Area Visual Merchandiser (London Based)

We are looking for an Area Visual Merchandiser to join Team OB.

As an Area Visual Merchandiser (AVM) at OB, you will be responsible for creating, supporting, and advising the shops in your area on all aspects of Visual Merchandising. This will involve implementing, driving and developing VM standards.

With a cool head and a warm heart, you will identify and highlight commercial and VM opportunities in the shops, coaching the teams on how to deliver excellent OB visual standards and maximise sales.

You’ll have a flair for design and a great understanding of VM in retail, understanding customer shopping habits and how to create a joyful customer experience.

Reporting to the Field VM Manager, you will work collaboratively with other SO teams such as Retail, Operations and Merchandising to elevate the shops visually and commercially through providing feedback and progress updates to senior management.

As well as regularly visiting stores in your area, you will also support with new store set ups. This remote role requires regular travel across your area, which you will be responsible for planning and organising. Travel will be required throughout the UK and Ireland for new store openings and visits by the VM team. Due to the nature of the role, you may be required to work weekends or evenings. We are open to having conversations about working flexibly.

A bit about us …

At Oliver Bonas (OB), our values of Work Hard, Play Hard & Be Kind are integral to everything we do. Collaboration, imagination, curiosity, and teamwork are key to our success, and everyone has their part to play in making OB a special place to work.

Having fun is key, and a playful and positive approach creates an optimistic environment. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are serious about what we do.

Our team knows their stuff. They’re confident and creative and unafraid to challenge convention to find solutions, taking accountability for their actions, but always with kindness and humility.

More about the role …

An OB Area Visual Merchandiser will:

• Follow and implement the strategic plans of the VM team, maximising visual impact and identifying creative solutions to issues

• Create eye-catching and on trend displays that enhance the customer journey and impact sales positively

• Ensure all VM guidelines and directive packs are adhered to in store and direct teams to learning materials that support these, so that directions are actioned in a timely manner, sharing feedback with senior management

• Coach and guide store teams through floorplans, fixtures and most commercial adjacencies ensuring the shop floor space is used to its full capacity, is shoppable and visually excellent

• Identify commercial and creative opportunities within the shops and communicate clearly and effectively with wider VM team

• Use your VM skills and knowledge of OB, put forward recommendations and agree actions to positively increase shop profitability

• Observe and understand customer shopping habits, wider retail trends and competitor activity, reporting and reacting as needed

• Collaborate with AVMs, Area Managers, Store Managers and teams to ensure the store’s aesthetic and visual appearance meets OB visual standards

• Support and inspire store teams by acting as a coach and mentor, delivering constructive feedback to enhance their skills and understanding

• Attend relevant Retail and Visual meetings to review progress and identify future objectives for yourself and the team

• Understand how all VM equipment is used in the shops, amounts allocated to shops and be responsible for educating shop teams on equipment

• Pack up VM equipment for new shops, ensuring it is all correct and liaising with the warehouse team on where to store this

Bonas Benefits:

• Generous employee discount up to 50% off all OB products

• Free access to our 24 hour employee assistance programme with Care First – offering financial, emotional and vocational support

• Flexible holiday – 30 days (including bank holidays) – increasing to 35 days with length of service

• Annual discretionary profit related bonus scheme

• Free membership for our Westfield Health Cash Plan

• Auto-enrolment into our pension plan

• Free access to our onsite gym

• Cycle to work scheme

• Refer a Friend incentive

• Quarterly free lunch

• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave

• Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Voice network and EDI team

• Mental Health First Aider support

• Education and support through 360L eLearning platform

What we look for:

• Ability to handle a wide range of product groups

• Self-motivated and practical

• Effective communicator, in line with our values

• Confident in delivering and receiving positive and challenging feedback

• Effective time planning

• Strong commercial skills

• Problem solving abilities

• Creative flair

• Attention to detail

• Aware of current and emerging trends

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at OB

At Oliver Bonas, our promise is to do our bit to make living a joyful experience and give cause for optimism. This promise is central to our work in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). To bring joy to others, we must first ensure everyone at OB feels valued, included and most importantly, can be themselves at work.

It is important to us that our brand reflects wider society and the communities in which we operate. As a result, we welcome all eligible applicants for this role however, we are particularly interested in speaking to eligible candidates from the Black, Asian & Mixed Heritage communities.

Oliver Bonas is a Disability Confident Committed employer under the Disability Confident employer scheme

To read more about our ED&I commitments, head over to the EDI page on our website: https://www.oliverbonas.com/meet-the-team/diversity