Commercial Optimisation Lead

Waitrose & Partners; Bracknell; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 121,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Commercial Optimisation Lead, where you will play a pivotal role in transforming pricing and promotions management. This exciting position focuses on a strategic project that will enhance operational capabilities and drive profitability. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to shape solutions that improve user experience and streamline processes. With a commitment to innovation and excellence, this role offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in a dynamic environment. If you're passionate about driving change and optimizing commercial strategies, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Qualifications

• Experience in leading significant changes in a Commercial/Trading/Retail environment.
• Ability to translate business requirements into effective solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the project for upgrading pricing and promotions management systems.
• Evaluate strategic options and recommend new capabilities for pricing.

Skills

Pricing and promotions solutions experience

Oracle pricing and promotions systems experience

Change management and implementation

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

FMCG commercial experience

Job description

About the role

Jennifer Sweeney, Head of Commercial Optimisation is recruiting for a Commercial Optimisation Lead to join the Waitrose & Partners Commercial Team. Initially, this role will focus on a large, strategic project to upgrade our legacy pricing and promotions management capability across the Waitrose estate. This critical transformation will unlock new capabilities that will drive significant profitability for Waitrose.

About the role

• Contract Type: 1 x permanent position

• Location: Bracknell based with hybrid working with an expectation to go into the office around 2-3 days per week

• Salary range: £75,700 - £121,000

• Partnership Level: 5

• Interviews: virtual w/c 19th May

Key responsibilities

You will be the business lead for the project managing the shaping, design and transition of systems, processes and people, alongside a cross-functional working group.

You will have the technical and operational knowledge and the ability to translate business requirements into the solution, making sure it delivers a great end user experience.

Working with architecture, solution implementation experts and business SMEs, you will evaluate strategic options and make recommendations around the way we set up our new price and promotions capability.

This project will be closely aligned with another project running concurrently looking at pricing and promotions optimisation.

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Pricing and promotions solutions experience

• Oracle pricing and promotions systems experience

• Previous experience in an FMCG commercial or transformation role

• Change management and implementation experience including leading significant changes in a Commercial/Trading/Retail environment

• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing and communication skills

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Previous experience of implementing a new Pricing and promotions solution in a Grocery retailer would be advantageous

• Broad knowledge of Waitrose Commercial - teams, processes, responsibilities, culture, strengths, challenges, etc

• Comms and engagement experience, landing complex messages in a digestible way to different audiences

• Experience in managing transformation portfolios, including running governance forums and understanding commercial/retail processes

• Ability to guide partners to make decisions in the interest of the customer and whilst ensuring minimal disruption to the business

• Experience in cross-functional working up to and including Executive level, with a track record in building strong relationships at all levels, managing and developing solutions to reduce business complexities, align processes and unlock efficiencies

• Proactive and curious intellect - working collaboratively to find the information needed and translate into a business voice

• Ability to work with large volumes of complex issues concurrently and have knowledge of key Waitrose systems and processes

External candidates - please see the job outline attached to this vacancy for further details.

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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 (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you'll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

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.