Senior Merchandiser

Job Title: Senior Merchandiser

1 Position

1 x Direct Report

Location: South Wales

Scope of the Role:
Reporting to the Sales Operations & Merchandising Manager, the Senior Merchandiser is responsible for leading the merchandising function, ensuring the effective planning and execution of customer projects through robust critical path management and cross-functional collaboration. The role provides project oversight of all customer programmes, ensuring project milestones are achieved whilst proactively identifying risks, capacity constraints and opportunities to improve delivery performance.

Working closely with the Sales Operations & Merchandising Manager, the Senior Merchandiser supports departmental planning by maintaining visibility of production capacity, critical path performance and operational risks, providing timely insight and recommendations to support business decision-making.

The role is also responsible for driving continuous improvement, acting as a key subject matter expert for the X3 ERP system. Working collaboratively across functions, the role supports the successful implementation and ongoing enhancement of X3, promotes best practice and understanding of end-to-end business processes, and helps develop colleague capability through training and support, including during employee induction.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Managing project critical paths, maintaining operational oversight of all customer critical paths, ensuring projects progress in line with agreed milestones and customer launch dates
• Proactively identify critical path risks, bottlenecks and dependencies, escalating issues and recommending solutions to the Sales Operations & Merchandising Manager where appropriate.
• Maintain visibility of UK and Far East production capacity, supporting departmental planning by highlighting capacity constraints, workload pressures and opportunities to optimise production schedules.
• Work closely with Commercial, Purchasing, Operations, Finance and Supply Chain teams to ensure customer projects remain aligned with business priorities and operational capability.
• Chair regular cross-functional critical path review meetings, ensuring actions are routinely circulated and completed within agreed timescales.
• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching and support to the Merchandiser, ensuring consistent standards, effective prioritisation and professional development.
• Act as a key subject matter expert for the X3 ERP system, supporting the successful implementation and adoption of system functionality, promoting best practice, improving data integrity and providing guidance on end-to-end business processes.
• Support the onboarding and induction of new employees by providing guidance and training on merchandising processes, end-to-end business processes and the effective use of X3, helping to embed consistent ways of working across the business.
• Identify, implement and maintain continuous improvement initiatives, merchandising procedures and standard operating processes that enhance efficiency, reduce manual administration and improve consistency across the merchandising function.
• Produce and maintain reporting relating to critical path performance.
• Monitor departmental workload and resource requirements, working with the Merchandiser and Operations Administrator to ensure priorities are effectively managed and customer commitments are achieved; escalating to the Sales Operations & Merchandising Manager where appropriate.
• Support the Sales Operations & Merchandising Manager with strategic projects, business improvement initiatives and departmental objectives as required.

Key Skills and Attributes:

• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) with the ability to build strong working relationships across all levels of the business and supply base.
• Competent in Microsoft Office applications with strong analytical skills, advanced in Excel knowledge, including Pivot Tables, and data analysis.
• Experience using ERP systems and a strong understanding of business process improvement.
• Excellent planning, organisational and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and changing business demands.
• Demonstrable experience of end-to-end critical path management.
• A proactive approach to problem solving, with the ability to identify risks and implement effective solutions.
• Experience coaching, mentoring or supporting the development of colleagues.
• A continuous improvement mindset with the ability to challenge existing ways of working and drive operational efficiencies.

About our people and the recruitment process

We’re an inclusive employer and we welcome applications from everyone!

We are guided by our values – purpose, pace, passion and people. We are committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to create an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds.

If you would like any support with your application or to discuss any adjustments that you may require to support you to application process, please contact [email protected]

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free parking
• Health & wellbeing programme
• On-site parking
• Sick pay
• Work from home

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Hengoed CF82 7SS