Job Description

Trade Planning Manager

£50,000 - £58,000 plus excellent benefits (Work Level 5)

Manchester – hybrid working between home and two days a week in the office https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy

We’re looking for a Trade Planning Manager to join our Trade Planning and Value team at Co-op and help develop and deliver our customer trade plan.

Our Trade Planning teams are all about trying new things and finding better ways to build brilliant experiences for our customers and members in store. As a Trade Planning Manager, you’ll bring people together across teams to make sure our trade plans land well - from idea through to delivery and review - helping us deliver great customer outcomes, strong commercial results and simple ways of working.

Why this job matters

You’ll take the lead on creating joined-up, customer-focused trade plans, working closely with our Commercial teams to get the best out of every opportunity. It’s a role with lots of moving parts, but it’s also hugely rewarding - you’ll see the impact of what you do every time you walk into one of our stores.

What you’ll do

• Plan and deliver our quarterly and annual trade plans, helping drive sales, grow market share, and support strong, sustainable performance

• Look at sales data, customer insight and market trends to spot what’s working (and what’s not), using this to shape clear actions and improve our offer for customers

• Join regular category and promo meetings, sharing insight and helping guide decisions so they’re both right for customers and commercially sound

• Understand how each category works and what they’re trying to achieve, making sure our trade plans line up and deliver against those goals

• Work closely with commercial teams to build compelling promotions that offer great value for our customers and members

• Take time to review how things have landed, using post-implementation reviews to learn, improve and keep raising the bar

• Partner with Marketing and Communications teams to make sure our campaigns are clear, relevant and easy for customers to engage with across all channels

• Help bring consistency and clarity into our stores, making sure our plans align with our Value Framework and are simple for customers to shop

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we focus on what really matters. To thrive here, you’ll bring:

• Strong commercial awareness, with experience in a customer-facing retail environment

• The ability to build great relationships and confidently influence others, including senior stakeholders

• A well-organised approach, with strong attention to detail and the ability to keep things running smoothly and on time

• Clear communication skills, with the confidence to adapt your style depending on who you’re talking to

• A mindset of continuous improvement, always looking for ways to do things better and spot new opportunities

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles accessible, so we focus on what really matters. To thrive in this role, you’ll bring:

• Experience leading in a customer-facing retail environment, with a genuine passion for doing the right thing for customers, alongside delivering commercial results

• The ability to think strategically, seeing the bigger picture while delivering practical outcomes in Retail

• A talent for bringing ideas to life strategy in a way that’s engaging and easy to understand

• Strong relationship-building skills, with confidence to influence and challenge positively

• Deep understanding of all key proposition, customer and commercial roles in retail

• Ability to digest complex data sources and use these to challenge the status quo

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

• Competitive pay including additional shift allowances

• Holidays starting from 30 days per year (including bank holidays)

• 30% off Co-op branded products in our food stores

• Private healthcare

• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions

• Stream – a money management app that gives you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it

• Free employee assistance programme with extensive health, financial and wellbeing support

• Access to credit unions for loans and savings, plus rental deposit loans and season ticket loans

• Free eye tests every 2 years

• On-site facilities including a subsidised canteen and free parking

A place you’ll belong

We're building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We're proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we'll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at Your Co-op Application Journey and our inclusion commitments at Diversity and inclusion at Co-op

We welcome applications from veterans, reservists, and military families. We’re proud to support meaningful careers, not just jobs, for those with Armed Forces experience and their partners.

As part of the application process for this job, you'll need to complete two online assessments. It will take around 20 minutes to complete these tests.

We reserve the right to remove a vacancy before the scheduled closing date.