National Head of Branch Network
6 days ago
Chesterfield
National Head of Branch Network Wills & LPAs | 10 Branches | c.55 FTE Salary Negotiable + Bonus Scheme | Permanent SF Partners are working exclusively with a high-growth legal services business specialising in Wills, LPAs, Probate and Estate Planning to recruit a National Head of Branch Network. This is a senior national leadership role responsible for leading a 10-branch network (c.55 FTE), including 8 Branch Managers and 35+ Legal Advisors. The function sits at the heart of the organisation's revenue engine, with full accountability for branch performance, conversion, customer outcomes, and operational delivery. Reporting into the Operations Director / COO, this role replaces a previous regional structure and creates a single point of ownership for the entire branch network. The successful candidate will be responsible for driving commercial performance, embedding operational discipline, and building a high-performing leadership layer across all sites. The Opportunity This is a high-impact leadership role combining commercial ownership, multi-site operational management, and people leadership at scale. The National Head of Branch Network will be responsible for building a consistent, high-performing branch model that delivers strong conversion from appointment to instruction, excellent customer outcomes, and efficient cost-to-serve across all locations. This is a field-based role requiring a highly visible leader who spends significant time in branches, coaching managers, solving operational issues, and driving performance through direct engagement. Key Responsibilities • Commercial Performance & Network Leadership, • Own the performance of the national branch network across revenue, conversion, customer satisfaction, and cost-to-serve, • Deliver and manage branch-level scorecards aligned to commercial and quality outcomes, • Drive key commercial levers including appointment-to-instruction conversion, advisor productivity, and cross-sell performance, • Report monthly performance against EBITDA and network KPIs to the COO and executive team, • Leadership of Branch Managers, • Lead, coach, and develop 8 Branch Managers as accountable site leaders, • Recruit and onboard missing Branch Managers as a priority deliverable, • Establish a structured performance cadence including 1:1s, monthly reviews, and quarterly talent planning, • Build a strong leadership pipeline and succession plan across the branch network, • Set clear expectations for performance, standards, and accountability, • Operating Model & Customer Experience, • Define and embed a consistent branch operating model across all sites, • Oversee customer journey standards, appointment handling, and service delivery, • Maintain the balance between branch-based and home appointments, • Drive local market performance and support branch-level growth initiatives, • Ensure high-quality customer experience and compliance with regulatory standards, • Capacity Planning & Call Centre Partnership, • Work in close partnership with the Head of Lead Generation Call Centre, • Co-own the "Booked : Instruct" metric across the organisation, • Align appointment demand with advisor capacity across all branches, • Participate in weekly forecasting and capacity planning reviews, • Ensure efficient scheduling and utilisation of Legal Advisor capacity, • Estate, Growth & Operational Development, • Own branch estate strategy including openings, closures, relocations, and acquisitions, • Support the launch and performance of flagship and new sites (including Manchester), • Oversee integration of acquired will-banks and customer portfolios, • Work with Property, Finance, and Operations teams on expansion strategy, • Drive continuous improvement across the operating model, • Compliance & Governance Partnership, • Operate within the regulatory framework set by Supervision, Compliance, and Complaints teams, • Ensure consistent adherence to data protection, safeguarding, and regulatory standards, • Embed compliance as part of day-to-day branch performance and leadership behaviour, • Maintain high standards of audit readiness and operational discipline About You We are keen to speak with candidates who have: • Proven experience leading a multi-site branch or regional network (ideally 8+ locations), • Strong track record of managing managers and leading through a leadership layer, • Commercially driven mindset with clear P&L or EBITDA accountability, • Experience delivering sales or conversion growth across a distributed network, • Strong coaching and leadership capability with a focus on performance improvement, • Experience in regulated, customer-facing environments such as legal services, financial services, insurance, funeral planning, or similar sectors, • Willingness to be highly field-based and spend significant time in branches Package • Salary: Negotiable, • Performance-related bonus scheme (EBITDA and balanced scorecard based), • Indicative OTE available subject to structure, • Senior national leadership role with strategic influence, • Field-based position (UK-wide, HQ Derby) Apply For a confidential discussion regarding this opportunity, please contact SF Partners directly. 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