Junior Merchandiser - Womenswear

Team
Clothing, Home & Beauty
Store
London Support Office
Location
London, Greater London
Contract type
Permanent
Position type
Full Time
Salary
Competitive + Benefits
Closing date: 7th January 2025

How We Hire

Everyone is welcome at M&S. No exceptions. It’s your background, abilities and differences that make you, uniquely you. And when you’re part of M&S, that individuality has the potential to make waves.

About the role

This section tells you all you need to know about the position and its responsibilities, outlining everything we hope to see in a successful candidate.

Summary
From Merchandising and Marketing - Product Development and Design, through to Supply Chain and Space Planning - our mission is to bring stylish wardrobe, home and beauty essentials to our customers via an easy, inspiring shopping experience online and in store that will delight them every time.

As we accelerate the transformation of our business to suit the changing needs of our customer, we need results-orientated colleagues that not only have a passion for our product, but a strong team working ethos, creativity and a healthy commercial aim to join us on our journey.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.
All the details

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…

• After completing your probationary period, you’ll receive 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

What you’ll do

Your key accountabilities will include

  • Agree the strategy and targets for creating and achieving pre and in season department sales and stock forecasts by channel. Analysis of sales identifying winners and losers and taking appropriate actions. Working in collaboration with stakeholders to react to trade and maximise sales opportunity for the Department. Accountable for creating accurate long term and short-term Department or range forecasts
  • Booking quantities of products to meet launch and respond to in season variables for all channels in the UK and International. Take lead in developing Department or range plan review and lessons learned. Managing departmental documentation relating to all sale periods including markdown plans
  • Working with Sourcing Offices to manage critical path from buy to delivery for each stroke including global capacity management and the agreement and monitoring of global production plans with suppliers
  • Providing information to Space Planning & Development team to allow them to generate layout plans to stores
  • Maintaining awareness of competition’s product offer to provide input into price point strategy and catalogue by shape of chain
  • Responsible for adopting One Best Way of working delivering standardisation and consistency across all BUs
  • Maintaining communication links to retail, channels, allocation, suppliers, sourcing offices and international
  • Assist the International team to maximise M&S departmental sales during International Buying events
  • Motivate, develop and train relevant line reports e.g. Merchandise Admin Assistant

Who you are
Your skills and experience will include

  • Working in a similar fast paced fashion retailer, working to at least Senior Assistant Merchandiser or Junior Merchandiser level.
  • Strong Merchandising skills including managing GSM, development of Department Plan, stock / commitment management, creating sales estimates, and production plans
  • Strong Knowledge of the end to end buy to store process. Including controlling unplanned in-season costs
  • Able to fully utilise the relevant IT support systems, (Range Planner, SSI, GMOR) and to be fully conversant with standard business desktop applications
  • Strong numerical, analytical and interpretive skills. Negotiation skills (managing in season unplanned costs)
  • Ability to initiate and build strong relationships with Design, Buying and Technology Strong interpersonal/ communication skills. Influencing (internal & external)

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.

#LI-hybrid

#LI-AP1

A group of colleagues gathered around a table, smiling and discussing work with laptops open in a modern office setting.

Being an in-person business

We're at our best when we're close to customers, and for many of us at M&S, that means working in store every day.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected. It also means we can solve problems as soon as they arise, learn and grow as a team, build trust, and get closer to our colleagues.

Click to skip quote slider carousel
Adam Junior Merchandiser
Kadeem Assistant Merchandiser

Merchandising is all about getting the right stock, in the right place, in the right quantities, to drive up profit. So I like getting out to stores, seeing the products on display and hearing what customers are saying. That helps me to seize the moment and capitalise on current opportunities to go way beyond forecast.

Adam (He / Him) | Junior Merchandiser Read full story

I am fascinated by fashion trends but for me it really makes sense when I see the sales figures on screen. When I’m able to paint the picture with percentages, we can be more innovative as a team.

Kadeem (He / Him) | Assistant Merchandiser Read full story

Make Your Mark

Opportunities to be heard

Your voice matters here. You can share your ideas ‘Straight to Stuart’, our CEO, or get involved in our BIG (Business involvement Group). Our colleague networks are also great places to find support, listen to each other and encourage debate.

Experience the business

We’re passionate about our customers and colleagues. To get closer to our customers and see how they feel about our products, we work in our stores 7 days per year. And we visit our suppliers nationally and internationally to learn more about the quality and craft behind them.

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Colleague Networks

We want you to feel supported, no matter what.

The Cancer Network

This is a network driven by personal experiences, with the purpose of ensuring that anyone in the M&S family affected by Cancer feels supported and has access to the information they need.

The LGBTQ+ Network

Open to all members of the LGBTQ+ community and spectrum (and their allies), we promote equality, celebrate inclusivity and diversity, and encourage everyone to be themselves - whatever their sexual or gender identity.

The Gender Equality Network

This group is focused on helping to create a workplace where gender-related challenges are addressed. They raise awareness of common barriers faced and offer support. They also challenge the business to act and empower individuals to ensure that everyone has equal access to opportunities.

The Culture and Heritage Network

Celebrating all faiths, cultures and ethnicities, this group promotes racial and religious equality. We create space to discuss, challenge and take action. And we mark key calendar moments  - like Black History Month - to remember the past, promote the present and build for the future. 

The Health and Wellbeing Network

This network helps colleagues manage their own mental and physical health. We also support people with disabilities or health conditions throughout M&S. We're a safe place to share your personal journey, coping strategies and top tips.

The Family & Carers Network

This group represents the different types of families that exist. We act as a support network and sounding board for ideas which help our colleagues as parents or carers. We also run an interactive blog, where you can write your own posts or hear about others' experiences.

Forces Community Network

A community of colleagues who are affiliated with the Armed Forces in various ways. We work to support colleagues readjusting to civilian life, to be there for those who have friends or family members in the forces, and to make M&S attractive to those leaving the forces. 

The Menopause Network

Here, our colleagues can share their concerns, as well as interesting facts and articles. Our aim is to help everyone feel comfortable talking openly about the menopause - providing a listening ear and finding positives in the experience.

Benefits

How to Apply

Here’s what to expect at each stage of the application process. This can change depending on the role you’ve applied to. If you need any reasonable adjustments made at any stage, let us know and we can help.

Send us your application

Fill in our short application form and hit submit.

Online assessment

We’ll invite you to take part in an online assessment. This could be before or after your interview.

Interview

We'll invite you to join us for an interview. This could be remote or in person. Here, we'll ask you some role based technical questions and examine the behaviours we're looking for. 

Decision

After we’ve decided, we’ll be in touch. If you’ve been successful, we’ll officially invite you to join the team and let you know the next steps.

Junior Merchandiser - Womenswear

Team
Clothing, Home & Beauty
Store
London Support Office
Location
London, Greater London
Contract type
Permanent
Position type
Full Time
Salary
Competitive + Benefits
Closing date: 7th January 2025
Reference: 81106