Junior Merchandiser – Bath and Utility

John Lewis & Partners; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail partnership in the UK is seeking a Junior Merchandiser for their Bath and Utility Team. The role, based in London, involves planning and optimizing product ranges using analytical skills. Successful candidates will have experience in forecasting, strong analytical abilities, and proficiency in analytical tools like Excel and Tableau. The position offers a salary of up to £42K and supports a hybrid working model.

Qualifications

• Experience in range planning and merchandising practices.
• Ability to forecast sales and manage stock levels.
• Proactive approach to learning and development.

Responsibilities

• Plan and forecast sales, stock, and profit for the category.
• Manage the flow of stock, controlling inventory levels.
• Collaborate with merchandising and supply chain teams.

Skills

Forecasting & Planning

Stakeholder management

Strong Analytical skills

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel

Proficiency in Business Intelligence tools

Communication Skills

Understanding of Retail Operations

Tools

Excel

Tableau

Job description

About the role

…Would you like to work for an iconic brand ? ...Are you great at analysing data and building relationships? ...Do you have experience in range planning? We are looking for a Junior Merchandiser to join our Bath and Utility Team within Home You will use your analytical and commercial skills to plan and optimise the best range for customers within your category. You will work under the guidance of the Merchandising Manager to deliver your 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 task manage Merchandising Assistant/s relevant to your product category, ensuring they have clear guidelines to fulfil their role. 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.

• Salary - £32,600.00 - £50,500.00 is the full pay band; however, we are looking for candidates up to £42K depending on experience.

• Contract type - This is a Permanent position.

• Working pattern/flexible working - This is a hybrid working role. The normal place of work for this role is our London Central Office in Pimlico. The expectation is a minimum of 3 days per week in the office as team collaboration is critical in this role - core days will vary across teams.

• Location - This role is based at our Pimlico Head Office campus.

Key responsibilities

• You will be accountable for accurately planning and forecasting sales, stock, profit and SKUs for your category with the support of the L6 Merchandiser 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 the 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 Merchandiser, Buyer, Head of Merchandising, Supply Chain, Trade Planning, sourcing, Trading Operations team, Design and Product Technology. Externally you will hold a strong relationship with your supplier and Brands.

• With support from your L6 Merchandiser 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 will Task Manage relevant Merchandising Assistant partner/s in your team.

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Experience in Forecasting & Planning, WSSI management, influencing & stakeholder management

• Experience in BTA preparation, margin modelling and flow planning

• Ability to demonstrate experience in merchandising practices, including assortment planning and stock management

• Strong Analytical and Numerical Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel or similar analytical tools

• Proficiency in reporting tools such as Business Intelligence, Tableau

• Communication and Presentation Skills

• Understanding of Retail Operations and Supply Chain Management

• Proactive Approach to Learning and Development

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 occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

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.

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.