Job Description

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a key leader in the Customer team your focus must be to create more value for our customers and our business. You’ll be expected to play a pivotal role in delivery of the overall Customer plan by working with the clear positioning for your category to design and execute an effective marketing plan. Working with the Category Marketing Lead you will drive accountability for how your category shows up to our customers.

THIS POSITION PRIMARILY FOCUSES ON DRIVING OUR CORE FASHION CATEGORY, WHILE ADDITIONALLY SUPPORTING KIDS CATEGORIES.

You will help with the development and execution of category marketing activity at John Lewis (paid, owned, earned), by driving the way in how we engage customers with our breadth of products and services in your named category. You will work closely with the media & performance team to agree and measure investment. You will also partner with Customer strategy, customer planning, marketing channels, CX, brand, store marketing and relevant creative teams to deliver the marketing strategy and plan aligned to the category you have accountability for.

Working with the Category Marketing Lead you will help to deliver end to end ownership of the relevant category marketing plans, the associated budget and partner resource for that category across all sales and marketing channels. You will ensure we steer the most optimal way to go to market whilst iterating for tactical opportunities to drive trade. Underlying this, you will always work to ensure that our category plans are in service of our Purpose and E&S objectives.

Working in your team and with matrixed Partners (as described above) you will help to deliver relevant and engaging marketing content to our customers and which drives consideration. You’ll have a detailed knowledge of your category: the trends, the market, the product, the innovation and the brands. You will work with your peers in commercial and customer strategy to shape your category marketing plans. This will be connected to both our brand platform and category marketing objectives. You’ll ensure the delivery of category marketing campaigns, ensuring that the concept, channel mix, messaging, creative, retail media are delivering the customer, supplier and trade outcomes required.

You’ll also help deliver our approach to ‘always on’ communication with customers for the directorate, influencing a group of channel experts (PR, Social, Digital, CRM) to continually optimise end-to-end how John Lewis engages with its customers.

You’ll understand the role of your category in delivering commercial and customer outcomes, brand and customer strategy.

You will support the customer leadership team to ensure a consistent application of the new brand visual identity throughout your plans.

• Expected salary up to - £70,000 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. Within the Marketing and Loyalty team, we believe in the power of connection, which is why our core office days are Wednesdays and Thursdays. We typically aim for around 2-3 days a week in the office, visiting shops / creative studios / Brands / Agencies to allow for collaboration and attendance of key meetings.
• Location - This role is based at our London Head Office campus in Pimlico. 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.
• (FYI) Next Steps - The application process requires you to upload your CV and answer some additional questions. An initial shortlist will be invited to a virtual screening call which will be held on Friday 9th October 2026. A final shortlist will then be invited to attend a formal interview where you may be required to present a small project that will be provided to you in advance. INTERVIEWS WILL BE HELD IN PERSON AT OUR HEAD OFFICE IN PIMLICO ON MONDAY 19TH OR TUESDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2026.

Key responsibilities

• Member of the John Lewis Category Marketing Team with end to end accountability for the category marketing plan, execution and performance. You should be obsessed with how your category comes to market. Confident using and applying data to inform this
• Manage multiple stakeholders, particularly peers in JL Customer, Commercial and relevant agencies.
• Trusted marketing contact for the commercial teams. Help to drive the direction of the directorate and create a marketing plan to deliver commercial and customer outcomes
• Identify and respond to tactical marketing opportunities to drive trade and/or support brands, prioritising and working with channel teams to execute these
• Work closely with Customer strategy, customer planning, marketing channels, media planning, CX, Loyalty, brand marketing and store marketing to inform the strategy and the category go to market plan
• Deliver the category marketing go to market plan: implementing the creation, planning and execution in the channels, ensuring they’re achieving strategic outcomes and aligned to category strategy. Ensure every customer touchpoint is understood and optimised. Ensure this plan is in service of our brand positioning
• Support the shift to a digital first marketing model
• Work in a matrix team of marketing managers and channel experts to deliver both campaign and ‘always on’ marketing and communication to customers in all channels
• Help to grow the Partnership’s growing retail media business through the high quality planning and delivery of branded supplier campaigns
• Support key outcomes of the plan - based on business priorities, skills and professional development opportunities.
• Be part of a high performing team in a way that is consistent with the Partnerships values.

Key skills

Marketing:

• Focus on the customer needs and the business objectives. Sharp point of view on what and how we communicate to customers in a clear and compelling way to drive relevance and consideration

Prioritisation:

• Plans and reviews workload regularly and is prepared to adapt to ever changing circumstances. Assesses workload realistically in terms of urgency and importance and is ready for "curve balls" and changes plans where necessary to ensure optimum achievement and deadlines are hit

Stakeholder Management:

• Identifies who is impacted by or involved in your goals/objectives and therefore who is key to achieving the desired successful outcomes. Understands the motivations and priorities of these stakeholders and takes these into account in order to build and manage sustainable relationships. Can anticipate potential challenges stakeholders may bring and puts plans in place to achieve collaboration.

Customer Centricity:

• You are led by our customer needs but you balance this with commercial acumen

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• A strategically minded Marketeer with a passion for John Lewis, our customers, categories and brands
• Extensive and recent experience in marketing roles within Fashion retail marketing
• Proven track record of planning and delivering marketing activity that drives customer and commercial outcomes for Fashion
• Confident working in a fast paced, high pressure, challenging environment with high accountability
• Highly skilled working with existing strategies to turn this into impactful marketing plans (paid, owned and earned)
• Capability to balance both short term and long term goals. Ability to trade off resources for best business outcome
• Experience in working with external marketing agencies and helping develop significant supplier partnerships
• Experience of people management

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Marketing/Business degree or equivalent
• Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma
• Recent experience in marketing roles within Fashion retail marketing
• Experience managing supplier relationships, working with third party providers and delivering co-branded campaigns or brand partnerships

Closing Date:

October 4, 2026

Pay:

£55,500.00 - £88,500.00 Annual

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hours of Work:

35

Job Level:

Partnership Level 6

Where You'll Be Working:

London Central Office, 1 Drummond Gate, London, , SW1V 2QQ

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

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 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.