores


• Flexible working options, a day off on your birthday, lots of fun on site activities


• Inhouse learning and development programmes and courses, flu vaccinations, and social network groups (we call them Tribes).

Experience awesome. Achieve awesome. Be awesomely you.

We’re proud to have a focus on Diversity & Inclusion here at Foodies and welcome courageous behaviour, encourage togetherness, inspire our people to be their best selves in our Foodies whānau.

We encourage you to apply with all your awesomeness and welcome your diverse background, including any disability, additional health and mental health needs, and/or neurodiversity.

If you require accessibility support to ensure you can fairly access our recruitment process, please reach out to  [email protected].  Accessibility support could include interview location, sign language interpreter, assistive technology.