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- Tasks: Lead merchandise planning and inspire a high-performing team across Home & Clothing.
- Company: Join Tesco, the UK's number one retailer with a focus on customer experience.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, annual bonus, 25+ days holiday, and private medical insurance.
- Why this job: Shape insight-driven planning and make a real impact in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in commercial merchandising and strong leadership skills required.
- Other info: Be part of a respected company that values its people and offers career growth.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
As the Merchandise Planning Manager, you will take the lead in shaping insight-driven, accurate merchandise planning for our Central Commercial team across Home & Clothing. In this role, you will bring together budgeting, forecasting, stock management and trade insight to create truly connected, end-to-end planning across multiple regions and channels. You will also develop and inspire a high-performing team of Assistant Merchandise Planners, championing best practice, strong governance and simplified, scalable ways of working across all central planning tools and processes.
You will be responsible for:
- Topline Planning & Forecasting
- Building and managing centralised country, region and channel budgets.
- Leading top-down financial planning and delivering periodic financial review (PFR) forecasts.
- Reviewing and aligning central WSSI across divisions, channels and markets, ensuring consistency between top-down and bottom-up planning.
- Identifying, quantifying and communicating risks & opportunities for sales, margin, stock and intake.
- Stock, OTB & Option Planning
- Owning OTB governance for central planning areas, ensuring accuracy, compliance and transparency of decisions.
- Setting and reconciling stock budgets across regions/channels, supporting divisional targets.
- Managing commitment, intake, markdown and clearance forecasting to optimise sales and profitability.
- Supporting cross-channel stock alignment to meet customer needs in stores, online and franchise channels.
- Trading & Commercial Insight
- Leading weekly trade reviews with robust insight, commentary and forward-looking recommendations.
- Driving actionable analysis for leadership and commercial teams, including divisional, country and attribute-level reviews.
- Supporting the development and execution of trade plans, promotions and events.
- Enhancing forecasting and scenario planning capability through data-driven modelling.
- Range & Capacity Planning
- Working with buying and product merchandising teams to build insight-led ranges aligned with central commercial strategy.
- Ensuring accurate ranging, forecasting and stock flow through effective processes.
- Collaborating with buying and SSP to confirm capacity and critical path alignment.
- Team Leadership & Ways of Working
- Leading, coaching and developing a high-performing team.
- Embedding governance, simplification and consistency in planning tools and processes.
- Acting as a super user for merchandise planning tools, supporting system and process evolution.
- Governance & Code of Conduct
- Acting with integrity and due diligence in line with the Tesco Business Code of Conduct.
- Ensuring planning accuracy, process compliance and robust data governance.
You will need:
- Commercial merchandising experience across multi-channel and multi-country environments.
- Strong WSSI and OTB management capability.
- Experience with country/region-level planning and forecasting preferred.
- Proven leadership of teams and ability to develop talent.
- Experience navigating cross-functional environments (Finance, Retail Ops, Supply Chain, Insight).
- Track record of process simplification and governance improvement.
Operational skills relevant for this job:
- Influencing and stakeholder management.
- Strategic & tactical merchandise planning.
- Range and trade planning.
- Data analysis, scenario modelling and numeracy.
- Advanced Excel, BI tools, planning systems.
- WSSI ownership and multi-level forecasting.
- Range planning tools & central planning databases.
What’s in it for you:
- Annual bonus scheme of up to 20% of base salary.
- Holiday starting at 25 days plus a personal day (plus Bank holidays).
- Private medical insurance.
- 26 weeks maternity and adoption leave (after 1 years' service) at full pay, followed by 13 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay, we also offer 6 weeks fully paid paternity leave.
- Free 24/7 virtual GP service, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for you and your family, free access to a range of experts to support your mental wellbeing.
Tesco has become a market leader by doing the little things that really matter for our customers and colleagues. It’s part of what makes Tesco such a great place to work, and we’re proud to have been accredited as one of Britain’s Top Employers again this year. We’re the UK’s number one retailer and we pride ourselves on offering a great shopping experience. We are passionate about our food, merchandise and services and will always try to get things right for our customers. But did you know we also offer great job opportunities? With stores, distribution centres and offices across the UK, and a vast variety of roles, we are always looking for people who have a hunger to work with customers and colleagues across our exciting business. We believe in treating each other with respect and giving everyone an equal opportunity to get on. It’s our people that make the difference every day - helping us make a difference for our customers.
Should you be successful in your application, your offer will be subject to and conditional upon you providing your bank account details before your agreed start date.
Merchandise Planning Manager in Welwyn Garden City employer: Tesco
Contact Detail:
Tesco Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Merchandise Planning Manager in Welwyn Garden City
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current or former employees at Tesco on LinkedIn. A friendly chat can give you insider info and maybe even a referral, which can really boost your chances.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for the interview by diving deep into Tesco's values and recent news. Show us that you’re not just another candidate but someone who genuinely cares about what we do and how we do it.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your STAR technique for answering competency questions. We want to hear about your past experiences in a structured way, so make sure you’ve got some solid examples ready to go!
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up after your interview! A quick thank-you email can leave a lasting impression and shows us that you’re truly interested in the role.
We think you need these skills to ace Merchandise Planning Manager in Welwyn Garden City
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience in commercial merchandising and team leadership. We want to see how your skills align with the role of Merchandise Planning Manager, so don’t hold back!
Showcase Your Data Skills: Since this role involves a lot of data analysis and forecasting, be sure to mention any relevant experience you have with Excel, BI tools, or planning systems. We love seeing candidates who can bring actionable insights to the table!
Highlight Your Leadership Experience: As a Merchandise Planning Manager, you'll be leading a team, so share examples of how you've developed talent and improved processes in your previous roles. We’re all about building high-performing teams here at StudySmarter!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to submit your application through our website for the best chance of being noticed. It’s the easiest way for us to keep track of your application and get back to you quickly!
How to prepare for a job interview at Tesco
✨Know Your Numbers
As a Merchandise Planning Manager, you'll need to demonstrate your strong grasp of financial metrics. Brush up on your WSSI and OTB management skills, and be ready to discuss how you've used data analysis and forecasting in previous roles. Bring examples of how you've optimised sales and profitability through effective stock management.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
This role involves leading a team, so it's crucial to highlight your experience in developing talent and fostering a high-performing environment. Prepare specific examples of how you've coached team members or improved team performance in past positions. This will show that you can inspire and lead effectively.
✨Understand the Business Code of Conduct
Familiarise yourself with Tesco's Business Code of Conduct and be prepared to discuss how you ensure compliance and governance in your planning processes. This shows that you value integrity and are committed to maintaining high standards in your work.
✨Prepare for Scenario Questions
Expect questions that require you to think on your feet, especially around risk and opportunity identification. Practice articulating how you would approach various scenarios related to stock management and trade insight. This will demonstrate your strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.
