Head of Health Innovation
| Posting date: | 20 November 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | Competitive |
| Hours: | Part time |
| Closing date: | 01 December 2025 |
| Location: | Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL7 1GA |
| Company: | Tesco |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | tesco/TP/8568366/969498 |
Summary
About the role
At Tesco, we’re committed to helping our customers lead healthier lives. As Head of Health Innovation, you’ll lead the development and delivery of our health-focused food strategy, ensuring we continue to offer delicious, nutritious, and affordable food for everyone. You’ll shape Tesco’s product innovation agenda to drive transformation in health and wellness—balancing taste, value, quality, and sustainability.
This is a critical leadership role in driving Tesco’s ambition to be a leader in healthy and sustainable diets, while keeping innovation at the heart of our offer.
You will be responsible for
Innovation Strategy & Health Leadership
- Lead the Tesco Health & Nutrition innovation agenda across all relevant Own Brand categories, with a focus on HFSS reformulation, clean dec, functional foods, plant-based, and calorie reduction.
- Own and deliver a robust, customer-led innovation pipeline aligned to strategic health goals and future-facing trends.
- Ensure product development meets evolving regulatory standards and contributes to Tesco’s Healthy Little Differences Plan and net zero ambitions.
- Proactively identify emerging customer need states and whitespace opportunities through trend analysis, consumer insight, and cross-category collaboration to shape future innovation.
- Explore adjacent and disruptive health territories—such as personalised nutrition, microbiome-supporting products, and mental wellbeing—to futureproof the portfolio and lead in new growth spaces.
Product Development & Delivery
- Lead cross-functional squads (Product Development, Technical, Nutrition, R&D, Buying) to deliver health-led innovation at pace and scale.
- Embed health, quality, and sustainability criteria into the product lifecycle—from concept to shelf.
- Partner with Sustainable diets, Brand, the Consumer Insight team, and external food tech partners to develop next-generation food solutions.
Customer & Commercial Impact
- Champion customer health insight, using data to inform decisions and identify opportunity areas (e.g. family nutrition, brain development, clean dec, functional snacking, meal solutions).
- Drive growth through customer-trusted, healthier propositions that don’t compromise on taste, price, or convenience.
- Monitor market and competitor landscape to ensure Tesco stays at the forefront of health innovation.
Stakeholder & External Engagement
- Represent Tesco in cross-industry working groups and external bodies (e.g. IGD, FSA, BRC) from a food innovation perspective.
- Collaborate with government, academics, and NGOs to shape the broader food and health ecosystem.
- Influence senior leaders internally, securing buy-in and investment in the health and innovation agenda.
Team & Culture Leadership
- Inspire, coach, and develop a team of developers, nutritionists, and innovation leads.
- Embed an innovation-first mindset across food teams, championing agility, experimentation, and continuous learning.
- Model Tesco’s values: no one tries harder for customers, treat people how they want to be treated, and every little help makes a big difference.
You will need
Essential Experience
- Extensive experience in food innovation, product development, or category management, ideally in a major retailer or FMCG brand.
- Proven leadership in health-focused food innovation (e.g., HFSS reformulation, plant-based, low/no products).
- Deep understanding of UK nutrition policy, labelling laws, and food standards.
- Commercial acumen with strong project delivery capability across multiple categories.
- Experience influencing at Exec or Director level and leading cross-functional innovation teams.
Preferred Qualifications / Experience
- Qualified in Nutrition and Dietetics with registration from a recognised professional body
- Background in food science, nutrition, or public health.
- Experience working with start-ups, academic institutions or emerging food technologies.
- Familiarity with Tesco’s Own Brand model and supplier collaboration processes
#LI - EF1
#LI - Hybrid
What’s in it for you
We’re all about the little helps. That’s why we make sure our Tesco colleague benefits package takes care of you – both in and out of work. Click Here to find out more!
- Annual bonus scheme of up to 45% of base salary
- Car Cash Allowance
- Holiday starting at 25 days plus a personal day (plus Bank holidays)
- Private medical insurance
- Retirement savings plan - save between 6% - 10% and Tesco will contribute 1.5 times this amount
- 26 weeks maternity and adoption leave (after 1 years’ service) at full pay, followed by 13 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay, we also offer 6 weeks fully paid paternity leave
About us
Tesco has become a market leader by doing the little things that really matter for our customers and colleagues.
It’s part of what makes Tesco such a great place to work, and we’re proud to have been accredited as one of Britain’s Top Employers again this year.
We're the UK's number one retailer and we pride ourselves on offering a great shopping experience. We are passionate about our food, merchandise and services and will always try to get things right for our customers.
But did you know we also offer great job opportunities? With stores, distribution centres and offices across the UK, and a vast variety of roles, we are always looking for people who have a hunger to work with customers and colleagues across our exciting business.
We believe in treating each other with respect and giving everyone an equal opportunity to get on. It's our people that make the difference every day - helping us make a difference for our customers
Should you be successful in your application, your offer will be subject to and conditional upon you providing your bank account details before your agreed start date.
For more information about us please visit www.tescoplc.com
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme