Trade Planning Manager

Marks & Spencer Plc; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Marks & Spencer plc in London seeks a highly organised Trade Planning & Events Manager to shape and deliver the Food Trade Plan, connecting Buying, Supply Chain, Marketing and Retail Operations to turn strategy into timely, impactful activity.

You will lead cross-functional planning, manage critical paths for launches and events, build relationships across teams and drive continuous improvement in how plans land with stores.

Qualifications

• Strong project management and multi‑workstream coordination.
• Commercial sense for sales drivers and retail performance measures.
• Ability to influence partners across a cross‑functional org.
• Excellent organisation and communication to simplify plans.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and delivery of category, seasonal and events trade plans.
• Coordinate critical paths across teams to ensure timely launches and space activity.
• Build relationships across Buying, Supply Chain, Marketing, Retail Ops and SRD to align and manage risks.
• Lead trade planning processes including sign-off, mock shops, baton passes and governance forums.
• Review sales and feedback; run post‑implementation reviews and embed learning.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Commercial awareness

Attention to detail

Influence stakeholders

Job description

We’re looking for a highly organised and commercially minded Trade Planning & Events Manager to help shape and deliver the M&S Food Trade Plan. You’ll work at the heart of the Food business, bringing together Buying, Supply Chain, Marketing, Retail Operations and SRD to turn strategy into activity that lands on time, right first time and with maximum impact for customers and stores. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys managing complexity, influencing partners and using insight to continuously improve how plans are delivered.

What you’ll do

Your key accountabilities will include:

• Lead the development and delivery of category, seasonal and events trade plans, ensuring activity aligns with the wider Food customer plan and commercial priorities.
• Coordinate critical paths across multiple teams so launches, events and space activity are delivered on time and right first time for stores.
• Build strong relationships across Buying, Supply Chain, Marketing, Retail Operations and SRD, creating alignment and resolving risks or dependencies early.
• Handle key trade planning processes including phase sign-off, mock shops, baton passes, change control and governance forums.
• Review sales, customer feedback and implementation measures, lead post-implementation reviews and embed learning to improve future plans and ways of working.

Who you are

Your skills and experience will include:

• Strong project management skills, with experience coordinating multiple workstreams, deadlines, partners and dependencies at the same time.
• Commercial awareness and a good understanding of sales drivers, customer missions and retail performance measures.
• Confidence building relationships and influencing partners at all levels within a complex, cross-functional organisation.
• Excellent organisation and attention to detail, with the ability to simplify complexity and communicate plans clearly.
• A proactive approach to problem solving, with the confidence to identify risks early, challenge constructively and drive solutions through to completion.

What’s in it for you?

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
• Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
• Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
• Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
• Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
• 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
• One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you

Everyone’s welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you’d benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.