Retail Merchandise Administrator - Temporary (up to 23 months)

RNLI; Poole; Hybrid; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days’ annual leave plus Bank Hollid

Life assurance

Health and dental cash plan

Job summary

RNLI is seeking a Retail Merchandise Administrator to support the Buying & Merchandising Team in Poole with hybrid working (2 days home, remainder in Poole). You will manage purchase orders, intake, stock, and invoicing across channels and warehouses, and assist with allocations and replenishment.

You will provide reporting and analysis to optimise retail performance, liaise with logistics partners to resolve issues, and perform ad hoc administrative tasks.

Qualifications

• Experience in a similar role or within the retail sector.
• Excellent knowledge of using Excel and other Microsoft packages.
• Strong communication and numeracy skills (verbal and written).
• Excellent organisational, prioritisation and time-management skills.
• Ideally, a demonstrable understanding of Retail Merchandising and PO Management.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Buying and Merchandising Team to maximise sales across the Retail Channels.
• Purchase Order Management.
• Intake, Stock and Invoicing Management across channels and warehouses.
• Assist the Merchandising Team with planning and execution of stock allocations and replenishment.
• Support with reporting and analysis work.
• Liaise with logistics partners to resolve issues.
• Ad hoc administrative support.

Skills

Retail experience

Excel proficiency

Numeracy

Communication skills

Time management

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Retail Merchandise Administrator - Temporary (up to 23 months)

Contract type: Temporary: Fixed-Term Contract or Secondment

Hours: Full-Time

Additional information: We will also consider part-time hours

Location: Poole, Dorset, England

Location description: Hybrid between home and Poole at least 2 days a week

Interview date: w/c 2 November

Closing Date: 25-10-2026

Reference: 22073

About us

Our purpose is simple: to save lives at sea. 24 hours a day, every day, RNLI lifesavers are ready to launch to the rescue. We’re looking for a Retail Merchandise Administrator to join our Retail Product Team, within the Buying & Merchandising Team. The Retail Buying and Merchandising Team supports the RNLI through raising income by selling merchandise to the general public, 100% of the profit from which is passed back to the RNLI

Your role

As a Retail Merchandise Administrator, you will be tasked with focusing on the following areas:

• Work closely with the Buying and Merchandising Team to maximise sales across the Retail Channels.
• Purchase Order Management.
• Intake, Stock and Invoicing Management across channels and warehouses.
• Assist the Merchandising Team with planning and execution of stock allocations and replenishment.
• Support with reporting and analysis work.
• Liaise with logistics partners to resolve issues.
• Ad hoc administrative support.

About you

You’ll be an organised and proactive person who works well as a team player and has a positive attitude towards data analysis, reporting and sales forecasting, whilst keeping a calm approach to a busy workload. To be considered as the Retail Merchandise Administrator, you will need:

• Experience in a similar role or/and within the retail sector
• Excellent knowledge of using Excel and other Microsoft packages
• Strong communication and numeracy skills (both verbal and written)
• Excellent organisational, prioritisation and time-management skills
• Ideally, a demonstrable understanding of Retail Merchandising and PO Management

Some of the benefits

• 26 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays
• Life assurance
• Health and dental cash plan

So, if you are interested in becoming a Retail Merchandise Administrator and have a proactive ‘can do’ attitude, high attention to detail and excellent organisation skills, as well as an interest in seeing how the Retail element of the RNLI supports our organisation’s aim to reduce drowning, this could be the role for you.

Safeguarding and referencing

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include reference checks at offer stage and relevant criminal record checks being carried out, dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable) and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One.