Industrial Placement – Retail Physical Estate Support

Our 12 month Waitrose Retail Industrial Placement programme offers a unique and comprehensive experience designed to develop the next generation of leaders in Waitrose Retail. Over 12 months, IPs will gain experience in our Retail Physical Estate function, this is a Head Office role within the Retail Support Centre. The programme has been crafted to give IPs an in depth understanding of our Waitrose expansion ambition in this exciting and rapidly evolving retail environment.
Our programme combines hands-on experience with real projects and on-the-job learning and development in our retail environment. During the programme, we will support you in developing your skills and capabilities so that you can be at your best, offering a range of learning and development opportunities, including coaching, mentoring, workshops, online learning, peer learning, and other unique opportunities that will stretch you.
The role will require extensive travelling and flexible working patterns (including nights and weekends & potentially public holidays) and you should expect a significant number of intensive weeks away working on site in order to provide a nationwide support function.

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 are expected to go to the office once a month, although this may be slightly more in the initial stages of the placement.

• Location:  Bracknell

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Retail Physical Estate Specialist with administrative tasks associated with planned projects in order to ensure smooth on site implementation

• Oversee and manage the delivery of phases of work in shops, ensuring they are fit to trade after the delivery of each phase of the project

• Manage the agency team leaders, contractors, and shop Partners when on site to ensure the delivery of the phases of work

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

As part of your degree, be able to take a year out in industry commencing July 2026

Please Note:

• Interviews will take place from 16th March onwards

• 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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