Merchandiser, Sourcing (Hardgoods)

As a Merchandiser in Sourcing you are an active and effective team player, maximising commercial opportunities by working in close collaboration with line manager, cross functional teams globally and suppliers.

You will build long term relationships with the supply base to develop innovative products that meet the brand quality and value requirements.

You will be the one point contact for day to day functioning of all product development & costing related activities for the categories that you handle and you will be responsible for developing the right product, first time with the right suppliers. You work closely with the Buying Operations team to feed into the seasonal critical path.

You will work closely with

• Category Sourcing Manager - UK
• Production team - SO
• Buyers and Merchandisers - UK
• Supplier Management - UK
• Buying, Merchandising & Supplier Operations - UK
• Technical and CR team
• Design team - UK

Primary Outcomes & Accountabilities

• Build long term relationships with the supply base to develop innovative products that meet the quality and value requirements.

• Adhere CP activities

• Margin improvement

• Input into supplier score carding and rationalisation

• Smooth transition / handover to production team

• Feeding into 3 yrs sourcing for respective category

• Maximise commercial opportunities by working in close collaboration with UK teams, Sr Merchandisers and local suppliers in order to drive sales and profit through improved price & margins.

• Executes the defined sourcing strategy and manages a competitive vendor matrix to fulfill the business opportunity plan

• Understands and supports JL ethical, sustainability and compliance initiatives applicable to their category. Works alongside Technical and Compliance teams to ensure this.

• Work together with the matrix team to ensure a seamless end to end process

• Understand and implement open costing to unlock value within category

• Manage end to end Product development life cycle (PD + costing)

• Keep up to date with market activities to have complete market intelligence for category including, new routes, Free Trade Agreement changes, other retailers sourcing routes

• Work on critical path improvements

• Contribute towards supplier scorecards to inform strategy

• Drive innovation & value across the supply chain to achieve the right price / quality balance

• Develop product in accordance with design & technical requirements & apt for quality

Qualifications & Experience

Essential

• Experience in relevant category sourcing at mid level
• Knowledge of manufacturing process and costing module of relevant categories
• Knowledge of supply base for region and category
• Fluency in English and local languages
• End to end product management experience

Desirable

• Worked for a retailer in a Sourcing Office preferably in the European / UK market
• Degree in relevant field e.g. Merchandising or Design
• Understanding of technical aspects of manufacturing

We support agile working practices across the John Lewis Partnership. If you are looking for flexible working options please discuss this at your interview, as each role will have a differing level of flexibility.

Interested parties please click the "APPLY" button to submit your application with full resume including current and expected salary.