International Import Merchandiser

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with over 60,000 colleagues and over 3,400 stores across several retail fascias in over 30 markets around the world.

JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally.

We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.

Main Job Purpose and Objectives:

Working for a major Highstreet clothing and footwear retailer as part of the Global Freight Management team.

Working with the International Import Merch team members whilst collaborating with the Product Development, Merchandising, Finance and DC teams as well as our freight forwarding partners, to facilitate the smooth flow shipping of private label brands including Pink Soda, Sonneti, Supply & Demand along with licensed brands such as Reebok and Fila.

This is an exciting opportunity within a growing international retailer, helping the team to work in partnership with joint ventures and solely owned partners in Australasia, USA, Middle East and Central Europe to ensure the goods arrive at the relevant global warehouses at the time required for the Brands.

Accountabilities and Tasks:

• Assisting in the administration and shipping duties required by the Global Freight team. This involves assisting in the planning and tracking of shipments for UK and European distribution, and also working with the international Joint Venture teams in organizing their shipment of the Ownbrand product. Responsibility for tracking shipments from ex-factory through to receipt at the warehouse
• Monitoring and planning shipments, costs and timelines
• Work closely with our freight forwarders to maximise container fill and minimize dwell times
• Establishing excellent working relationships with internal stakeholders, external suppliers and freight forwarders, liasing with them to ensure goods are shipped in a timely manner, minimizing delays by optimizing modes of transport
• Reporting on the current shipment status and highlighting any potential issues.
• Performance monitor our factories, forwarders and hauliers, optimising on-time, in full deliveries
• Airfreight costing and co-ordination of transport
• Assist in completing the transit shipping reports using different software sources – ensuring system functionality and visibility
• Communicating transport / transit issues to the relevant teams, escalating where required
• Invoice sign off
• Support in the continued development, tracking and improvements in KPI's
• Assisting in the raising of supplier claims.
• Execution of tasks with a constant focus on continuous improvement both on targets achieved and processes/systems used for delivery, identifying opportunities
• Support on-going refresh of our SOP's, along with annual tender activity and delivery of transformation projects such as new system enhancements and integrations
• Support development of carbon emission reporting for our freight movements, working to ensure these are minimized
• Keeping up to date with all import procedures, including the duties incurred and customs requirements.

Position Requirements – mandatory:

• Experience of shipping goods
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to quickly build effective relationships with stakeholders across the business
• High level of resilience, excellent attention to detail, organizational, prioritization and time management skills
• Flexible and adaptable to our fast-paced, dynamic and growing business
• A problem solver with a can-do mentality and strong aptitude for learning
• A strong desire to learn new skills.
• Ability to work on multiple tasks at one time
• Able to work to tight deadlines
• Strong Customer Service ethos.
• Strong experience in using Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Position Requirements – desirable:

• Knowledge of import and export processes
• Awareness of the importance of accurate classifications with knowledge on the complexities required for the customs classification of goods
• Experience working in a retail environment.
• Experience working in an office admin role.

We know our employees work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits:

• Free parking
• Holiday Allowance
• Pension Scheme
• Health plans – Depending on level of role
• Personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work.

Due to the high volumes of applications our opportunities attract, it takes time to review them all. If you don't hear back within two weeks of you applying, please consider your application to have been unsuccessful on this occasion

Applications that meet the skills criteria will be contacted for a 1st stage meeting with the talent team. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to interview with the hiring manager.

Thank you again for your time.