Restaurants Commercial Lead (FTC)

Job Introduction

Key Purpose

Shape what’s next for Restaurants & Food at Selfridges.

The Restaurants Commercial Lead will play a pivotal role in evolving our hospitality proposition — bringing together commercial thinking, cultural curiosity, creativity and a deep understanding of the restaurant and café landscape to create experiences that will drive our customers want to discover, return to and talk about.

Sitting within Buying, this role will work closely with the Restaurants & Food Director to shape the strategy for our restaurant and café offer, whilst partnering with the Hospitality Operations Lead to turn that strategy into brilliant customer experiences.

This is a role for someone who is constantly looking beyond the obvious — spotting the operator, concept, trend or opportunity that could give Selfridges an edge.

You will:

• Help shape the future direction and strategy of the Selfridges restaurant and café proposition.
• Identify and build relationships with exciting, relevant and differentiated operators and concepts.
• Bring a strong external perspective, connecting Selfridges to what is happening across restaurants, food, hospitality, culture and consumer behaviour.
• Use commercial insight, customer understanding and market intelligence to unlock growth from existing partnerships.
• Lead the commercial development and negotiation of new partnerships, from first conversation through to agreement and launch.
• Champion innovation and newness, constantly asking what could make the Selfridges hospitality experience more distinctive.
• Partner closely with Hospitality Operations, bringing complementary expertise and ensuring that commercial ambition and operational excellence work hand in hand.

Ultimately, you will help ensure that our restaurants and cafés are not simply places to eat, but an important part of the Selfridges experience — commercially successful, culturally relevant and always evolving.

Key Responsibilities

1. Current Business — Grow, Challenge & Evolve

• Work closely with the Hospitality Operations Lead as one team, with complementary skills and clear accountabilities — bringing commercial and strategic expertise alongside operational leadership.
• Lead the commercial agenda for Quarterly Business Reviews with concession partners, bringing insight, challenge and ideas that drive meaningful performance.
• Use trading data, customer insight and market intelligence to identify opportunities to grow sales, ATV, profitability, productivity and customer engagement.
• Work with the Restaurants & Food Director and Merchandising to develop commercial strategies that continually improve the performance and relevance of the existing estate.
• Challenge concession partners to think differently, evolve their offer and maximise their opportunity within Selfridges.
• Develop a clear performance scorecard with Operations and Merchandising, turning data into insight, actions and accountability.
• Work with Procurement to ensure we secure the right quality, value and commercial outcomes for Selfridges.
• Look beyond immediate trading performance to identify opportunities to improve the commercial model, proposition and long-term potential of each partnership.

2. New Business & Innovation — Find What’s Next

• Keep looking. Build an exceptional network across restaurants, cafés, hospitality, food, culture and emerging concepts to ensure Selfridges is connected to what’s next.
• Identify exciting new partners and opportunities across long-term concessions, pop-ups, activations and other innovative formats.
• Spot emerging consumer and hospitality trends and translate them into opportunities for Selfridges.
• Develop compelling commercial propositions and business cases for new partnerships.
• Lead commercial negotiations and partnership structures, working collaboratively with Legal, Finance, Procurement, Property and other stakeholders.
• Ensure new partnerships have a clear commercial strategy, proposition and success measures from the outset.
• Own the commercial relationship through the development and launch of new partnerships, working alongside Operations on successful execution.
• Collaborate across stores to identify opportunities for relevant brands and concepts to grow within the wider Selfridges estate.
• Challenge the expected. Bring ideas that make us think differently about how restaurants and food can contribute to the Selfridges experience.

3. Marketing, Culture & Customer — Make It Matter

• Work with Marketing, Communications, VM, Events and Brand Partnerships to maximise the impact of key calendar moments and Selfridges initiatives.
• Bring restaurant and food partners into the wider Selfridges world, ensuring they feel connected to our brand, customers and cultural calendar.
• Identify opportunities for hospitality partners to create moments worth discovering and sharing.
• Ensure our restaurant and café offer reflects the energy, creativity and personality of Selfridges.
• Bring an external perspective on food, hospitality, culture and consumer behaviour to continually challenge and refresh our thinking.

About You 

Experience

You will be someone who knows restaurants and food — and is genuinely fascinated by where the industry is going next.

• Significant experience within restaurants, cafés, hospitality, food & beverage, retail or a closely related commercial environment.
• Deep knowledge of the UK restaurant and café landscape, with a strong understanding of operators, concepts, trends and emerging talent.
• Proven experience of developing commercial strategies and delivering measurable growth.
• Experience of developing and managing senior external partnerships.
• Strong experience of identifying, evaluating and negotiating new commercial opportunities.
• Experience working within a concession, partnership or other commercial trading model would be valuable.
• Comfortable operating across a complex organisation, bringing together multiple stakeholders to deliver a shared ambition.

Technical Skills

• Commercially sharp, with the ability to understand performance, identify opportunities and make decisions that deliver profitable growth.
• Strong analytical capability — able to turn data and insight into a compelling commercial story and clear action.
• Excellent negotiation and influencing skills.
• Strong financial and business case understanding.
• Excellent project management and organisational skills.
• Strong knowledge of restaurant, café, food and hospitality trends.
• Confident presenting ideas, opportunities and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Personal Attributes

• Curious by nature — always looking, listening and asking what could be next.
• Entrepreneurial and commercially minded, with an instinct for spotting opportunity.
• Creative thinker who enjoys challenging convention and finding a different way.
• Passionate about food, restaurants, hospitality and culture.
• Naturally connected and a great networker, with the credibility to build relationships with established and emerging operators.
• An ambassador for the Selfridges brand, with a strong instinct for what feels right for our customers and our world.
• Collaborative and generous, able to work seamlessly with Operations and wider teams whilst bringing a clear point of view.
• Confident to challenge, influence and make decisions.
• Highly organised, able to balance the bigger picture with excellent attention to detail.
• Resilient, adaptable and comfortable working at pace.
• Solutions-focused and pragmatic — able to turn a great idea into something commercially viable.
• Independent of mind, with the confidence to push boundaries and raise the ambition of the Selfridges hospitality offer.

Selfridges