Merchandise & Buying Operations Supervisor in Sunderland

Department: Retail Operations

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Sunderland - Customer Support Centre

Reporting To: Merchandise & Buying Operations Manager

Compensation: £30,000 / year

Description

We're looking for a highly organised, detail-focused Merchandising & Buying Operations Supervisor to join our Commercial team.

We are looking for a confident, detail-focused Merchandise Supervisor to ensure our products are accurately set up, maintained, launched and managed throughout their lifecycle. You will be the team’s go-to product expert, combining strong operational control with a practical approach to improving processes, reducing errors and delivering a consistent experience for stores, colleagues and customers.

What does the role involve?

Product ownership and expertise

• Act as the primary product expert, building a thorough understanding of specifications, features, fabrics, finishes, dimensions, pricing and supplier capabilities.




• Provide accurate product guidance to stores, Digital, Marketing, Supply Chain and Customer Service.




• Ensure product information is complete, accurate and consistent across systems and customer-facing channels.

Merchandising operations

• Supervise daily merchandising administration, allocate priorities and ensure work is completed accurately and on time.




• Oversee product setup, range maintenance, pricing updates, promotional activity and new product launches.




• Coordinate launch tasks against agreed critical paths and proactively elevate risks, missing information and dependencies.

Process management and continuous improvement

• Apply merchandising processes consistently and ensure the team follows agreed standards and controls.




• Identify inefficiencies, recurring issues and control gaps, then develop practical improvements that reduce manual work, errors and rework.




• Maintain clear process documentation, checklists, training guides and audit controls.

Quality control and team leadership

• Complete regular audits of product data, pricing, attributes, specifications and launch readiness.




• Investigate discrepancies, implement corrective actions and prevent recurring failures.




• Coach and support Merchandise Administrators and Coordinators, building product knowledge, confidence and accountability.

Cross-functional collaboration

• Work with Digital, Marketing, Retail, Supply Chain and suppliers to deliver accurate product information and successful launches.




• Support range reviews, pricing activity, promotional planning and commercial projects.




• Communicate clearly, respond promptly to queries and build trusted working relationships.

Who are we looking for?

• Experience in merchandising, buying administration, commercial operations or retail operations.




• Excellent product knowledge, or the curiosity and discipline to become a recognised product expert.




• An exceptional eye for detail and pride in maintaining accurate product, pricing and promotional information.




• A process-led mindset with the confidence to challenge existing ways of working and recommend better solutions.




• Strong organisation, prioritisation, communication and stakeholder-management skills.




• Experience working with multiple systems and high volumes of product data.




• Strong Microsoft Excel skills and confidence analysing information to identify gaps, risks and trends.

What’s in it for you?

• 33 days holidays including bank holidays




• Employee benefits platform – access to 100s of high street discounts and more – holiday discounts, gym discounts, cinema discounts, e-vouchers, cashback and more!




• Colleague Discount




• Career progression




• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave




• Access to our dedicated Employee Assistance Programme – to give you free access to advice and information on a range of topics




• Virtual GP – Access to a GP service 24/7




• Salary finance scheme




• Pension Scheme




• Death in Service

INDMP