Visual Deputy Store Manager

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Job Description

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Visual Merchandising team working in our Academy store in Central London. M&S is changing, and it's changing fast! As part of our ongoing transformation to deliver "Stores of the Future" we are looking for strong, innovative and resilient Leaders, considered specialists in the visual field to inspire, change and influence the future. In a Visual Manager role you are responsible for the coaching of visual excellence in our stores to raise the bar in visual standards and execution.

The role coaches and develops the knowledge and skills of store teams to deliver visual excellence and enabling store teams to deliver an inspirational, improved and consistent visual customer journey, which inspires our customers to shop and buy more often.

About the Role:

• Coaching of store teams to deliver visual excellence
• Raise the bar in visual standards, across multiple business units, delivering appropriate training to enhance the customer experience and drive consistency in our stores.
• Support the development of great visual talent and capability within store visual teams, supporting the succession requirements of Store Visual Customer Assistants
• Coach stores to deliver best in class visual standards for launches, campaigns
• Ensure colleagues understand and are motivated to deliver their part

Key Leadership Capabilities:

• Successfully embeds change for lasting impact and results
• Addresses beliefs and mindsets around resistance to change and supports colleagues in adapting with the ability to coach colleagues through change
• Holds themselves accountable for delivering objectives and targets
• Experience in coaching colleagues to accelerate performance and personal growth
• Recognises high performance and supports poor performers to improve
• Shows colleagues why they matter to M&S, their part to play in delivering the plan and what the results of their work are
• Uses customer feedback and market trends to enable quality feedback
• Uses a combination of channels and technology to communicate, ensuring timely, clear and open communication with colleagues
• Seeks the best solution for M&S by proactively collaborating with colleagues from across the business
• Create the right culture, role modelling new digital ways of working and leadership behaviours

Key Accountabilities:

• To build store teams knowledge, capability and expertise of all Visual skills, including the ability to use store space, architecture and equipment handling.
• Coach store teams on all aspects of Styling from window implementation to mannequin usage across all BU's
• Coach store teams on processes to enable perfect seasonal, campaign and event planning which drives consistent, inspirational and commercial delivery.
• Upskill store team to effectively order and implement all large format POS each season for all BU's, and delivery of small format in stores
• Collaborate with store teams to ensure confidence through excellent visual merchandising and customer experience
• Provide feedback which influences store layout, guideline implementation and C&H principles to enable right first-time delivery
• Ensure an up to date and relevant detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the local market and competitor activities.
• Create the right culture, role modelling new digital ways of working and leadership behaviours.

About you:

• Expertise of all Visual skills across the BU's including the ability to manage space, architecture and equipment handling; great Visual merchandising capability and all aspects of Styling from window implementation to mannequin usage in store
• At least 18 months Visual Merchandising management / leadership experience
• Able to coach, plan and execute grid and environment changes as required for a seasonal launch
• Experience in creating and delivering exceptional customer journeys and customer experience
• Ability to coach store teams to deliver excellent visual implementation across all areas of a store
• Strong external awareness of current fashion trends and competitors
• Ability to adapt to working across a number of locations and experience of different types of store environments
• Good level of digital capability and an understanding and use of all systems
• Good knowledge of the legal requirements across their area of accountability and our stores
• The ability to have difficult conversations with effective resolutions with both colleagues and line managers
• Good communicator and active listener who will inspire, share their knowledge and best practices with others
• Ability to plan and review across the week and the month
• Ability to consistently deliver under pressure demonstrating high levels of resilience
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders across all levels of the business.

What's in it for you

Being a part of M&S is exactly that - playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day. We're an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value, service to every customer, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us.

Here are some of the benefits we offer that make working for M&S just that little bit more special...

• 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
• Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days!
• Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
• A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
• A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
• Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
• Industry-leading parental, adoption and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
• Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
• A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.

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 try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.

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