Product Launch Specialist

We are recruiting for a Product Launch Specialist on a fixed-term contract. The successful candidate will be responsible for onboarding new products for John Lewis shops and E-commerce by requesting, uploading & validating accurate, complete and timely product data & digital assets ahead of stock arriving in the warehouse. You will work closely with suppliers and internal teams, to maximise the customer experience and to drive search, conversion and sales of John Lewis products. You will manage high volumes of data in our Product Information Management tool, to ensure that all new products are created and enriched to JL standards within SLAs. You will work closely with: - Product Launch Manager & other Product Launch Specialists - 3rd parties (e.g. Suppliers, ITG, GXO) - Buying Offices (Buying Assistants, Buyers & Merchandisers) - Product Launch Operations matrix team (e.g. Asset Production, Post Production, Launch Executives, Copywriters) - Product Data Team - Supplier Operations - E-Commerce - Commercial Optimisation - Data Management Office - Tech & Change

• Salary up to - £35,000 depending on experience
• Contract type - This position is a Secondment/Fixed Term contract until the end of May 2026
• Working pattern/flexible working - We know flexible working is important to you, and it is important to us too. The Partnership has adopted a blended working approach meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The Product Launch team works 1 day a week in the office (Wednesdays) to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings.
• Location - This role is based at our Pimlico Head Office campus. Please note, any cost incurred as a result of travel to the office is the responsibility of the successful candidate. There is no travel allowance for this role.

Key responsibilities

• You will be accountable for the creation and collation of accurate product data and supplier provided digital assets that meet our launch requirements.
• You will take ownership of supplier compliance of 'right first time' data through supplier training and work closely with Product Launch colleagues to ensure that product information is to the required standard.
• You will be the point of contact for suppliers for all Product Set Up activities and drive compliance to ensure data is complete and accurate.
• You will escalate ongoing compliance issues as appropriate, building strong relationships across Product Launch Operations to support end to end improvements.
• You will be responsible for item creation of product data in a range of systems, populating rules based attributes, obtaining and populating any additional data required for SEL ticketing.
• You will be accountable for the critical path of product set up activities and take necessary action to avoid late launch.
• You will be responsible for maintaining data in the appropriate system to ensure product information is accurate and up to date.
• You will support the operation of any RPAs (Robotic Process Automations) which form part of the product set-up process.

What will you be doing?

Our Product Set up Specialists are part of a multi skilled team focused on the activities and processes critical to product launch. As a Product Set Up Specialist, your responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Setting products up and maintaining data in all relevant systems including creating customer facing tickets ready to be printed in our shops
• Ensuring suppliers are completing data on time and in full
• Working to a critical path to ensure products can launch as soon as they arrive in stock
• Collaborating with colleagues in Buying & Merchandising & Product Launch Operations to mitigate risk to our launch plans
• Working with suppliers to help them meet our launch requirements

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Experience with data entry in multiple systems
• Experience with Google Suite & Microsoft Office, specifically in Excel and comfortable with VLookups
• Ability to prioritise effectively
• Comfortable in a team and working with stakeholders

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Experience of meeting KPIs and/or SLAs in an operational team
• Understanding of the product launch process in a retail business
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and work to tight deadlines

For internal use only:

We're the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We're not just employees, we're Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there's never been a more exciting time to join us.

We're ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we're free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It's important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you'll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.