VM Designer – Fashion and Beauty

The Visual Merchandising Designers role is to support the VM Lead in the creation and maintenance of merchandising standards and guidelines. Working collaboratively to ensure the delivery of the visual strategy to create commercially driven and visually inspiring store environments through the optimisation of design, buying, planning, space utilisation and cost efficiency.
You will need the ability to define the Brand through innovative merchandising & be a key Brand ambassador, managing communication at all levels, providing honest, detailed and well considered feedback following projects.
Part of the role is to create, design and develop product based design solutions for all types of store experiences, departments, formats & product displays. Ensuring that designs meet and deliver to the brief, commercial objectives and create a great customer experience from the concept design through to store execution.
Design recommendations are needed to optimise a particularly high number of elements and to balance the views of a wide range of stakeholders and have a fundamental impact on the Brand store environment. Provides advice and guidance to Store Design in accordance with their industry / design specialism.

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 - The expected salary for this role is up to £53000

• 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, Tuesday and Wednesday.  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.

Key responsibilities

●Create and evolve merchandising guidelines & Visual refreshes throughout the Season using the latest buying direction and customer profiles for all own brand and third party brands.

● Owns the development of designs for permanent and semi permanent merchandising equipment, including POS.

● Help define the John Lewis look and feel, delivering a consistent approach to the Brand look & feel of shops, through merchandising, fixturing, presentation kit and layout guidelines.

● Be responsible for managing the delivery of and communicating Brand merchandising guidelines with the knowledge of the market to inspire and engage with our Customers.

● Assist in the planning and delivery of Seasonal change, projects, collaborations and Store specific requests.

● Provide clear merchandising guidelines for new concepts.

● Design with cost in mind, working with our supply chain to develop the most affordable, effective materials and construction method. Works with internal and external design resources including design agencies. Ensuring all design solutions are in line with John Lewis brand guidelines and sustainability targets.

● Ensure all Health & Safety and DDA requirements are met and the approval level of due diligence has been completed.

● Maintenance of continual BAU design solutions and projects to keep brand standards effective and up to date; meeting commercials needs for specialist product presentation.

● Support the wider VM department with the planning and implementation of own brand seasonal set-up. Working closely with Retail teams on key actions and deliverables; reviewing execution.

● Demonstrating a balanced view, focusing on both Own brand and External brands to maintain their individual strategies & Brand integrity and ensure they show up in a consistent manner across the estate. Workstreams - Core Lite/CSI

● Strategically plan movements to effectively support the goals of the VM department and business needs, remaining agile to Trade.

● Involvement and support of projects to drive the Brand forward and achieve VM  department strategy through augmented resources.

● Develop and invest time in trials for new merchandising, fixture and layout ideas in advance of Seasonal set ups.

● Ensuring Stores are delivering on all aspects of layout, merchandising and latest Brand thinking.

Skills

● Excellent layout and visual merchandising skills.

● Excellent communication and influencing skills, ability to liaise at all levels + and reach compromise when needed.

● Strong training and coaching skills.

● Ability to organise and manage your own time effectively.

● Ability to work on own initiative and self-motivation.

● Ability to build strong relationships with key business areas.

● Designing to a budget

● Ability to create ideation sketches, visuals and mood boards

● Stakeholder management across all levels within the business

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

● Strong retail customer knowledge.

● An innovative approach to support business growth

● Creative problem solving + Global mind set of the Brand.

● Strong stakeholder management experience with excellent communication style

● Demonstrate and application of Commercial acumen and market awareness with all Visual solutions to maximise sales and potential of Stores

● Strong merchandising skills and experience across Fashion and Home

● Demonstrate the ability to work well under pressure

● Strong communication skills

Desirable skills/experience you may have 

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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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