Everyone is welcome at M&S. No exceptions. It’s your background, abilities and differences that make you, uniquely you. And when you’re part of M&S, that individuality has the potential to make waves.
About the role
This section tells you all you need to know about the position and its responsibilities, outlining everything we hope to see in a successful candidate.
Summary
We’re looking for a Highly creative and commercially minded Food Store Design & Format Manager to shape the future of our food retail environments. This role blends strategic thinking with hands on design delivery, ensuring our stores inspire customers, strengthen brand identity, and support operational excellence. Aligning with our food business and category innovation and growth ambition.
You’ll lead the end to end design process for food formats, fixtures, and customer experiences, working closely with cross functional teams to bring concepts to life across our estate.
All the details
What You Will Do
Lead the design and development of new food store concepts, layouts, and in‑store experiences, partnering with the Lead Foods Store Design & Format Manager and working closely with the Head of Store Design (Food, Architecture & Services).
Drive innovation across fixtures, merchandising solutions, customer flow, and overall shopability, ensuring concepts respond to customer needs and commercial goals.
Translate brand strategy and commercial objectives into compelling physical environments, equipment solutions, and scalable design toolkits.
Manage multiple design projects from early ideation through to implementation, using customer insight, data, and performance analysis to refine and evolve concepts.
Ensure all designs follow brand guardrails, accessibility and sustainability standards, and operational requirements, producing clear briefs, guidelines, and toolkits for rollout.
Who You Will Be
An experienced retail or food/hospitality environment designer with a portfolio that demonstrates customer‑centric concept development and problem‑solving.
A creative yet commercially minded thinker who balances innovation with practicality, operational constraints, and cost‑effective solutions.
A confident communicator and stakeholder manager who can lead projects, influence decisions, and present concepts to senior teams.
Collaborative, adaptable, and energised by fast‑paced retail transformation, with resilience and a drive to challenge the norm and deliver future‑fit environments.
Skilled in relevant design tools (AutoCAD, SketchUp, Revit, Adobe Creative Suite preferable), proficient in Microsoft Office, and ideally degree‑qualified (though not essential).
Who You Will Work With
Heads of Trade, senior retail teams, and trading/operations partners across the business.
SRD teams and display planners on concept execution and shopability solutions.
Property functions including construction, planning, procurement, tech spec and programme teams.
External design agencies and suppliers, collaborating to deliver high‑quality concepts and equipment solutions.
Site teams across construction environments, articulating design intent and ensuring standards are met.
Everyone’s welcomeWe are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.
Meet the Team
Being an in-person business
We're at our best when we're close to customers, and for many of us at M&S, that means working in store every day.
To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected. It also means we can solve problems as soon as they arise, learn and grow as a team, build trust, and get closer to our colleagues.
Our ‘Closer to Customers’ programme means we all get to work in a store for seven days every year. We see how our customers experience M&S and we can appreciate the challenges our colleagues face in store. It’s all part of a determination to listen, to understand and to change things for the better.
Tom (He / Him) | Employee Experience & Engagement LeadRead full story
It takes time to turn around a business as big as M&S: you can’t just instantly pivot from managed decline to sustainable growth. But we’ve done the hard yards, there really is a momentum now and it’s not just a few green shoots of recovery. We’re clear about our strategy, our growth is strong and we’re so confident about the future. It’s great to be part of this.
Your voice and your ideas matter here. Our 8 colleague networks are places to find support, listen to each other and encourage debate. You can pitch ideas ‘Straight to Stuart’, our CEO, or get involved in our BIG (Business involvement Group).
Experience the business
You’ll spend 7 days each year helping in store and getting closer to our customers. We also organise Insight Days, so you can learn more about specific business units, like Foods.
Raising awareness of various religions and cultures through events and comms, to educate others and better represent our M&S colleagues and customers.
Gender Equality Network
Addressing gender-related challenges, raising awareness, and driving action to ensure equal opportunities for all.
Menopause Network
Initiating and encouraging open conversations about menopause by offering support and sharing experiences.
Forces Community Network
Supporting colleagues connected to the Armed Forces, aiding their transition to civilian life, and ensuring that they thrive in the workplace.
LGBTQ+ Network
Proactively representing LGBTQ+ issues and opportunities to deliver a truly inclusive place to work and shop for our colleagues and customers.
Cancer Network
Fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace culture, addressing stigma, providing guidance and raising awareness to empower and assist colleagues affected by cancer.
Health and Wellbeing Network
Providing a safe space for colleagues with all types of health conditions or disabilities and supporting with business initiatives to ensure our stores are truly accessible for our customers.
Family & Carers Network
A support network for parents and carers, offering a space for colleagues to share experiences, exchange ideas, and access useful resources.
End of slider Colleague Networks carousel
Benefits
Wellbeing hub
Get access to resources to support your wellbeing, including a free virtual GP service.
Giving back
Support your favourite charities by donating through your pay or even volunteering for them.
Pay
Earn a competitive salary.
Colleague discount
After completing your probation period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
Please note only contracts of more than 12 weeks are eligible for this benefit.
Time off
Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.
Bonus
We have discretionary bonus schemes depending on your role and our business performance.
Life assurance
Get cover for twice your salary up to age 70 (double with our Pension Plan).
Workplace savings
We’ll help you save through our Pension Savings Plan, Share Buy and Sharesave schemes.
My Choices
Save on everyday costs through discounts and offers and get access to great health benefits.
Cycle to work
Bike/accessory hire with Cycle to Work and save on tax and national insurance.
Smart tech
Buy the latest technology with interest-free financing directly from your salary.
Wellbeing hub
Get access to resources to support your wellbeing, including a free virtual GP service.
Giving back
Support your favourite charities by donating through your pay or even volunteering for them.
Pay
Earn a competitive salary.
Colleague discount
After completing your probation period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
Please note only contracts of more than 12 weeks are eligible for this benefit.
Time off
Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days.
Bonus
We have discretionary bonus schemes depending on your role and our business performance.
Life assurance
Get cover for twice your salary up to age 70 (double with our Pension Plan).
Workplace savings
We’ll help you save through our Pension Savings Plan, Share Buy and Sharesave schemes.
My Choices
Save on everyday costs through discounts and offers and get access to great health benefits.
Cycle to work
Bike/accessory hire with Cycle to Work and save on tax and national insurance.
Smart tech
Buy the latest technology with interest-free financing directly from your salary.
Here’s what to expect at each stage of the application process. This can change depending on the role you’ve applied to. If you need any reasonable adjustments made at any stage, let us know and we can help.
Send us your application
Fill in our short application form and hit submit.
Online assessment
Depending on the role, you may be invited to take part in an online assessment. Should you be invited to an online assessment your Talent Acquisition Partner will be more than happy to support you with any questions.
Interview
We'll invite you to join us for an interview. This could be remote or in person. Here, we'll ask you some role based technical questions and examine the behaviours we're looking for.
Decision
After we’ve decided, we’ll be in touch. If you’ve been successful, we’ll officially invite you to join the team and let you know the next steps.