Trade Planning Manager

Team
Food
Store
London Support Office
Location
London, Greater London
Position type
Full Time
Contract type
Permanent
Salary
Competitive + Benefits
Closing date:
30th October 2026
Apply now

How We Hire

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.

All the details

We’re looking for a highly organised and commercially minded Trade Planning & Events Manager to help shape and deliver the M&S Food Trade Plan. You’ll work at the heart of the Food business, bringing together Buying, Supply Chain, Marketing, Retail Operations and SRD to turn strategy into activity that lands on time, right first time and with maximum impact for customers and stores. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys managing complexity, influencing partners and using insight to continuously improve how plans are delivered.

Due to high interest, this role may close earlier than advertised. We recommend applying as soon as possible.

What you’ll do

Your key accountabilities will include:

  • Lead the development and delivery of category, seasonal and events trade plans, ensuring activity aligns with the wider Food customer plan and commercial priorities.
  • Coordinate critical paths across multiple teams so launches, events and space activity are delivered on time and right first time for stores.
  • Build strong relationships across Buying, Supply Chain, Marketing, Retail Operations and SRD, creating alignment and resolving risks or dependencies early.
  • Handle key trade planning processes including phase sign-off, mock shops, baton passes, change control and governance forums.
  • Review sales, customer feedback and implementation measures, lead post-implementation reviews and embed learning to improve future plans and ways of working.

Who you are

Your skills and experience will include:

  • Strong project management skills, with experience coordinating multiple workstreams, deadlines, partners and dependencies at the same time.
  • Commercial awareness and a good understanding of sales drivers, customer missions and retail performance measures.
  • Confidence building relationships and influencing partners at all levels within a complex, cross-functional organisation.
  • Excellent organisation and attention to detail, with the ability to simplify complexity and communicate plans clearly.
  • A proactive approach to problem solving, with the confidence to identify risks early, challenge constructively and drive solutions through to completion.

What’s in it for you?

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

  • 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation
  • Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
  • Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
  • Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
  • Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
  • Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
  • Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
  • 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
  • One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you

Everyone’s welcome

We 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.

A group of colleagues gathered around a table, smiling and discussing work with laptops open in a modern office setting.

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.

Click to skip quote slider carousel
Beth Own Brand Lead
Hetal Buyer

We want to succeed by earning and deserving the trust of consumers. We try to do the right thing for customers, whether it’s creating healthy everyday food or delivering the small moments of joy in their lives. People rely on M&S and that’s what makes it such a privilege to work here.

Beth (She / Her) | Own Brand Lead Read full story

What motivates me is getting to learn something new, and the best thing about buying is that you can go into any area, and you’ll become an expert in it. I started in food – ambient snacking and soft drinks – then moved into homecare, buying pet food and household products. Now I’ve been promoted to a Senior Buyer role within our Bakery team.

Hetal (She / Her) | Buyer Read full story

Make Your Mark

Opportunities to be heard

Your voice matters here. You can share your ideas ‘Straight to Stuart’, our CEO, or get involved in our BIG (Business involvement Group). Our colleague networks are also great places to find support, listen to each other and encourage debate.

Experience the business

We’re passionate about our customers and colleagues. To get closer to our customers we work in our stores 7 days per year. That way we can see how operations run and look for ways to do better each day.

Click to skip Colleague Networks slider carousel

Colleague Networks

We want you to feel supported, no matter what.

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.

Forces Community Network

Supporting colleagues connected to the Armed Forces, aiding their transition to civilian life, and ensuring that they thrive in the workplace.

Cancer Network

Fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace culture, addressing stigma, providing guidance and raising awareness to empower and assist colleagues affected by cancer.

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.

LGBTQ+ Network

Proactively representing LGBTQ+ issues and opportunities to deliver a truly inclusive place to work and shop for our colleagues and customers.

Culture and Heritage Network

Raising awareness of various religions and cultures through events and comms, to educate others and better represent our M&S colleagues and 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.

Benefits

How to Apply

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

We’ll invite you to take part in an online assessment. This could be before or after your interview.

In-person assessment centre

We’ll invite you to an in-person assessment centre for an interview. This process may differ depending on the role you’ve applied to.

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.

Trade Planning Manager

Team
Food
Store
London Support Office
Location
London, Greater London
Position type
Full Time
Contract type
Permanent
Salary
Competitive + Benefits
Closing date: 30th October 2026
Reference: 139829