Assistant Merchandiser Brands - 12 month FTC

Please note this role is a 12 month FTC

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

What you'll do

• Supporting the Merchandiser in agreeing the strategy and targets for creating and achieving pre and in season Range sales and stock forecasts by channel in addition to GSM Markdown and availability
• Analysis of sales identifying winners and losers and taking appropriate actions working in collaboration with stakeholders to react to trade and maximise sales opportunity for the Department
• Assisting the Merchandiser and Buying team to formulate a detailed plan on the products to be offered each quarter across all channels inc International
• Booking quantities of products to meet launch and respond to in season variables for all channels in the UK and International
• Assisting Department Plan review and lessons learned
• Managing departmental documentation relating to all sale periods including markdown plans
• Maintaining accurate listings in Range Planner
• Working with Sourcing Offices to manage critical path from buy to delivery for each stroke including global capacity management and the agreement and monitoring of global production plans with suppliers
• Providing information to Space Planning & Development team to allow them to generate layout plans to stores
• Maintaining awareness of competition’s product offer to provide input into price point strategy and catalogue by shape of chain
• Maintaining communication links to retail, channels, allocation, suppliers, sourcing offices and international
• Implementing and exploiting new systems and processes
• Assist the International team to maximise M&S departmental sales during International Buying events

Who you are

• Core Merchandising skills including managing GSM, development of Department Plan, stock / commitment management, creating sales estimates, and production plans
• Knowledge of the end to end buy to store process
• Controlling unplanned in-season costs
• Negotiation skills (managing in season unplanned costs)
• Knowledge of M&S brand and sub-brand strategy
• Able to fully utilise the relevant IT support systems, (Range Planner, SSI, SAS Reporting, JDA Merch Planning) and to be fully conversant with standard business desktop applications
• Strong numerical, analytical and interpretive skills
• Ability to initiate and build strong relationships with Design, Buying and Technology
• Strong interpersonal/ communication skills
• Influencing (internal & external)

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.

#LI-CA1

M&S is ready to push boundaries to lead the industry into a greener, speedier, more inspiring digital era. That’s why we’re revolutionising how we work and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. There’s never been a better time to be part of our team.

Marks & Spencer aims to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make an immediate impact. We are committed to an active Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunities Policy, which starts with our recruitment and selection process and we are happy to talk smart/flexible working.

From Merchandising and Marketing - Product Development and Design, through to Supply Chain and Space Planning - our mission is to bring stylish wardrobe, home and beauty essentials to our customers via an easy, inspiring shopping experience online and in store that will delight them every time.

As we accelerate the transformation of our business to suit the changing needs of our customer, we need results-driven colleagues that not only have a passion for our product, but a strong team working ethos, creativity and a healthy commercial drive to join us on our journey.