Dispensing optician Emily Head appointed to Specsavers UK optics board

Specsavers has appointed dispensing optician Emily Head to its UK optics board.

Head’s appointment furthers Specsavers’ commitment to ensuring that dispensing opticians are represented at the highest levels of its business.

Dispensing opticians play a “vital role” in “delivering high-quality patient care and driving successful community practices,” Specsavers said.

The organisation described Head’s role on its UK optics board as providing “a voice for both dispensing and retail colleagues.”

Head started working in Specsavers at the age of 16, took on a full-time role at 18, and qualified as a dispensing optician at 21.

She became a practice manager the same year, before moving to Australia to run two Specsavers practices in Sydney at the age of 24 – something she describes as “an amazing experience.”

She returned to the UK and purchased her own Specsavers practice in Christchurch, Dorset, which she still runs, at the age of 27.

She also holds mentoring and succession assessment roles within Specsavers, as well as serving as divisional partner chair. Outside optics, she is a local councillor for Christchurch.

Head called optics “one of the best careers out there.”

“I absolutely love what I do. There’s no ceiling in this profession,” she said.

Speaking about the importance of dispensing opticians, Head added: “Having dispensing opticians in a practice is imperative for success. For me, dispensing opticians are also the bridge between clinical expertise and retail delivery.

“There’s a clinical aspect that really matters on the shop floor – you improve dispensing, you support the team, and you create a resource that doesn’t interrupt the test room.”

Head shared: “I want to leave the planet in a better place than I found it. If I can change patients and colleagues’ lives, then that’s exactly what I want to do.”