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Role Title: Senior Merchandiser Department: Merchandising Reports To: Merchandising Manager / Head of Merchandising Contract Type: Full-Time (35 hours), Permanent Working Arrangements/Pattern: Monday-Friday (hybrid working 3 days in the office) Working Location: Havant, Hampshire Who are we? For over 30 years, we’ve travelled, we’ve laughed, we’ve grown. We believe life is for living and more fun with those we love. We are Made for Life. Our mission statement: Crafting clothes for life’s everyday adventures. Today, tomorrow and always. Our Product formula: Considered style. Trusted Quality. B Corp certified. We are proud to have featured in the Sunday Times top 10 best places to work 2025 and best places to work for women 2025. Equality and inclusion isn’t an aspiration but the standard. We promote and drive equality within our workforce to ignite an inclusive foundation for us all to build from and truly connect with our customers, colleagues, and communities alike. You play a key part in creating an environment free from prejudice, racism, sexism, harassment, bullying and any other form of marginalisation in our workplaces. Role Summary The Senior Merchandiser plays a pivotal leadership role within the Merchandising function, driving the financial and strategic performance of their category and contributing to the wider department strategy. Acting as a deputy to the Merchandise Manager / Head of Merchandising, the role ensures robust planning, trading excellence, and effective team development, while delivering commercial outcomes aligned with the FatFace brand and values. The Senior Merchandiser partners closely with Buying, Design, Next, and cross functional teams to deliver compelling, profitable ranges across all channels, while developing and supporting junior team members. Role Responsibilities Department Leadership & Deputising • Deputise for the Merchandise Manager / Head of Merchandising on departmental activities when required., • Provide senior input into department decision making, strategy, and problem solving., • Partner with senior stakeholders to drive business objectives and innovation. Financial Planning & Performance Management • Lead monthly roll‑ups, margin reviews, and financial summaries, tracking performance against plan at category and department level in line with budget targets., • Own and manage Category Planning tools (Cat Plan) and stock walk‑throughs, ensuring accuracy of intake, spend, sales, markdowns, and terminal stock., • Measure category and department actuals versus plan, identifying risks and opportunities and proposing action., • Drive Open to Buy (OTB) management to optimise stock levels, availability, and cash flow efficiency. Support management with department roll ups., • Develop and present markdown and promotional proposals that maximise sales and margin.Support management with department roll ups. Strategy & Business Development • Collaborate with Merch Manager/Head of Merchandising on strategy and innovation., • Support and help lead departmental strategy meetings, taking ownership for defined categories., • Deliver robust financial category planning aligned to seasonal and long term business goals., • Prepare business cases for new product areas, collaborations, and growth opportunities., • Accountable for product strategies relating to seasonal peaks, new stores, space changes, and additional channels. Systems & Web Readiness (NEXT Product System) • Set up line flows and load budgets pre‑season within the NEXT product system., • Provide clear direction on launch strategies such as Early Release and Mid Phase Drops to support Assistant and Trainee Merchandisers., • Ensure consistent delivery of web readiness and publishing standards across all categories. Range Planning & Sign‑off • Lead lessons learned reviews to inform and improve future range planning decisions., • Oversee option planning and thumbnail development aligned to financial category plans., • Chair range review meetings, ensuring options are ranked, budgeted, and aligned to financial and option plans., • Finalise estimates and distributions using competition curves to tie back to agreed budgets., • Own the collation of signoff packs, including line level attribution, buy data, and KPIs., • Lead range signoff meetings with Buying, Design, and technical teams., • Manage relationships with Partners and NEXT Branch Merchandising teams to ensure clear communication and alignment. Contract Management & Critical Path • Accountable for all merchandising actions within the Contract Tracker, ensuring delivery to critical path and agreed spend., • Monitor and enforce critical path adherence across the merchandising team to support successful launches. Trading & In Season Management • Set clear weekly trading priorities for the team., • Deliver concise trade summaries with actionable category insights., • Maintain and accurately update the budget tracker on a weekly basis., • Review in season forecasts and actuals, confirming stock management actions and risks, aligning to company budgets., • Measure the effectiveness of markdowns and promotions, implementing corrective actions where required., • Chair weekly pre trade meetings to align priorities for upcoming trading periods. Supplier Management • Lead supplier meetings, production planning, and forecasting reviews., • Manage performance against plan, addressing variances and driving corrective actions in line with department strategies., • Build and maintain strong supplier relationships to support long term growth and quality delivery. Team Leadership & Development • Lead, coach, and develop Merchandisers/Juniors, Assistant and Trainee Merchandisers through regular 1‑2‑1s, appraisals, and development planning., • Identify capability gaps and deliver training and peer learning opportunities., • Set clear expectations and priorities aligned to departmental objectives and critical path delivery., • Support wider team with system training needs, utilising super users., • Act as an ambassador for FatFace values and mission. Broader Merchandising Contribution • Lead regular store visits and competitor shops to inform commercial and ranging decisions., • Foster cross-functional collaboration with design, buying, tech, and finance teams., • Contribute to cross functional initiatives with VM, Retail Operations, Ecommerce, and Marketing., • Champion sustainability initiatives within merchandising activity., • Align self to companies social and environmental mission and champion any actions that you can directly impact at all times. Skills and Experience • Extensive experience in a merchandising role, with proven success in financial planning and category management., • Strong people leadership experience, with a track record of developing high performing merchandising teams., • Advanced analytical capability and confidence using merchandising systems and reporting tools., • Excellent supplier management and negotiation skills., • Strong communication skills with the ability to collaborate with and influence cross functional stakeholders., • Commercially driven with a strategic mindset and a passion for delivering long term, sustainable growth. Role Competencies Commercial Acumen – Strong understanding of financial drivers and trading levers. Strategic Thinking – Ability to translate insight into long term category and department plans. Leadership & Coaching – Inspires, develops, and empowers others to perform at their best. Collaboration – Builds trusted relationships across Buying, Design, Supply Chain, and NEXT partners. Decision Making – Confident and timely decision making backed by data and insight. Ownership & Accountability – Takes responsibility for outcomes, driving delivery against plan. Collaboration and Deliverables: Collaboration ☐ External Agency or Consultant ☒ External Supplier ☒ NEXT Business Partners ☒ FatFace Directors ☒ Store Teams ☒ Internal Product Teams (Design, Buying, Merchandising) ☒ Internal Support Teams (Finance, IT, Retail Operations, People, Compliance, Property) ☒ Internal Creative Teams (Marketing, Creative, Studio) ☒ Industry Networking Deliverables ☒ Department Spend vs Budget ☒ Team Performance and Development ☒ Compliance and Governance Requirements ☒ Commercial Reporting ☒ Project Delivery ☒ Timelines and Deadlines ☒ Resource Planning FatFace Benefits: Financial & Protection Benefits • Sick pay allowances, • Critical Illness Income protection/ Death in service (for salaried colleagues), • Pension scheme – with net deduction and salary sacrifice options, • Dental insurance (colleague funded) Discounts & Perks • 60% off FatFace products, • 25% discount at Next stores (across full price products), • O2 phone discount, • Discounted gym membership, • Cycle to Work scheme (for salaried colleagues), • EV vehicle scheme (for salaried colleagues), • Perkbox – our online platform offering:, • Day-one access, • Exclusive brand discounts, • Wellbeing content, • Home workouts and more Health & Wellbeing • Specsavers eye care scheme, • Eye tests and contributions to glasses, • Free period products, • EAP support 24/7 via UNUM, Retail Trust, and Fashion & Textiles Support Learning & Development • THRIVE – our learning management system:, • Day-one access, • 1,000s of learning resources Time Off & Leave • 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, • Sabbatical leave (in line with service), • Enhanced family-friendly policies – including enhanced maternity leave, • Flexible Working Opportunities – flexible working requests can be made from day one of employment and are considered on an individual basis. Additional Perks • Refer a Friend scheme

