Merchandiser

About the roleWe have an exciting opportunity for you to join as a Merchandiser in our Merchandising teams across numerous different categories.

You will be a highly experienced, analytical and commercial Merchandiser, who uses their broad expert knowledge to plan and optimise the best range for customers within your category. Your remit will be to deliver agreed KPIs including; sales, profit, stock, skus, availability, margin and risk management. You will maximise opportunities as they arise and lead the in-season trading to potentialise the outcome for both customers and your category.

You will analyse commercial inputs to develop, with the Buyer, the best range of products supported by effective and comprehensive range planning and pricing architecture to deliver market leading assortments. You will be People Manager of your category team’s Merchandising Assistants, creating the conditions for them to thrive, and balancing their focus and priorities as required.

You will be expected to manage an assortment of high strategic importance and/or complexity within your category that achieves strong customer satisfaction. You may be asked to have oversight over the roll-up of other offices within your Category.

At a glance

• This is a hybrid working role, therefore your time will primarily be split between working from home and the London office. The Merchandising team aims for around 2 days a week in the office to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings.

• Contract type: Secondment

• Band Level 6

• The salary range for this role is set at £49,600.00 - £74,900.00 PA

These positions  are for Merchandiser secondments/fixed term opportunities across numerous categories in the partnership as listed below:       

Kids OB - 12 months (up to Jan 2026)  

Nursery - 6 months (up to Aug 2025)

Lingerie & Accessories - 12 months (up to Jan 2026)

Some of your key responsibilities will include:

• You will be accountable for accurately planning and forecasting sales, stock, profit and SKUs for the Merchandising Manager L5 and Trade Planning team.

•  You will be accountable for the commercial and customer success of a product range through range planning and agile in-season trading, using analysis and reporting from Product Operations.

• Through your Merchandising Assistants you will manage the flow of stock for your office, controlling inventory levels and open to buy. You are accountable for maximising availability across channels whilst minimising inventory holding costs and other supply chain costs.

• You will work at pace and with agility within a collaborative environment with your Merchandising Manager L5, Buyer, Head of Merchandising, Supply Chain, Trade Planning, Sourcing, Trading & Product Operations teams, Design and Product Technology. Externally you will hold a strong relationship with your suppliers and Brands.

•  You will be accountable for forecasting assortment Sales, Stock and Margin KPIs, deciding Open To Buy parameters that meet commercial and customer targets. In collaboration with Buying, you will need to make season trading and volume decisions along with the commercial terms and product lifecycle with the suppliers.

•  You may on occasion, be asked to roll up Category wide analysis in support of Head of Buying and Head of Merchandising. 

• You will be People Manager to your team's Merchandising Assistant partner/s. Providing Coaching, development and feedback.

Essential Skills you will need:

• Proven experience in Forecasting & Planning, WSSI management, influencing & stakeholder management.

• Minimum of 2 Years' Experience in Merchandising:

• Demonstrated expertise in merchandising practices, including assortment planning and stock management.

• Experience in a variety of Category Areas:

• Strong Analytical and Numerical Skill.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel or similar analytical tools.

• Strong Communication and Presentation Skills

• Understanding of Retail Operations and Supply Chain Management

• Proactive Approach to Learning and Development:

Desirable Skills you may have:

• Previous relevant category experience

• Advanced in MS Excel & Google Sheets including PivotTables, VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH and Data Tables

• Tableau adoption

Benefits of the Partnership and the role:

• ️ - Full - time working holiday entitlement 22 days holiday, plus public and bank holidays (this is prorated for part time hours).

• ⚖ - Excellent work life balance, including focus on well being and flexible working and our marketing leading equal parenthood leave Policy

• - Defined Contribution pension scheme where your contributions will be matched by the Partnership (up to 8% of pay) and, after three years’ service, you’ll receive an additional Partnership contribution of 4% of pay, regardless of whether you pay in or not

• - You’ll get Partnership discount in store and online once you complete your Earning Membership period. That’s 25% off in John Lewis (12% off electrical products, some exclusions apply) and 20% in Waitrose (some exclusions apply) You’ll also be able to nominate someone you live with to share your discount.

• -  Simple cycle to work support scheme

• - We’re really proud of our exclusive hotels based in some of Britain’s most beautiful areas and once you’ve been with us for three months, you’re welcome to explore them 

• -  Learn more about our extensive range of exciting benefits that you could enjoy when you join us, visit - ttps://www.jlpjobs.com/about/benefits/

Next Steps: 

• The application form consists of a CV upload followed by application questions. Please ensure you refresh the page each time you complete a task to ensure you complete everything that you need to in time.Once you've submitted an application the next steps of the process, if successful, will include a 1 stage interview either virtual or face to face.

• You'll be asked about any adjustments you might need to support the recruitment process. Let us know, and we'll be sure to discuss it with you. 

• We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications. Therefore, we recommend you apply early.

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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.