Head of Technology for Buying & Merchandising and Supply Chain

Role Responsibility

What is the role?

As Head of Technology for this area, you will be directly responsible for the engineering, planning, leadership, and direction of the technology capabilities that will support the delivery of Selfridge’s buying and merchandising and supply chain solutions. In collaboration with the wider Tech Senior Leadership Team, particularly the Head of Technology Architecture you will define and deliver the technology roadmap for this area that supports our business strategy.

As Head of Technology for B&M and Supply C you will:

Own the technologies within two major business product domains of Supply Chain and Buying & Merchandising, including both live services and the delivery of the technology roadmap for their evolution.

Lead and grow the capabilities of a team, currently comprising a small in-house and large third party set of relationships, to run and evolve the next generation of solutions needed to support our ambitious growth agenda covering both physical and digital channels.

As far as possible implement a product-oriented, iterative development approach within the domain and in partnership with the business Product Manager for this area.

Work closely with key business stakeholders, particularly the Product Manager for B&M and Supply Chain to deliver the business product roadmap that's in line with the Selfridges strategic roadmap.

Collaborate with peers in the Tech Team, particularly other Heads of Technology and Architecture to ensure coherence of plans with the wider technology roadmap and architecture.

Act as primary technology owner for key current domain-specific and upcoming projects including Material Composition Tracking, Central and in-store Inventory Management, Order Management, Warehouse Management and Direct to Customer projects.

Define an optimal technical resourcing strategy to maximise the quality and volume of delivery at the best cost to the business, which includes bringing technical roles in house as well as considering a sustainable partnering strategy.

The Ideal Candidate

You have been part of a Senior IT Team with expertise in Buying & Merchandising and Supply Chain Technologies such as Inventory, Order and Warehouse Management Systems etc.

Highly knowledgeable of enterprise software engineering tools, practices and processes to enable repeatable and reliable change 

Experience in defining strategy, through to delivery. With a proven track record of driving change to business processes, services and systems for complex organisations through the effective use of technology

A great communicator. You have outstanding communication and influencing skills, with the ability to manage, engage and collaborate with a wide range of complex stakeholders, building a shared and compelling vision

An excellent leader of people who improves capability, builds a diverse and inclusive team and exhibits an engaging and adaptable style that connects with people at all levels

Customer focused. With a background in delivering high quality, customer focussed services in a complex and changing environment, providing effective scrutiny and demonstrating a practical approach to problem solving

An example of our values, and respected colleague.

This guide represents a summary of the role, however all team members are expected to be flexible in the work they undertake, which may change from time to time, according to the needs of the business

About the Company

Our Creative Spirit 

We are more than a shop. We are a social space where culture and commerce collide to release an energy that we call the Selfridges spirit. We are here to make our world brighter, and everyone is welcome. 

Our Awards Cabinet 

We’re not ones to brag, but since you asked...Selfridges has won the award for The World’s Best Department Store an unprecedented four times at the IGDS awards, with an additional award for the Best Sustainability Campaign.  

Our Future 

Since 1909 we have been at the forefront of retail and today our stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham – alongside selfridges.com and the Selfridges App – continue to redefine the way we shop and socialise. As a Selfridges team member, you will learn what it takes to consistently drive innovation, success and amazing customer experiences. 

Everyone is welcome

We are committed to a diverse and inclusive working culture, and we see this as key to our success and our working culture. Here at Selfridges, everyone is welcome - irrespective of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age or disability, we stand by equal opportunities for all. We are diverse, we are inclusive, we are Selfridges.

The Fun Stuff  

There are lots of reasons to be excited about joining Team Selfridges – from our fantastic team member communities to volunteer days and behind-the-scenes Selfridges experiences throughout the year. 

Other benefits and rewards include:

• Generous bonus and/or commission scheme 
• Discounted gym memberships Pension contributions  
• Annual travel pass and cycle to work schemes 
• A volunteer day for all team members 
• Access to a wide range of training programmes to help your career development

Selfridges