My Lidl journey so far

I joined Lidl as a Trainee Area Manager out of our, then, Livingston Distribution Centre in September 2015; which was my first full-time job after graduating from Edinburgh University. I got stuck in quickly, training with our fantastic store teams and Area Managers from “Team North” and after 2 months was handed responsibility of the regional rollout of the ongoing PEP 2.0 project: liaising directly with Head Office Sales Organisation and Lidl International. 

My role as a Project Consultant within our Scottish sales operations functions continued for the next two years and then in August 2017 I started the incredible opportunity of taking on an international secondment to Lidl Stiftung for the PEP 2.0 project: working with the Retail Systems and Global HR Services (Transformation HR) teams for the next 2 and a half years. Working on the project from an international outlook allowed me to work directly with multiple project stakeholders and external vendors, as well as travel and work directly with 7 countries throughout Europe and the United States. Aside from the accelerated professional growth and exposure, the international secondment allowed me to build a network of colleagues from around the world who I keep in touch with regularly. So aside from the many internal opportunities available within Lidl, I could not recommend enquiring and taking on an international secondment more! 

Why I applied for my latest role

I returned from Germany in October 2019 to our mammoth new Scottish Warehouse in Motherwell for a period of sales reintegration. It was then in early 2020 my line manager made me aware of an opportunity to join our Head Office Audit team. Reading through the description, the role appealed to me greatly as it utilised my project experience whilst allowing for incredibly detailed development of our business processes.

"With hard work and determination [everything] is achievable, whether your fresh starter or 20+ years in the business."

What I like most about my role

I really enjoy the collaborative nature of the Audit department, interacting with so many of our business teams whilst acting as an extended arm to the Board: to improve our processes and reduce risk in the future. My current line manager also allowed me the opportunity to operate within the audit department from a Logistics perspective: an area of the business I had little experience in prior and a change that I am thoroughly enjoying. The audit team is also built with a plethora of business experience, so everyday really is an opportunity to see the bigger picture and give yourself a more well-rounded understanding of what keeps Lidl pushing forward.

My plans for the future

I would love to, once my training and integration period into Audit is finished, have the opportunity to experience some time with an Audit team from another Lidl country, in order to see how we in the UK, compare to our international counterparts. Aside from that after 5 years of varied experience, I want to continue working towards becoming a Senior Consultant and further developing my Logistics business knowledge. 

What I think about progression opportunities at Lidl

Joining Lidl 5 years ago I would never have thought I'd have gained the opportunities to work with projects across a variety of departments: both nationally and internationally so early on. I think that sums up opportunities with Lidl: everything you think can’t be done is readily available; and with hard work and determination is achievable, whether your fresh starter or 20+ years in the business. Internal opportunities and international secondments have allowed me to develop a multi-faceted outlook of the business, instead of a one singular department mindset and how we all as stores, warehouses, regions and head office departments collaborate.