Space Planner

As the Space Planner, in the Brand and Store Experience Directorate, you will play a role in delivering the commercial and physical estate strategy; building optimised space blueprints and developing space strategies through in-depth assortment and shop expertise. You will deliver sales and profit improvements through the planning and delivery of change to shop floor space to deliver the propositional strategy. You will realise the assortment and customer strategy onto the shop floor delivering customer centric adjacencies whilst supporting the business’ design and omni-channel aspirations. You will take every opportunity to drive commercial return, deliver an outstanding customer journey and reduce working capital in the development of the space strategy and all projects.

You will use your analytical and commercial skills to plan and optimise the best use of space to deliver profitability and a great customer experience.

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £5.00 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

• Expected salary up to - £56,000 depending on experience

• Contract type - This position is a 12 month Secondment/Fixed Term contract 

• 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. Within the Brand and Store Experience team, we believe in the power of connection, which is why our core office days are Monday and Tuesday.  We typically aim for around three days a week in the office or visiting shops to allow for collaboration and attendance of key meetings. 

• Location -  This role is based at our London Head Office campus in Pimlico.  Please note, any cost incurred as a result of travel to the office is the responsibility of the successful candidate.  There is also a responsibility to visit our John Lewis branches when necessary and travel costs will be met in line with the travel policy. 

• FYI - Interviews will be held virtually v/c 13th April 2026

Key responsibilities:

• Creating efficient and profitable use of space 

• Deliver the proposition strategy on to the shop floor

• Use data and story telling to reveal and socialise accurate profit opportunities.

What will you be doing?

• Through in-depth assortment and shop knowledge and commercial & customer analysis, develop robust and insightful recommendations to optimise space performance  (including services and experiences) within shops.

• Provide detailed bottom-up build to support the  evolution of the Space Blueprint; determining optimum footprint and target range width.

• Influence propositional strategies with recommendations for value additive opportunities and optimal physical estate locations. Support Buyers and Merchandisers and Heads of Categories in feasibility scoping and business case building. Work with these teams to translate the propositional strategy into viable execution in shops. 

• Provide planning expertise to the Heads of and their teams to influence proposition proposals from inception through to delivery to enhance their viability and profitability.

• Work cross functionally across all physical estate and trading teams to deliver the right balance of commercial return and optimal customer journey.

• Analyse data identifying opportunities to optimise space performance.

• Collaborate with Commercial Teams to ensure space is planned to support a profitable and compelling range plan. 

• Provide project briefs to store design defining the appropriate space, stock and option densities for proposed space changes. (Scale of project will determine level of detail) Confirm the financial and customer implications of any variation to brief.

• Conduct feasibility assessments for proposed space change projects outlining opportunities and risks of a range of options where appropriate.

• Effectively communicates the use of space to shops in a format that is efficient to execute.

Essential skills/experience you’ll need 

• Demonstrates strong analytical skills

• Excellent planning, organisation and orchestration skills

• Strong Commercial awareness

• Excellent cross functional working skills and Stakeholder management

• Verbal / written communication

• Experience using Data including Excel and Google Suite. 

Desirable skills/experience you may have 

• Experience in a Retail and/or Shop role is an advantage

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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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