Space Planner

As a key player in the Space, Range & Formats team, as a Space Planner you will take ownership of ranging and assortment decisions for core layout space. You will play a vital role in ensuring our ‘customer first’ vision is physically represented on the shelf, providing a consistent and easy-to-shop experience for our customers.
You will use category and customer insight to execute tailored ranges and planograms that delight customers, deliver for the business and are operationally efficient for our stores. Through building strong relationships with category teams, you act as the essential link between commercial plans and retail reality.

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £4.75 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

Please be aware there is a permanant opportunity and a 9 month secondment opportunity available on this vacancy.

• Salary - £38,400 - £57,600

• Expected Salary - up to £45,000, depending on experience 

• Contract type - There are two positions available; a permanent position and a 9 month secondment opportunity.

• 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 Space Range and Format team are in person 3 days a week in the office or in store to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings. 

• Location - This role is a hybrid role home location is Bracknell

• Interview Dates - Interviews planned for week commencing 10th August

Key Responsibilities

• Support the delivery of brilliantly curated ranges across all channels, ensuring the product mix accurately reflects the Partnership’s quality and value credentials on the shelf.

• Apply the ‘Customer Mission’ approach in executing range classes and tailored layouts that ensure local relevance and ‘shop-ability’ for our customers

• Actively participate in Category Pods, providing the Space and Range perspective to support commercial decisions and ensuring the voice of the customer is represented in layout discussions

• Create and maintain visually impactful planograms that support customer navigation, are commercially optimised and operationally efficient with no errors and on time.

• Regularly review category performance using Tableau and Dunnhumby, identifying and flagging opportunities for improvement.

• Provide practical feedback on packaging design and ensure all product dimensions facilitate efficient stocking and maximise shelf space.

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Retail & Merchandising Foundation: Experience within a retail environment (Head Office or Store-based), with a basic understanding of Merchandising, Range Planning, or Layout principles.

• Customer-Centric Mindset: An understanding of how customers shop and a desire to move beyond "gap-filling" to create layouts that reflect specific shopping missions and habits.

• Technical Aptitude: Proficiency in (or a strong desire to learn) space management systems such as Relex CCM. A high level of IT literacy is essential.

• Data Competency: Solid analytical skills with a strong investigative approach. Competent in the use of Excel and Tableau to interpret category data and identify basic trends or stock issues.

• Commercial Fluency: A sophisticated understanding of retail finance and space metrics, including Profit Density, Weighted Distribution, and Stocking Point logic.

• Stakeholder Accountability: Proven experience in holding stakeholders to account on assortment size, distribution strategy, and long-term category goals.

Desirable skills/experience you may have 

• Regulatory Compliance: Clear understanding of GSCOP and its practical application within range reviews and supplier management.

• Matrix Navigation: Experience operating effectively within a matrix structure, demonstrating the ability to manage complex internal relationships and communicate effectively across departments.

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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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