Head of Merchandise Planning - 6-month Fixed Term Contract

Head of Merchandise Planning - Maternity Cover (6 months)

About the Role:

Elevation Recruitment Group are seeking a Head of Merchandise Planning to join our client's team on a 6-month maternity cover. This pivotal role will be responsible for delivering all key financial Merchandising KPIs across our business. You will thrive on balancing big-picture strategies with attention to detail and enjoy being customer-facing, as it allows you to maintain, develop, and contribute to a profitable business plan across all formats and product areas.
Key Responsibilities:
Financial Planning:

Lead Net GI and EPOS planning for customers with multi-million-pound sales turnovers.
Risk Management:

Identify and evaluate all internal and external factors with clear assumptions and contingency plans to successfully deliver the agreed plan.
Stakeholder Alignment:

Secure alignment to the plan with key stakeholders, both internal and external.
Action Planning:

Define all actions required to deliver the plan, supported by relevant KPIs.
Trading Activity:

Drive effective trading activity by analysing and evaluating performance to ensure interventions maximise sales or mitigate risks.
Cross-functional Collaboration:

Develop strong relationships and understanding of each function to ensure all activities are delivered in the most effective and profitable way.
Strategic Opportunities:

Use financial analysis to generate, evaluate, and deliver on strategic opportunities aligned with the strategic direction of both the customer and the business.
Joint Business Plan:

Define and set the customer Joint Business Plan alongside the Head of Commercial Development and contribute to the success of the wider merchandising team.
Functional Specialist Lead:

Participate in wider business initiatives to drive efficiencies, improved ways of working, and increased profit.
Required Qualifications:
Experience:

Solid experience in a Merchandising Planning role within a Retail/FMCG business.
Influencing Skills:

Proven experience influencing others across multiple functions, both internally and externally.
Analytical Skills:

Excellent Excel, numeric, and analytical abilities to identify commercial insights relevant to our audience.
Communication:

Confident communicator with the ability to adjust their approach to varying audiences, combining superior presentation skills with skilled use of data and insights.
Commercial Thinking:

Ability to engage and influence key stakeholders across the business to ensure profit growth is core to all decisions made.
Retail Knowledge:

Thorough knowledge of the retail planning process and the ability to motivate, inspire, and lead those around them.
Decision Making:

Confident, data-driven decision maker, efficient in making decisions with strategy and business plans in mind.
Organisational Skills:

Highly organised with a keen eye for detail, experienced in planning and forecasting sales across multiple seasons/customers.
Leadership:

A natural leader, with previous experience of leading a team being an advantage.
Industry Awareness:

Solid awareness of retail influences, ideally in our category, which are factored into decision making to mitigate risks to sales.
Benefits:
Competitive salary
26 days holiday plus bank holidays
Annual bonus scheme
Car allowance
Health cashback scheme
Pension benefit
Flexible working opportunities, including working from home
Free onsite parking
A variety of cultural and lifestyle benefits aimed at promoting a positive work/life balance

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