Job Description

Project Management Lead - Trading Wholesale

Attractive Salary & Benefits

36.5 Hour week (Hybrid)

Newtownabbey

Who are we?

At Henderson Group, we are proud to be Northern Ireland’s leading foodservice provider. Our group encompasses Henderson Wholesale, Henderson Retail, Henderson Foodservice and Henderson Group Property. We employ over 6,000 staff and have been placed 5th in Ulster Business Top 100 Companies 2024.

We're a family-owned team that cares about our people and the community in which we live. Our leaders care about employees, and our employees succeed together and celebrate the success of others. We are interested in your aspirations, interests and skills and we strive to support and inspire you to do well.

A look into the role

Henderson Wholesale is a leading Wholesaler in Northern Ireland and supplies goods to over 500 stores across various brands such as SPAR, EUROSPAR and VIVO. We source from local farmers, growers and producers and are proud to contribute to our local economy and environment.

We achieved Gold accreditation against the Investors in People standard framework in 2023 in recognition of people management excellence and our commitment to investment in people.

The purpose of the role:

The Project Management Lead will partner with the Senior Manager to deliver Trading and business priorities through effective project delivery, improved operational efficiency, and strong cross-functional coordination.

The role ensures Trading efficiency KPIs (including efficiency days) are achieved by managing and delivering mid-level projects, overseeing structured intake, and driving execution across Digital, Pricing, QlikSense, and Master Data teams.

The postholder will lead priority initiatives, ensuring clear business cases, timely delivery, effective stakeholder communication, and strong business continuity for Trading operations.

Working as Project Management Lead you will:

Project & Portfolio Delivery

• Act as Business Lead for mid-level Trading projects, owning delivery from intake to benefits realisation.
• Develop business cases, project charters, scope, and success measures aligned to Trading strategy and operational priorities.
• Manage project intake and pipeline prioritisation, ensuring initiatives are assessed, sequenced, and scheduled effectively.
• Track delivery against milestones, risks, dependencies, and benefits, resolving blockers to maintain progress.

Operational Efficiency & KPI Ownership

• Drive improvements in Trading operational efficiency, ensuring efficiency day KPIs are met and evidenced.
• Translate business priorities into delivery plans that reduce manual effort, rework, and operational friction.
• Monitor post-delivery outcomes to confirm efficiency and performance benefits are realised.

Jira & Delivery Governance

• Act as Trading Jira Super User, owning task, project, and dependency tracking.
• Maintain accurate status reporting, timelines, and workload visibility across teams.
• Ensure adherence to delivery governance standards and consistent ways of working.

Cross-Functional Coordination & Execution

• Coordinate delivery across Digital, BI (QlikSense), Pricing, and Master Data teams.
• Define ownership, sequencing, and deadlines across workstreams.
• Act as central coordination point for all Trading project activity.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner with Events & Media to communicate project updates, milestones, and outcomes.
• Share key successes and delivery highlights from Trading initiatives.
• Provide clear, concise updates tailored to operational and senior stakeholders.

Business Continuity & Documentation

• Own Trading business continuity requirements relating to project and change activity.
• Ensure risks, dependencies, processes, and mitigations are clearly documented.
• Maintain up-to-date playbooks, process documentation, and communication plans to support operational resilience.

Skills for Success

Joining us as Project Management Lead the minimum criteria you’ll need is:

• Minimum one years’ experience leading business-driven projects within complex operational environments.
• Proven ability to deliver accurate, high-quality work under pressure and within tight deadlines.
• Strong knowledge of project governance (i.e Agile, Six sigma, Prince etc)
• Demonstrated track record of delivering operational efficiency improvements with measurable and tangible outcomes.
• Full, Clean UK/EU driving license

The Attributes you’ll need include:

• Strong team player, focused on shared success
• Confident leader when needed, providing clarity under pressure
• Strong problem-solver, able to identify root causes and practical solutions
• Builds trust and credibility with stakeholders
• Clear communicator and influencer, able to simplify complex information
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Highly organised, able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines
• Self-motivated, works independently and escalates appropriately
• Effective across multi-functional stakeholder groups

It is Desirable if you have:

• Experience within Trading, Commercial, Retail, Supply Chain, or Finance environments
• Exposure to process improvement, business change, or systems implementation initiatives
• Advanced Jira experience for managing projects, tasks, and dependencies.

Are we right for you?

As part of this role, it will be important that you feel aligned with the values that we live and work by.

Ambition – We always strive to be better. We seek new challenges and look for ways to do things better.

Customer First – We provide exceptional service. We put customers at the heart of everything and support our communities.

Teamwork – We succeed together. We help colleagues to succeed, and we share our knowledge and skills.

Integrity – We are fair, honest and ethical. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are inclusive and champion diversity.

The Reward

The impact you can make with Henderson Group goes far beyond your day to day. You will be part of a business supporting defibrillator installations and school sports days. In the last year Henderson group staff and retail stores raised over £1 million for charity partners.

You will have the balance necessary to enjoy your job and your life. We will help you to feel proud of what you do and achieve. And we will be here to celebrate your success.

Our business has been recognised externally for delivering excellence in employment. We value employee development and heavily invest in our people.

Benefits include market competitive salary, contributory pension scheme, healthcare, life assurance, employee assistance programme, social club, Reward Gateway Employee Recognition & Discount Scheme throughout UK/Ireland, staff discount (grocery/fuel) at SPAR/EUROSPAR Henderson Group company-owned stores and many more.

This is a full-time position working 36.5 hours per week. Working hours will be 8:45am-4:45pm Monday to Thursday and 8:45am-3:45pm Friday. Hybrid and flexible working arrangement available.

If you'd like to speak with us before making your application, our Talent Acquisition Specialist - Joanne McClelland would be happy to have a confidential chat with you about the role on offer - email joanne.mcclelland@henderson-group.com to get in touch.

*Applicants should note that we reserve the right to apply the desirable criteria if required at shortlisting stage

Completed applications must be submitted online by midnight Sunday 14th June 2026

We are an equal opportunities employer.