Software Engineer (Java) SC Clearance Required Certain Advantage are hiring for a Software Engineer based in Portsmouth. This role is on an initial 12-month contract and is required to be onsite 3 days a week. Your responsibilities: Contribute across the full software development lifecycle, including design, development, testing, and deployment. Design software solutions using UML/SysML and contribute to technical architecture within a microservices environment. Develop high-quality Java applications using Spring Boot, Spring Framework and related technologies. Implement and maintain RESTful web services over HTTPS within distributed systems. Write and maintain automated tests, ensuring quality and reliability are built into the solution from the outset. Participate in Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, estimation, reviews and retrospectives. Collaborate closely with team members and wider stakeholders to design, implement and test new product features. Contribute to CI/CD pipelines, source control (Git) and issue tracking tools such as Jira. Ensure compliance awareness and act with integrity, supporting standards, reputation and sustainable growth. The individual: Java Core (version 8+) Spring Boot, Spring Framework - Good knowledge of Developing in Spring with Hibernate Good Knowledge of developing REST within HTTPS Experience of developing within a microservice architecture Distributed systems Knowledge and use of software design patterns Agile Development Processes CI/CD delivery techniques Source code management (we use GIT) Use of Issue tracking systems (such as Jira) UML/SysML using Enterprise Architect or similar Ability to self-motivate and to work well within a team environment. Ability to promote innovation in self and others Ability to interact with internal & external stakeholders in a confident and professional manner Does this sound like your next career move? Apply today. Working with Certain Advantage We go the extra mile to find the best people for the job. If youre hunting for a role where you can make an impact and grow your career, well work with you to find it. We work with businesses across the UK to find the best people in Finance, Marketing, IT and Engineering. If this job isnt for you, head to certainadvantage.co.uk and register for job alerts and career guidance tips. TPBN1_UKTJ

Head of Quality Assurance and Innovation (Children’s Services). Gateshead is the people of Gateshead. Head of Quality Assurance and Innovation (Children’s Services).

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