Merchandiser- Handbags

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join as a Merchandiser in our Merchandising teams within the Handbags department within the Fashion department. You will be a highly experienced, analytical and commercial Merchandiser who uses their broad expert knowledge to plan and optimise the best range for customers within your category. Your remit will be to deliver agreed KPIs including sales, profit, stock, skus, availability, margin and risk management. You will maximise opportunities as they arise and lead the in-season trading to potentialise the outcome for both customers and your category.

You will analyse commercial inputs to develop, with the Buyer, the best range of products supported by effective and comprehensive range planning and pricing architecture to deliver market leading assortments. You will be People Manager of your category team’s Merchandising Assistants, creating the conditions for them to thrive, and balancing their focus and priorities as required. You will be expected to manage an assortment of high strategic importance and/or complexity within your category that achieves strong customer satisfaction. You may be asked to have oversight over the roll-up of other offices within your Category.

Salary and contract

The salary range for this role is set at £54,500.00 - £84,100.00. Expected Salary, however, we are looking for candidates up to £60K (Depending on experience). This position is a Permanent position. This is a hybrid working role. The normal place of work for this role is our London Central Office in Pimlico. The expectation is a minimum of 3 days per week in the office as team collaboration is critical in this role - core days will vary across teams. This role is based at our Pimlico Head Office.

Key responsibilities

• You will be accountable for accurately planning and forecasting sales, stock, profit and SKUs for the Merchandising Manager L5 and Trade Planning team.
• You will be accountable for the commercial and customer success of a product range through range planning and agile in-season trading, using analysis and reporting from Product Operations.
• Through your Merchandising Assistants, you will manage the flow of stock for your office, controlling inventory levels and open to buy.
• You are accountable for maximising availability across channels whilst minimising inventory holding costs and other supply chain costs.
• You will work at pace and with agility within a collaborative environment with your Merchandising Manager L5, Buyer, Head of Merchandising, Supply Chain, Trade Planning, Sourcing, Trading & Product Operations teams, Design and Product Technology.
• Externally, you will hold a strong relationship with your suppliers and Brands.
• You will be accountable for forecasting assortment Sales, Stock and Margin KPIs, deciding Open To Buy parameters that meet commercial and customer targets.
• In collaboration with Buying, you will need to make season trading and volume decisions along with the commercial terms and product lifecycle with the suppliers.
• You may on occasion, be asked to roll up Category wide analysis in support of the Head of Buying and Head of Merchandising.
• You will be People Manager to your team’s Merchandising Assistant partner/s, providing Coaching, development and feedback.

Essential Skills

• Proven experience in Forecasting & Planning, WSSI management, influencing & stakeholder management.
• Minimum of 2 Years’ Experience in Merchandising: Demonstrated expertise in merchandising practices, including assortment planning and stock management.
• Experience in a variety of Category Areas: Strong Analytical and Numerical Skills.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel or similar analytical tools.
• Strong Communication and Presentation Skills.
• Understanding of Retail Operations and Supply Chain Management.
• Proactive Approach to Learning and Development.

Desirable Skills

• Previous relevant category experience.
• Advanced in MS Excel & Google Sheets, including PivotTables, VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH and Data Tables.
• Tableau adoption.

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us. We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose. As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles. We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible. We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.