Trading Lead

Primark Stores Limited; Reading; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days leave + 5

Flexible working

Healthcare

Pension

Bonus potential

Job summary

Primark Stores Limited is seeking a Trading Lead to partner with our Central Trade & Planning Team, BMD and Commercial Retail teams in Reading. The role focuses on Pricing & Promotions, Markdown, Licence and Campaign management with scope to rotate areas of specialism.

You will lead trading processes, provide analysis, and mentor a team to deliver analytics-driven results, influencing decisions for quarterly forecasts and seasonal strategies.

Qualifications

• Experience operating at a lead/merchandiser level.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for senior stakeholders.
• Highly collaborative, building relationships across teams.
• Experience managing and developing productive working relationships.
• Strong commercial mindset with numerical and analytical skills; includes dashboards in Tableau.
• Genuine interest in product and customer experience.
• Excellent planning and organisation; can multi-task and meet deadlines.
• Positive, high-paced approach with attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Lead trading processes to maximise in-season opportunities and minimise end-of-season risk.
• Support monthly reforecasts, Position Sheet analysis and first week reporting.
• Oversee pricing to maintain price leadership and accurate store pricing.
• Own and manage sales reporting, forecasting and auditing of Licensed DTR process.
• Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Mentor and coach the analytics team to deliver high-quality outputs.

Skills

Lead/Merchandiser level

Communication with senior stakeholders

Collaborative working

Relationship building

Numerical & analytical skills

Tableau reporting

Customer-focused mindset

Planning & organisation

Attention to detail

Tools

Tableau

Job description

Trading Lead

Because your perspective shapes trends. Innovate, your way. The Trading Lead role works in partnership with our Central Trade & Planning Team, BMD, and Commercial Retail functions as well as other internal teams, providing data, insights and recommendations on current and future opportunities across the business.

This role will provide support and relevant data to offer direction on strategic, commercial and analytical decision making to key stakeholders. The role will specialise in Pricing & Promotions, Markdown, Licence and Campaign management with the ability to rotate areas of specialism based on the needs of the business.

What you’ll do as a Trading Lead

In your role, you’ll collaborate with different people across a range of skillsets leading company level Trading processes to maximise in-season opportunities and minimise end of season risk. Here’s a flavour of your day-to-day:

Markdown

• Manage the weekly listing process including analysis of listings and impact on potential markdown spend.

Carryover, seasonality and terminal stocks

• Manage the carryover processes in a timely manner using merchandising experience to challenge requests from BMD & ensure accuracy.
• Provide training and support to the B&M teams on above processes.
• Create and maintain terminal stock glidepath whilst analysing sales, stock and markdown and provide recommendations to minimise risk.

In-Season Trading

• Support the Head of Central Trade with the monthly reforecasting process, including analysis of the Position Sheet and First Week Reporting submits by the B&M teams.
• Identify key trading messages and support with the Position Sheet and OTB meetings, including noting key actions and following up with B&M teams. Deputise for the Head of Central Trade in key meetings where needed.
• Oversee PSR block/unblock requests from BMD teams, guiding the Trading Analyst and to support with decisions and actions.

Pricing and Promotions

• Oversee internal management of Pricing to ensure we maintain price leadership, and accurate pricing in stores.

Licence

• Own and manage the sales reporting, forecasting and auditing aspects of the Licensed DTR process.
• Partner with the Licensed team, BMD teams & Licensors to provide accurate sales & invoicing.
• Own and manage the annual sales auditing process for DTR.

Reporting Analysis & Problem Solving

• Responsible for data analysis for area of specialism.

Leadership

• Lead, manage, mentor and coach a team to deliver analytics driven results and high-quality outputs.

What You’ll Bring

• Experience operating at a Lead/Merchandiser level.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills displaying confidence and strong collaboration when presenting information to senior stakeholders.
• Highly collaborative, comfortable reaching out and building relationships with teams across the business, while demonstrating confidence to challenge and influence senior stakeholders.
• Experience managing and developing strong and productive working relationships.
• Strong commercial mindset, with excellent numerical and analytical skills (including creating reports & dashboards in Tableau) & knowledge of IP/WSSI with a high level of accuracy.
• Genuine interest in product and passion for enhancing the customer experience.
• Excellent planning and organisation skills, ability to multi-task, plan and prioritise work schedule for self and team and work within agreed timescales.
• Displays a positive outlook and demonstrates a strong ability to work at pace under pressure while focusing on results.
• Excellent attention to detail and an ability to analyse and interrogate high volumes of data as well as demonstrating an ability to focus on the higher-level overview.

What You’ll Get

The world is changing and it’s important we support our colleagues. People are at the heart of what we do at Primark so it’s essential we provide the right environment for you to perform at your best. That’s why we offer benefits that put you first.

• 27 days of leave, plus bank holidays and if you want, you can buy 5 more.
• Flexible Working, opportunity for an early Friday finish, and a subsidised cafeteria.
• Healthcare, pension, and potential bonus.

If you need any reasonable adjustments or have an accessibility request during your recruitment journey, such as extended time or breaks between online assessments, a sign language interpreter, mobility access, or assistive technology, please contact your talent acquisition specialist.

All offers of employment are subject to background checks, including right to work, reference education and for some roles criminal, and financial checks. If you have any concerns please reach out to our talent acquisition team to discuss.