Industrial Placement – Store Concept Design

Our Industrial Placement Programme within Store Concept Design for Waitrose & Partners will make you see retail in a new light. Our unique Partnership difference and approach to business will enable you to get the most out of your placement year. Our placements combine hands-on experience with real projects. You will also receive relevant on the job training.
Within the Store Concept Design role, you will create design solutions for our food loving customers (including interiors, equipment and graphical solutions) for new in-store developments across all Waitrose Formats (including Core, Convenience, Home, Hospitality, E-commerce and B2B) ensuring the designs are optimised through the quality of the in-store environment created and commercial effectiveness of the store.
You will have the opportunity to translate the skills and knowledge you have learnt from your studies, into the workplace. You will have the opportunity to develop and stretch personally and professionally to achieve your potential in areas including concept visualisation, working with suppliers and trades, and working within an in-house creative team.

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £3.50 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

• Salary: Up to £24,000. Please note from 1st April 2026, the salary range for this role will be £26,500

• Contract type: This position is a Fixed Term contract for an Industrial Placement (typically 12 months).

• Proposed Start Date : July 2026 

• Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The team aim for 2 days per week in the office to connect. There may also be project and site visits so flexibility is required.

• Location - Bracknell

Key responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with the rest of the Store Concept Design team with the design and delivery of industry leading interior design concepts through the ongoing optimisation of design, planning, space utilisation and cost-efficiency

•  Industrial Placement Students play a pivotal role within our team, assisting with the development and delivery of new world-class design concepts through the translation of concept briefs and proposition requirements into design solutions (including interiors, finishes, signage & equipment)

• Brief internal & external design resources including design agencies, copy writers, equipment/signage suppliers and graphics teams to deliver creative and innovative retail design concepts and signage solutions that are cost effective, scalable and meet the brief

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• To be eligible for this role, you must be studying an undergraduate degree at university. 

• As part of your degree, you will be taking a year out in industry commencing July 2026

• You will also be currently be studying a design related degree.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Good understanding of the design process.

• Experience in sharing design insight.

• Working experience of AutoCAD, In-design, Sketch Up, Photoshop or similar.

• An understanding of balancing commercial and customer requirements.

As part of this application, we will need to see your portfolio. Please include a link to your portfolio within your CV, or attach it at the same time as your CV to your application. 

Please Note:

• Interviews will take place in March 2026.

• The placement will start July 2026

• We will only accept one application for any of the Partnership Industrial Placement schemes. If you apply for more than one scheme, we will take the first application we receive. You will then receive an email notifying you of the withdrawal of any subsequent applications.

• Please print off the job description now, as you will be unable to view it once the vacancy has closed.

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We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.  

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview. 

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