Head of Category, Technology Directorate

About the roleJoin John Lewis as Head of Category and lead our Technology team in a dynamic retail environment. You’ll be driving innovation and shaping the future of technology at John Lewis. As a leader in our business, you'll challenge and inspire your teams to deliver exceptional results for our customers and our business.

As part of the Commercial Leadership Team, you will use your expert commerciality to drive profit through inspirational, differentiated, products and wraparound services. By working in agile and cross-functional ways, you will be a leader in customer-centricity in all that you do.

You are recognised as the category expert with responsibility for leading a team of Category Leads and working collaboratively with multi-discipline functions to develop and deliver a compelling and differentiated customer centric product and wraparound service proposition. You lead the end-to-end proposition drawing on insight and setting strategic direction all the way through to delivering the category to our customers.

At a glance

• We know flexible working is important to you, and it is important to us too. The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The Technology team aims for around 2 days a week in the office to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings. The role is based at London Central Offices in Pimlico.

Some of the key responsibilities:

• Set clear intent, direction and guardrails to achieve customer-centric proposition outcomes, aligned to the Partnership strategy.

• Empower and support teams to make decisions and resolve challenges. Set the conditions for high performing multidisciplinary teams within your remit by creating and maintaining an environment, underpinned by inclusivity and collaboration, in which all professions are valued, individuals are motivated and supported to work seamlessly and flexibly to deliver commercial and customer outcomes.

• Leverage insight and internal and external networks to keep abreast of key customer requirements, market conditions, competitor activity, and trends, including technological advancements to manage the ongoing evolution and development of category proposition. Highlight commercial opportunities to input into strategic planning to inform both category commercial strategy and future organisational strategic priorities

• Develop the Commercial plan and direction into a clear end-to-end proposition strategy for your Category, working with the Director of Technology to make recommendations and to set priorities for the sourcing of products, iterating plans to reflect changes in market conditions.

• Overall accountability for the commercial success and performance of the Category across all channels. Ensure that CPG returns are maximised over the short and long term by defining the category strategy across the agreed levers (i.e. price, promotions, range, quality, merchandising, marketing, services, customer experience), optimising supplier relationships and orchestrating optimum range assortments and driving commitment to ethical sourcing within your team in pursuit of the customer need or experience

• Plan and deliver the trading performance of customer and commercially focused in-house designed product / product innovation and the trading performance of sub-brands within your Category.

• Collaborate with peer Heads of Category to identify cross-category opportunities and drive cost efficiencies and maximum value for Partnership.

• Work collaboratively with Customer, Omni and Retail teams to deliver end to end coherent customer experience and operational propositions and services, deploying CPG resources as needed. Works together to diagnose and rectify any issues flagging any conflicting use of the category across multiple strategic outcomes.

• Through leadership of Buying and Merchandising teams, accountable for delivery of distinctive, competitive, high quality and inspirational product assortments and services across the proposition fully aligned with customer vision.

• Responsible for senior relationships across our external supply base, unblocking barriers, through negotiation, in support of delivering the commercial and customer outcomes.

• Build category supplier relationships to deliver a market leading customer product offer with appropriate and consistent quality and supply standards which maintain our differentiation.

• Work closely with the Head of Merchandising to assure pricing and promotions expertise is utilised to translate product and service propositions into maximum value as well as supporting the optimisation of stock flow
   

Essential skills you’ll need 

• Experience in retail buying, merchandising and commercial experience in an omni channel environment

• Experience in a Leadership role with a Technology background

• Experience in proposition development 

• Experience in leading commercial negotiations at a senior level and able to build compelling commercial narratives

• Evidence in strong written and verbal communication 

• Evidence of strong numerical and presentation skills

• Evidence of using insight and analytics in developing propositions

• Evidence of building commercial value

• Experience of managing large teams and working collaboratively 

• Adept at creating inclusive, positive and motivated teams

• Experience of influencing cross functional stakeholders up to board level

• Capability to balance both short term and long term goals

• Capability to understand and assess commercial value and impact of action against the full organisational value chain and end to end customer journey
   

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About The Partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting. If required, you’ll find out more about vetting throughout the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays.

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.