BU Grading Planner

We are looking for a BU Grading Planner to join the team on a 12-month fixed-term contract. Working closely with the Space Planning Manager, the BU Grading Planner partners with Business Units to develop and deliver the BU Space Strategy. The role is accountable for BU space allocation across Seasonal and All-Year-Round (AYR) ranges, identifying opportunities to drive store and category performance in sales, margin, and controllable contribution. You will translate BU and Department strategies into a clear grading framework for each phase, ensuring space and stock are deployed to deliver a profitable return. This role plays a key part in optimising space use, supporting commercial decision-making, and enabling the delivery of customer-led, performance-driven space plans.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.

Here are some of the benefits we offer that make working for M&S just that little bit more special:

• After completing your probationary period, you’ll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
• Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days!
• Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
• A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
• A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
• Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
• Industry-leading parental, adoption, and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
• Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
• A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.

Your key accountabilities will include:

• Supports the development and delivery of the space strategy for the BU, fully aligned to the overall C&H strategy and works with the Space planning manager on the development and delivery of the BU strategy.
• Ensure delivery of the Space planning critical path aligning to the Buying critical path.
• Drive space productivity through the use of space data, insight, and analytics to inform grading optimisation, densities, ratios, space %TTs and SDG space allocation.
• Share Space performance data with BU’s on a weekly basis calling out opportunities for improvement. Ensure this information is the most optimal view of space, working with the other BU grading planners to improve when required.
• Works collaboratively with the Space and template planner to drive the accuracy, optimisation, and delivery of space planning for their BU.
• Ensures work is appropriately prioritised and resourced to meet the demands of Transformation.

Your skills and experience will include:

• Strong understanding of the Space/Merchandising critical path, process flows, competencies and activities.
• Good knowledge of the Space and Merchandising.
• Strong numerical and analytical skills.
• Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint to a high standard.
• All relevant C&H, Space & Retail reporting, and merch systems, specifically: JDA floorplanning, RP, MP, GMOR, PowerBI, Blue Yonder.

Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted, and admired by our colleagues, customers, and suppliers. Join us and make change happen. We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.