Assistant Merchandiser - Beauty Brands

Team: Fashion, Home & Beauty
Location: London, Greater London
Contract type: Permanent
Position type: Full Time
Salary: Competitive + Benefits

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

Our collaborations with some of the world's biggest brand names are helping us to reach an even broader audience. From exclusive collaborations with Adidas to brands we own like Jaegar, join our expanding team of fashion curators, and shape the future of M&S Fashion, Home & Beauty.

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

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 to support a charity or cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.

What you'll do…

As the Assistant Merchandiser for Beauty Brands your key accountabilities will include

Playing a pivotal role in the delivery of the M&S Beauty strategic ambition to introduce and grow the third-party Brands Beauty offer.
Formulating a detailed plan on the beauty products to be offered each month across all channels to meet our customer requirements, taking full responsibility for a range or department where necessary
Working collaboratively with Buying counterparts to build and maintain product ranges that grow & improve M&S style credentials
Booking quantities of products to meet launch and respond to in season variables for all channels. Build and maintain strong availability of continuity product including regular size reviews, forecasting for a multitude of brands
Building & maintaining strong relationships with our brands. Constantly monitor sales and range offering to ensure commercial and customer aspirations are potentialised, liaising with brands to react and amend accordingly.
Delivering in-season actions that maximise sales and profit opportunities and meet agreed targets. Preparing and presenting regular business reviews, alongside the wider team, to successfully drive performance rate.Working flexibly across different branded models, e.g. dropship, consignment and wholesale
Coaching and guiding Merchandising Admin Assistants within the team

Who you are

Your skills & experience will include

You will already be working to Senior Merchandise Admin Assistant or Assistant Merchandiser level in a fast-paced retailer with a passion for beauty.
Strong Merchandising skills including development of Department Plan, stock/commitment management, creating sales estimates and managing GSM. Knowledge of the end to end buy to channel process
Strong numerical, analytical and interpretive skills
Strong relationship building and communication skills to foster collaborative and effective engagement with brand partners.
Experience managing and setting direction for a team. Motivating & developing reports, deputising responsibilities and leading through change.
Ability to initiate and build strong relationships with key stakeholders, enabling you to influence where needed
Resilience and being open to change

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-AP1

#hybrid

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

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

Benefits

Wellbeing hub

Get access to resources to support your wellbeing, including a free virtual GP service.
Giving back

Support your favourite charities by donating through your pay or even volunteering for them.
Pay

Earn a competitive salary.
Colleague discount

After completing your probation 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.

Please note only contracts of more than 12 weeks are eligible for this benefit.
Time off

Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.
Bonus

We have discretionary bonus schemes depending on your role and our business performance.
Life assurance

Get cover for twice your salary up to age 70 (double with our Pension Plan).
Workplace savings

We’ll help you save through our Pension Savings Plan, Share Buy and Sharesave schemes.
My Choices

Save on everyday costs through discounts and offers and get access to great health benefits.
Cycle to work

Bike/accessory hire with Cycle to Work and save on tax and national insurance.
Smart tech

Buy the latest technology with interest-free financing directly from your salary.
Family friendly policy

Industry-leading maternity, paternity, adoption and neo-natal policies, providing support and flexibility for you and your family.

Colleague Networks

We want you to feel supported, no matter what.

Forces Community Network

Supporting colleagues connected to the Armed Forces, aiding their transition to civilian life, and ensuring that they thrive in the workplace.

Cancer Network

Fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace culture, addressing stigma, providing guidance and raising awareness to empower and assist colleagues affected by cancer.

Family & Carers Network

A support network for parents and carers, offering a space for colleagues to share experiences, exchange ideas, and access useful resources.

Health and Wellbeing Network

Providing a safe space for colleagues with all types of health conditions or disabilities and supporting with business initiatives to ensure our stores are truly accessible for our customers.

Menopause Network

Initiating and encouraging open conversations about menopause by offering support and sharing experiences.

Gender Equality Network

Addressing gender-related challenges, raising awareness, and driving action to ensure equal opportunities for all.

LGBTQ+ Network

Proactively representing LGBTQ+ issues and opportunities to deliver a truly inclusive place to work and shop for our colleagues and customers.

Culture and Heritage Network

Raising awareness of various religions and cultures through events and comms, to educate others and better represent our M&S colleagues and customers.

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.