Central Merchandiser

**Job Title**: Head of Central Merchandising
- **Reports to**:Buying & Merchandising Director
This role is the commercial lead for the evolution of the business, developing strategic change to establish an effective Buying and Merchandising function. This role leads the development of new processes and tools, setting best practice and business definitions. It ensures that all stages of the commercial Business Calendar and Trading Calendar are completed to industry best practice and on time, with the result that all activities align to the strategy, deliver the targets and the best customer experience.
Once strategic change is completed, this role is the owner of continuous improvement and ensures consistent standards.
This role also supports the Buying & Merchandising Director on all budgeting and trading activities, ensuring planning numbers reconcile to Finance and overseeing all “Top down, Bottom U” processes, to ensure targets are set and met effectively. An independent and objective role, which can support and challenge the B & M teams, across product and channel planning and provides the commercial business input for new IT systems & tools.
- **THE PERSON**
- Superior analytical and quantitative skills; ability to analyse and draw business implications from multiple sources: financial, customer, market, and other data sources
- Commercial acumen: results driven and a completer finisher able to work at pace
- Clear thinker that has strong process skills, able to break down complex problems and tasks into simple steps
- Superior written and oral communication skills - ability to present complex ideas in a compelling manner
- Capacity to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams within commercial and the wider organization, bringing people together to deliver business goals
- Stakeholder management: ability to achieve rapport and influence outcomes, utilizing effective communication skills and change management practices
- Transparent, empowering, and inspiring leader who is a role model and lives the values
- Good delegator who develops talent through coaching
- Ability to establish credibility, rapport, and influence with reports/peers/supervisors.
- Self-starter with an ability to work at the highest levels with little supervision
- Able to challenge constructively and deliver difficult messages effectively with respect

**EXPERIENCE REQUIRED**
- Minimum 10 years at a senior/Head of level in Merchandising or Planning based on the Merchandise Planning model
- Excellent technical planning skills including WSSI management & advanced Excel skills
- Degree, or appropriate business-related experience / equivalent
- Meaningful experience in the retail sector, with a holistic understanding of the retail industry and underlying customer behaviors
- Experience of transformation and strategic change programme management an asset

**MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES**

**PLANNING**
- Drive the planning process for a phased category plan by channel to propose robust financial targets to the B&M Director which support the commercial strategy
- Work closely with Finance to reconcile metrics between financial plans and product plans - compare, contrast, challenge and in line with lead times
- Provide guidance, support & challenge for B&M teams to achieve targets
- Model key product metrics in advance to assess risk profiles and reconcile top-down and bottom-up planning to deliver consistency and encourage cross-functional working
- Propose and manage the business definitions of KPIs and ensure consistent use
- Lead a cross-functional review of the Business Calendar to secure the critical planning & trading milestones that deliver on time launch
- Voice of B&M team in planning with the intention to achieve buy-in across the business for more realistic growth plans

**TRADING**
- Own the monthly reforecasting (WSSI) process, rolling up risk and opportunities and modelling impact on cash flow of recommendations for in-season Brand allocations
- Provide visibility to Buying team of OTB positions
- Oversee the reforecast & sign off process and communicate to Finance as appropriate
- Ensure the Trading calendar is appropriate to hit financial and customer targets, reflecting the needs across all channels
- Analyse promotional results to recommend future events with sales & profit impacts
- Liaise with supply chain/logistics and product teams to optimise the flow of stock and intake in the event of capacity constraints and ensuring stock targets are met
- Manage the process for coding seasonal stock & use of clearance markdown budget, ensuring it is spent to clear stock effectively to hit terminal stock targets

**CHANNEL OPTIMISATION**
- Establish grading & clusters to support the business managing space, sales, and local trading opportunities
- Support overall stock & range planning from end to end for all channels including eComm and ROI
- Liaise with Store Operations re new stores and refurbs, communicating d