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- Tasks: Lead food trading operations, ensuring customer-focused initiatives and seamless store execution.
- 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: Inclusive culture with opportunities for personal growth and community support.
- Why this job: Shape the future of food retail and make a real impact in stores nationwide.
- 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 employer: Marks & Spencer Plc
Contact Detail:
Marks & Spencer Plc Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Trading Operations Manager
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the industry, especially those already at M&S. A friendly chat can give you insider info and maybe even a referral. Don’t be shy; we’re all about building connections!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by knowing your stuff! Research M&S’s values and recent initiatives in food retail. We want to see how you can bring that knowledge to the table and make a real impact.
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your problem-solving skills! Think of examples from your past where you simplified complex issues or improved processes. We love candidates who can turn challenges into opportunities.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website ASAP! With high interest in this role, getting your application in early can really set you apart. Let’s get you on board to help shape the future of food retail together!
We think you need these skills to ace Trading Operations Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Get to Know Us: Before you start writing, take a moment to really understand what we’re about at M&S. Dive into our values and mission, and think about how your experience aligns with our goals. This will help you tailor your application to show us why you’re the perfect fit!
Be Clear and Concise: When you're crafting your application, keep it straightforward. We love clear communication, so make sure your points are easy to follow. Highlight your key achievements and skills that relate directly to the role of Trading Operations Manager.
Show Your Passion: Let your enthusiasm for food retail shine through! Share specific examples of how you've elevated customer experiences in the past. We want to see that you’re not just qualified, but genuinely excited about making a difference in our stores.
Apply Early!: Don’t wait until the last minute to submit your application. Given the high interest in this role, we recommend applying as soon as possible through our website. This way, you’ll ensure your application gets the attention it deserves!
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. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your responses, making it easy for the interviewer to see your impact.
✨Build Relationships with Stakeholders
Highlight your experience in collaborating with various teams. Discuss how you've built strong relationships across departments to drive aligned decision-making. This is crucial for the role, so be ready to share specific instances where your collaboration led to successful outcomes.
✨Communicate Clearly and Confidently
Practice articulating your thoughts clearly, especially when discussing store insights and commercial strategies. The ability to translate complex data into compelling narratives is key. Consider doing mock interviews with friends or using video to refine your delivery.