Trading Operations Manager in London

Trading Operations Manager in London

London Full-Time 50000 - 65000 ÂŁ / year (est.) No home office possible
M

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead food trading operations, ensuring customer-focused initiatives and seamless execution in stores.
  • Company: Join M&S, a forward-thinking retailer committed to quality and service.
  • Benefits: Enjoy a 20% discount, competitive holidays, and tailored training from day one.
  • Other info: Be part of an inclusive team driving innovation in a dynamic retail environment.
  • Why this job: Shape the future of food retail and make a real impact on customer experiences.
  • Qualifications: Strong communication, problem-solving skills, and experience across multiple sites.

The predicted salary is between 50000 - 65000 ÂŁ per year.

We’re looking for a Food Trading Operations Manager to act as the trusted retail voice for our Food Group, ensuring that every decision we make is grounded in what matters most to customers and colleagues. This role turns strategy into action, simplifying complexity, shaping brilliant commercial ideas, and ensuring they land seamlessly in our stores.

You’ll champion store insight at the heart of Food, challenge plans to ensure they’re bold and achievable, and create joined‑up ways of working that drive exceptional customer experiences. If you’re commercially sharp, operationally strong and passionate about elevating food retail, this is a chance to shape how M&S Food comes to life in hundreds of stores nationwide.

Due to high interest, this role may close earlier than advertised. We recommend applying as soon as possible.

What you’ll do:

  • Being the trusted retail voice for your cluster, ensuring initiatives are practical, simple and customer‑focused.
  • Leading cluster trials, generating sharp insight and clear recommendations that shape wider Food Group plans.
  • Driving rollout of M&S Way, embedding simple and effective processes that support brilliant store execution.
  • Turning customer, store and commercial insight into clear, actionable improvements that enhance performance.
  • Building strong relationships across Food Trading, Operations, Supply Chain and store leadership to enable fast, aligned decision making.

Who you are:

  • Strong ability to simplify complexity and produce clear, high‑quality communications for stores and stakeholders.
  • Excellent influencing, collaboration and problem‑solving skills, with resilience in fast‑changing environments.
  • Proven experience operating across multiple sites/regions with strong planning, prioritisation and execution skills.
  • Commercially minded, data‑informed and confident using insight, AI and benchmarking to spot opportunities early.
  • A confident communicator who can translate store reality into compelling insight that influences senior stakeholders and shapes decision‑making.

What’s in it for you?

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast‑moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

  • 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third‑party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation.
  • Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more.
  • Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours.
  • Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future.
  • Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one.
  • Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal.
  • Market‑leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave.
  • 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services.
  • One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you.

Everyone’s welcome. We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. 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 put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.

Trading Operations Manager in London employer: Marks & Spencer Plc

At Marks & Spencer, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive and dynamic employer that values the contributions of every team member. As a Food Trading Operations Manager, you'll enjoy a supportive work culture that prioritises employee growth through tailored training and development opportunities, alongside competitive benefits such as a generous colleague discount and market-leading family policies. Join us in shaping the future of retail while making a meaningful impact in hundreds of stores across the nation.
M

Contact Detail:

Marks & Spencer Plc Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Trading Operations Manager in London

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the food retail industry, especially those at M&S. A friendly chat can open doors and give you insights that might just land you that interview.

✨Tip Number 2

Prepare for the interview by understanding M&S's values and how they align with your own. Be ready to share examples of how you've simplified complexity or driven exceptional customer experiences in your past roles.

✨Tip Number 3

Showcase your data skills! Be prepared to discuss how you've used insights to make decisions in previous jobs. M&S loves a commercially minded candidate who can spot opportunities early.

✨Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, it shows you're serious about joining the M&S team and making a difference in food retail.

We think you need these skills to ace Trading Operations Manager in London

Commercial Acumen
Operational Management
Data Analysis
Insight Generation
Communication Skills
Influencing Skills
Collaboration Skills
Problem-Solving Skills
Planning and Prioritisation
Execution Skills
Customer Focus
Adaptability
Stakeholder Management
AI Utilisation

Some tips for your application 🫡

Get to Know Us: Before you start your application, take a moment to explore our website and get a feel for who we are at StudySmarter. Understanding our values and culture will help you tailor your application to show how you fit right in!

Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Trading Operations Manager role. Highlight your experience in simplifying complexity and driving customer-focused initiatives, as these are key aspects of the job description.

Showcase Your Skills: Use specific examples to demonstrate your influencing and problem-solving skills. We want to see how you've tackled challenges in fast-paced environments and how you can bring that experience to our team.

Apply Early!: Since this role may close earlier than advertised due to high interest, don’t wait around! Submit your application through our website as soon as you can to ensure you don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity.

How to prepare for a job interview at Marks & Spencer Plc

✨Know Your Food Retail Inside Out

Before the interview, dive deep into the food retail landscape. Understand current trends, customer preferences, and M&S's unique position in the market. This knowledge will help you speak confidently about how you can contribute to enhancing customer experiences.

✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills

Prepare examples of how you've simplified complex processes or turned insights into actionable improvements in previous roles. Be ready to discuss specific challenges you've faced and how your solutions positively impacted operations.

✨Build Relationships in Your Answers

Since this role involves collaboration across various teams, highlight your experience in building strong relationships. Share stories that demonstrate your influencing skills and how you've worked with others to achieve common goals.

✨Communicate Clearly and Confidently

Practice articulating your thoughts clearly, especially when discussing data-driven insights. Use straightforward language to explain how you've translated store realities into compelling recommendations for senior stakeholders.

Trading Operations Manager in London
Marks & Spencer Plc
Location: London

Land your dream job quicker with Premium

You’re marked as a top applicant with our partner companies
Individual CV and cover letter feedback including tailoring to specific job roles
Be among the first applications for new jobs with our AI application
1:1 support and career advice from our career coaches
Go Premium

Money-back if you don't land a job in 6-months

>