Store Planning Manager

The Co-operative Group; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A retail cooperative in Manchester is seeking a Store Planning Manager to optimize product availability and lead a high-performing team. This hybrid role requires strong leadership and continuous improvement skills, alongside managing stock for various store formats. Competitive salary and great benefits including an annual bonus, holiday, and training are offered.

Benefits

30% off Co-op branded products

Annual bonus

28 days holiday plus bank holidays

Pension with up to 10% employer contributions

Private healthcare

Subsidised onsite gym

Coaching and training support

Wage stream app access

Qualifications

• Experience motivating and developing teams.
• Proven ability to deliver continuous improvement in retail or supply chain.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach a high-performing team to meet targets.
• Manage stock availability for customer satisfaction.
• Drive continuous improvement across the function.

Skills

Team leadership

Continuous improvement

Stock management

Relationship building

Communication skills

IT skills

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

Store Planning Manager

£55,000 - £65,000 plus great benefits (Work Level 5)
Manchester city centre. In this role you’ll work in a hybrid way, splitting your time between home and coming into the office for a minimum of two days a week.

We’re looking for Store Planning Managers to join our Supply Chain team to optimise product availability for specific store formats, making sure our customers can access the products they need, when they need them across our retail estate. You’ll be responsible for leading and developing a high-performing team, driving availability, and making sure our stores are set up for success, so our customers and member-owners can always find the products they need, when they need them.

This is a brilliant opportunity to shape how we plan and deliver change at scale, working closely with internal and external partners to make sure our supply chain is ready to meet the needs of our growing store network.

Why this role matters

Every store across our estate is in a moment of transformation—and this role ensures those moments land smoothly for our customers, colleagues, and communities. You’ll lead a team that makes sure stock is in the right place at the right time, helping us deliver great availability and product quality. Your work will directly impact customer satisfaction, store performance, and profitability. And by driving continuous improvement, you’ll help us build a supply chain that’s fit for the future.

What you’ll do

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team to deliver against targets and business goals
• Manage stock availability for store formats to maximise customer satisfaction and profitability
• Challenge and problem solve for groups of underperforming stores
• Deliver against our New Store and Refit plans as well as making sure business plans align with supply chain capacity and capability
• Analyse seasonal, monthly, and yearly data to inform decisions on core and promotional demand
• Create a roadmap and forecast future requirements aligned to the business development plan
• Own and resolve stock availability issues, engaging with category teams to mitigate risks
• Drive continuous improvement across the function and challenge operational delivery where needed
• Role model a continuous improvement mindset and embed this across the team

Who we’re looking for

• A confident leader with experience motivating and developing teams
• Proven ability to deliver continuous improvement in a large-scale retail or supply chain environment
• Strong relationship building and influencing skills across all levels
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Commercial awareness and understanding of stock management’s financial impact
• Resilience and adaptability in a fast-paced environment
• Strong IT skills, including intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite
• A collaborative mindset and a passion for making a difference

Why Co-op?

If you have the skills that we need, we can offer you a competitive salary and great benefits package which includes 30% off Co-op branded products in our food stores (as well as other discounts on Co-op products and services).

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Private healthcare
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• Coaching and training to support your career development
• Wage stream app – giving you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn

Building a diverse environment

We’re actively building diverse teams and we welcome applications from everyone. If you have a disability, we can make reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process according to your needs. We're also part of the Disability Confident scheme, meaning we'll always offer an interview to disabled candidates who apply through the scheme if they meet the minimum criteria for a job.

We'll ask whether you’d like to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme when you apply.

If we invite you to take part in the recruitment process for any of our jobs, we’ll ask you if you need any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate.

You can find out more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process

You can find out more about the Disability Confident scheme at Disability Confident Scheme - Co-op Colleagues and more about our commitments to diversity and inclusion at Diversity and Inclusion

Please note that we may close applications for this role early.

As part of your application, you\'ll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes up to 50 minutes. If you\'re a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.