Vacancy Introduction

We are currently recruiting for a Merchandising Lead to join our team on a fixed term basis!

The Merchandising Lead is responsible for maintaining the product ranging and placement within the food stores. This role works closely with the ranging and ordering leads to ensure that the merchandising of the products is suitable for the customer offer and stock levels are maintained in store.

This role is part of the Retail Central Operations Team, which provides the central support required to operate our food business. You will become a key member of this team, responsible for all activities within your food retail portfolio ranging from identifying the appropriate product range; delivery of promotional activities; product forecasting and ordering; and the creation of merchandising planograms. Working in close collaboration with Food Retail and other central teams, you will play a pivotal part in helping achieve our vision of becoming the East of England's most valued organisation.

Role Responsibility

• Complete regular scheduled range reviews ensuring planograms are available within set timelines
• Ensure planograms are maintained and current outside of scheduled range reviews
• Deliver calendar of promotional activity for your assigned ranges
• Regularly monitor performance using commercial and operational system generated data and feedback from field teams to take remedial action to resolve challenges and capitalise on opportunities

Key Relationships

• Range & Format Team
• Store Team (Food)

The Ideal Candidate

• Experience working in a retail business, either in central teams or store / field management.
• Good stakeholder and relationship management skills. Ability to build strong partnerships across different levels.
• Resilient, positive and solutions focused mindset.
• A working knowledge of Range & Space Systems is advantageous but not essential
• Experience of data handling through databases and excel is advantageous but not essential

Package Description

What’s in it for you

At the East of England Co-op, we strive to be the best place to work. We invest in our colleagues to help them to progress in their careers and achieve their full potential. How do we do this?  

• Competitive rates of pay
• 20% discount in our food stores, along with other discounts across our family of businesses
• 25 days holiday (plus bank holiday entitlement) which increases with service
• 5% employer pension contribution
• Death in service benefit
• Access to our colleague communications app, The Loop
• Enhanced* family leave and pay arrangements
• Opportunities to grow, with award-winning training and apprenticeship programmes
• Great deals and discounts across 100’s of high street and online retailers
• Financial wellbeing support, including Wagestream®

Check out the detail of all our colleague benefits here.

* Enhanced on statutory terms, subject to service criteria.

We recognise the challenges people face trying to balance commitments both in and out of the workplace -  perhaps studying, caring commitments, or other employment. We therefore aim to be as flexible as possible, to create shift patterns that work for both our co-op and our colleagues.

About the Company

The East of England Co-op is the largest independent retailer in East Anglia, with over 230 stores and branches across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Owned by over 260,000 members – including our colleagues – our vision is to be the most valued organisation in our region, by being a better kind of business and using our profit to make a positive impact on our communities.

Our Community Cares Fund provides hundreds of thousands of pounds to support groups and good causes, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing, food justice for all and creating community spaces. 

With a focus on environmental sustainability, we’re proud to have led the way on reducing food waste, being the first major retailer to sell food past its Best Before date for just 10p. 

At the East of England Co-op, we strive to be the best place to work. We invest in our colleagues to help them to progress in their careers and achieve their full potential, whether in food retail, funeral services, property investment, travel, security, stonemasonry, events, or our support functions. 

Find out more at www.eastofengland.coop

Our Recruitment Process

If this is the job for you, simply click ‘apply’. You will be required to register a profile on our careers page. To do this simply click apply. The good news is you’ll only have to register once – after this, it’ll be easier and quicker to apply for any roles in the future too.

Please note that our working patterns are non-contractual. The advertised working pattern represents the normal working pattern for the role at time of advertisement and is subject to change.

East of England Co-op