Online Media and Supplier Manager

Waitrose & Partners; Bracknell; Hybrid; GBP 53,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as an Online Media & Supplier Manager, where you'll lead the Online Strategic Suppliers program to drive category growth. This role involves creating frameworks, managing stakeholders, and optimizing trade growth through collaboration across Content, Product, and Marketing. You'll own the strategic supplier data sharing and insight proposition, supporting Retail Media with new tools and capabilities. With a hybrid working model, this position offers flexibility while contributing to a dynamic team environment focused on innovation and excellence.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing suppliers collaboratively.
• Strong ability to influence across boundaries.

Responsibilities

• Drive value in Online Trading and development roadmaps.
• Manage strategic supplier program for Online commercial improvements.

Skills

Commercial target delivery

Supplier management

eCommerce trading

Data interpretation

Influencing skills

Leadership

Job description

About the role

As a Online Media & Supplier Manager you will lead the Online Strategic Suppliers (OSS) programme to drive category growth by defining the strategy and direction for the program, setting clear objectives at the start of each financial year inline with the online strategy and overall commercial and category objectives.

• Salary - £53,000 - £87,000

• Contract type - Permanent

• Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The team aims for around 2 days a week in the office to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings

• Location - This role is based at our Bracknell Head Office

The Assessments for this role will consist of an individual interview and will take place week commencing 19th May 2025.

Key responsibilities

In this role you create the frameworks and manage stakeholders to drive value into the Online Trading and development roadmaps. Continuously looking for new opportunities to move the program forward you will work across Content, Product and Marketing to optimise all levers for trade growth.

You will own the strategic supplier online data sharing and insight proposition and manage the provision of reporting and insight as set out by the developed framework. You will champion the OSS across Commercial increasing awareness and understanding of the benefits of the program and support Retail Media and Media sales with implementation of new tools and capabilities to improve efficiencies and effectiveness of media activity across the estate.

Some of the Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Creating online Supplier plans including a framework and ways of working with Category Proposition Groups (CPGs), Commercial Management and Digital Development; aligning with CPGs on the overall Supplier strategy to ensure a joined up approach to Supplier engagement

• Managing the strategic supplier programme to drive both investment and improvements to the Online commercial and customer proposition

• Developing a Supplier communications plan that drives online engagement and aligns with the core Supplier communications plan

• Owning the online inventory for media investment and support the testing of new assets to support the growth and optimisation of Media

• Outline data and insight requirements for Online Strategic Suppliers, aligning with the business data sharing plan and ensuring all agreed reporting is delivered

• Effective influencing to achieve excellent execution and commercial objectives for both Suppliers and Waitrose

• Coach and develop talent within the team

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Delivery of commercial targets

• Experience of managing Suppliers to work collaboratively towards common goals

• eCommerce trading (merchandising/conversion funnels/customer journeys)

• Numerate and comfortable with interpreting data and insight

• Ability to influence across boundaries

• Leadership and people development

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Implementing retail media tech

• Digital Product methodologies

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.