Chief Executive Officer

Commercial scale. Community impact. A leadership opportunity unlike any other.

Chief Executive Officer, East of England Co-op
Ipswich, Suffolk | Hybrid Working | Travel Across East Anglia

The East of England Co-op is one of the region's most respected and enduring organisations. Owned by its members and rooted in the communities it serves, the Society is proudly independent and operates a diverse portfolio of businesses across Food Retail, Funeral Services, Travel, Security and Property throughout Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

With thousands of colleagues, a significant asset base, a proud heritage and an ambitious future, we are seeking an exceptional Chief Executive Officer to lead our next chapter.

About the Opportunity

Reporting to the Board of Directors, you will provide strategic, commercial and collaborative values-led leadership to a complex, multi-site organisation with a significant asset base, diverse revenue streams and a proud history of community impact.

As CEO, you will work closely with the Board and Executive Leadership Team to deliver sustainable growth, operational excellence and meaningful value for members, customers, colleagues and communities. This is a role that demands both commercial acumen and emotional intelligence to ensure the Society continues to balance strong business performance with its co-operative purpose and member focus.

You will be responsible for shaping and delivering the long-term strategy, ensuring the organisation continues to evolve and grow whilst remaining true to its co-operative principles and values.
Leading such a diverse portfolio requires a CEO who can navigate complexity, identify growth opportunities, drive performance and inspire collaboration across multiple business disciplines. It demands a broad commercial perspective, strategic agility and the ability to create alignment across a highly varied organisation.

About You

We are looking for a strategic, commercially astute and people-centred executive leader with strong personal integrity and self-accountability, who offers a track record of delivering growth and evolution within complex, multi-site organisations.

You will bring:

• People centric, commercially focused executive leadership experience within a substantial and complex multi-site organisation
• A proven track record of driving sustainable growth across multiple business units, sectors or revenue streams
• Strong operational leadership combined with long-term strategic thinking
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Experience working closely with Boards, Non-Executive Directors or governance structures
• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including oversight of significant assets and investment decisions
• The ability to lead, develop and inspire high-performing executive and operational teams
• Genuine connection to the values, ethics, purpose and vision of the Society

You will understand and align with the unique responsibilities that come with leading a member-owned organisation and will be motivated by creating value not only for the business, but for the communities the Society serves.

Success in this role will require a leader who can build trusted relationships with a broad and diverse stakeholder group, communicating complex issues with clarity and building confidence through authenticity, transparency and sound judgement.

Location

The role is based at their Central Support Office in Ipswich, Suffolk, with regular travel across the Co-op’s operations throughout Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

Why Join the East of England Co-op?

The East of England Co-op offers something increasingly rare: the opportunity to lead a commercially successful organisation where purpose and performance are equally important.
This is a chance to leave a lasting legacy – leading a significant regional business, supporting local communities and helping shape the future of one of the UK's most established co-operative societies.

If you are an ambitious, values-led executive with the vision, resilience and leadership capability to guide a complex organisation through its next phase of growth, we would love to hear from you.