Head of Retail Development & Merchandising at Åhléns

**About Your Role** As the Head of Retail Development & Merchandising at Åhléns, you will lead a team consisting of Merchandising Assortment Managers, Store Planners, and Construction Project Managers. Together, you will ensure efficient processes between Purchasing, Customer Experience, and Visual Merchandising, creating optimal store layouts and conceptual solutions for all new openings and renovations of Åhléns department stores. You will have overall responsibility for merchandising and store planning with the mission to maximize sales and gross profit through well-planned customer flows, attractive assortments, and smart space utilization, always with the customer experience in focus. **Your Main Responsibilities:** - Contribute to assortment development through insights and analysis of sales data. - Optimize floor plans and spaces for new openings and renovations in collaboration with controllers. - Develop and improve store planning for the best possible customer journey in both new and existing department stores. - Manage the budget and planning for renovations, store relocations, and modernizations. - Handle ongoing property issues. - Present decision-making materials to the management team regarding new and re-establishments/closures. - Lead and develop the construction and establishment function and involve construction project managers during new builds, renovations, and closures. You will be part of our retail organization and lead a team of approximately 10 people. You and your team will work closely with several central functions to ensure that our department stores offer the strongest possible customer proposition. We are a fast-paced organization where a lot is happening. With you on the team, we will become even better! **We Offer You:** Åhléns has been in the hearts of many Swedes for over 120 years. With a long history in retail, we continue to be driven by constant development. With us, you will be part of an exciting journey where we combine our history with innovation and new ways of working to create a profitable and sustainable future. **You Bring With You:** - At least 5 years of experience in sales and leadership in a retail environment. - Experience in category management, assortment development, and optimization of processes and routines. - Experience in sales across both physical and digital channels. - Familiarity with driving and leading projects. - Experience in managing new openings in retail. - A good understanding of how the customer journey connects across multiple channels. - Experience in visual merchandising and store planning. To succeed in this role, we believe you are a goal-driven and committed leader who enjoys driving development at the intersection of strategy and operational work. You have a strong business focus, understand the mechanics of retail, and easily create consensus and energy around you. You enjoy working cross-functionally and are accustomed to managing many stakeholders. With a combination of structure, creativity, and determination, you drive the work forward and create solutions that enhance both customer experience and sales. **About the Recruitment** This position is a permanent full-time role based at our headquarters in Stockholm. We hope you can start with us as soon as possible. Selection and interviews may occur on an ongoing basis, and the position may be filled before the application deadline, so please submit your application today! As the Head of Retail Development & Merchandising at Åhléns, you will be part of a passionate team driven by entrepreneurship and business acumen. We provide you with trust and the opportunity to grow in a developing environment. With that, we warmly welcome you to Åhléns!