Category Lead - Beauty
Posted 6 hours 56 minutes ago by John Lewis plc
ABOUT THE ROLE This is a rare and exciting opportunity to join the John Lewis Head Office as a Category Lead for our Beauty Department
This role is also a People Manager role with 4 direct Reports. You will lead and develop your team to deliver a commercially balanced product assortment that drives customer satisfaction and maximises sales, stock, and profit contribution through effective trading lever use and risk management.
You will work at pace, to proactively take opportunities within the market to exceed customers' expectations and create industry-leading propositions informed by market trend data and insight that reflect an appropriate pricing architecture.
You are responsible for developing the strategic direction of your category, using your market knowledge and business & customer insight. At the same time, you will play a part in influencing the wider Category strategy & direction
There will be frequent travel across the UK and occasional travel to Europe.
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Salary - £65,000.00 - £105,200.00 is the Full Pay band - We are looking for candidates up to£85K ( depending on experience)
Contract type - This position is a Permanent contract
Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid 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 Beauty team have mandatory 3 days a week in the office to connect with the team and brands.
Location - This role is based at our Pimlico Head Office.
Interviews - Please note that if you are shortlisted, this role will be an "In Person" Interview Week commencing 8th September only, with set interview dates at our London Head Office.
Some of your key responsibilities will include
You will be accountable for the Category Strategy, including Commercial Forecasts for 0-3 years (Sales, GM/CC, Stock, etc)
Product/Range, promotional, in-season trading proposals/signoff. Sign off on Assortment Reviews and Products as agreed with the Head of Category
Delivery of commercial KPIs
Accountable for the creation of a Category strategy aligning to Customer, Brand and Propositional strategies and accurately forecasting sales, stock, profit and SKUs, with expert knowledge of the category in the marketplace, key competitors and customer behaviour.
You will be accountable for delivering the commercial and customer targets for your category. Consistently evaluating your product range
You will also have Line management accountability for Buyers, Merchandisers and Service Managers (where applicable) in your Category team
What will you be doing?
Overall, Buying & Merchandising for Category and a category expert, create recommendations for End to End customer experience to the Head of Category Proposition
Develop, select and negotiate product ranges in tune with customer demand & target segments
Create, plan and deliver a customer focused, commercial assortment that maximises sales and margin while minimising risk in line with space and SKU count parameters
Accurately forecast sales, stock, profit and SKUs each season by channel
Create category budgets aligning to brand and propositional strategies and plans.
Forecast market changes and proactively adapt commercial plans to potentialise.
Maximise key trading levers within brand and propositional parameters, including price, promotion, assortment, mix and newness
Develop a supply base strategy to support assortment vision and long-term strategic aims
Negotiate robust trading terms with all suppliers to achieve budgeted sales and margin targets
Control inventory levels and open to buy and work with key stakeholders to maximise availability across channels
Be responsible for people management, development and coaching for Category Buyers, Merchandisers and Service Managers (where applicable)
Lead & energise team and prioritise workload
Essential skills/experience you'll need
Tangible experience within a Buying & Merchandising commercial environment, as well as customer proposition development at a Senior Level
Knowledge/experience of Beauty consumer markets
Strong relationship skills and stakeholder management
Experience in managing and leading teams
Highly skilled negotiator adept at managing supplier relationships at senior levels
Proven Experience driving profit and Growth
Scaling a Category
The ability to travel across the UK and Europe (occasional)
We are expecting high interest in the role and therefore encourage you to apply early.
For internal use only:
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Closing Date:
August 27, 2025
Pay:
Contract Type:
Hours of Work:
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Where You'll Be Working:
London Central Office, 1 Drummond Gate, London SW1V 2QQ ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIPWe'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 also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.
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.
At John Lewis, we've got BIG ambitions to be the most inspiring omni-channel retailer in the UK, built on longstanding customer trust and loyalty.
We're focused on offering the very best products for our customers, from stylish fashion and homeware to innovative technology. And, we're committed to creating unforgettable experiences that inspire and delight our customers.