Role: Assistant Merchandiser
Contract: Permanent
Location: Cork/Hybrid
Reporting to: Senior Merchandising Manager
Benefits: Competitive salary, pension, sick pay, employee discount and training & development


The Role:


Kilkenny Design is a dynamic and progressive Irish family-owned omnichannel retail and online business. We have an exciting new role for an Assistant Merchandiser to join our team.


The Assistant Merchandiser is an excellent opportunity for an energetic individual to join a focused team in a fast paced and rewarding environment. At Kilkenny Design we are passionate about championing Irish design & craft, and we work with some of Ireland's most well recognised designers and makers.


We are looking for a Assistant Merchandising with experience working across a number of fashion, gift and homeware categories, who is analytical and commercial and who will use their broad and expert knowledge to plan and optimise the best ranges for omnichannel customers .
You will work closely with the Senior Merchandising Manager on delivering agreed KPIs including sales, profit, stock turn, sku width, availability, margin, maximising profit and risk management.
You will have an eye for detail and bring new ideas to the buying & merchandising process, on & offline.


About our Culture:
At Kilkenny we hire great people to ensure that the best possible experience is created for our customers and colleagues each day. Our values and behaviours inform what we do and shape our decision making.
At Kilkenny we strive to be open and honest by building a culture of trust and transparency. We treat customers and colleagues as individuals to understand their needs, always doing so with clarity and kindness. We expect colleagues to take personal responsibility and plan for a sustainable future and our ongoing success. When things go wrong, we put things right and learn from the experience. Most of all we thrive to work hard together as a cohesive team whilst having fun along the way.


Responsibilities:
Work closely with the business, supporting the buying, buying admin, retail & ecommerce teams.
Accurately forecast sales, stock, profit and plan SKUs each season, by channel
Manage assortment Weekly Sales Stock Intake (WSSI) including availability and
stock levels, identifying and handling gaps between forecasts and actuals.
Maximise opportunities as they arise and lead the in-season trading to potentialise the outcome for all omni channel customers and manage risk for the group.
Bring a focus on the top sellers to the Kilkenny business by channel & store type.
Support your Manager with the Budget planning process, options and stock plans for the assortment, whilst supporting operational efficiency through planning the flow of stock to improve stock turn.
Work with the Buying Team and suppliers to determine strategies based on detailed range analytics for each area.
Support with the product lifecycle from launch through to exit of terminal stock.
Help lead the buying planning process with the Buying Director, helping the team get ahead planning to space each season.
Support the planning of Sales & Margin and re-forecast sales on a regular basis looking for opportunities to grow margin and overall profitability.
Support the management of company stock through monitoring intake from suppliers and deliver data that will support the management of in season stock commitments based on current sales trends.
Suggest opportunities to reduce costs & outline a plan that focuses on reducing hidden costs
Support with the deliver data to support the Managing of Sale and Promotional events
Be involved in new store openings, closures, and revamps. Take accountability for building a commercial stock package which meets individual store needs by understanding space plans. Monitor performance closely and suggest action to maximise performance across the retail estate.
Support with preparation for internal and external Business meetings by creating reports that detail performance. Consider both the audience and meeting agenda when building data reports.


Key requirements of the role:
Strong excel skills (pivot tables, V lookups, Data Manipulation) with strong analytical skills and a strong customer focus lens.
Experience in forecasting & planning and WSSI management
Monitoring of store tiering and replenishment models.
Production of ad hoc sales analysis and reports.
Periodically visit stores to understand space options, receive feedback on opportunities to drive sales and profit whilst driving stock turn.


Character and personal qualities
Great communicator & influencer, with the ability to build strong relationships
Outstanding ability to think creatively to identify and resolve challenges
Ability to work cross functionally across several teams, both internal and external.
Strong commercial awareness and ability to understand implications on the business of decisions taken.
Strong analytical and reporting skills.
Highly organized, can work to tight deadlines and under time pressure


Ethos:
This could be your role if you are collaborative, analytical & enthusiastic to be part of the journey as Kilkenny Design embarks on the development of a Merchandising function to support the growth of the Kilkenny group . We are looking for someone who is passionate about delivering a 5 star customer experience and will bring this as a key consideration in everything that they do.


Please note due to the large number of applicants expected for this role we will only be able to contact the successful candidates called to interview. Thank you.
Kilkenny is a progressive employer with a Values based culture and a strong emphasis on people development.