Senior Visual Merchandiser

Almondsbury Garden Centre is a family-run independent garden centre in Bristol that has been supporting the local community for over 90 years.We're looking for an experienced, creative and commercially minded Senior Visual Merchandiser to join our team and help make Almondsbury an inspiring, exciting and enjoyable place to shop.This is a hands-on role for someone who loves planning, creating and delivering. You'll have the opportunity to take ownership of visual merchandising across the garden centre, developing seasonal concepts and commercial displays, while working closely with our Retail Managers and wider team to bring your ideas to life.It's also a role with room to grow. If you're ready for the next step in your career and want to broaden your experience, take on more responsibility and learn across a wide range of visual merchandising and retail projects, this could be a great opportunity.You don't need to have done everything before. We're looking for someone with the right experience, creativity and attitude who is excited to learn, get involved and develop with the business.A love of gardening, retail and seasonal displays is essential, and a particular love of Christmas would be a definite advantage.An Opportunity to GrowThis is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Visual Merchandiser looking to take the next step in their career and broaden their experience within a unique and varied retail environment.You'll have the opportunity to take greater ownership of visual merchandising across the garden centre, while working closely with our Retail Managers, Buying and Marketing teams.We don't expect you to arrive knowing everything. We're looking for someone with a strong foundation in visual merchandising, a great eye for presentation and the confidence to bring their own ideas, who is also curious, willing to learn and keen to develop.At Almondsbury, you'll gain exposure to a wide range of projects and experiences, from seasonal planning and commercial merchandising through to Christmas displays, events, promotional campaigns, supplier relationships and working across different areas of the business.You'll be encouraged to try new ideas, take on new challenges and develop your skills, with the opportunity to grow your responsibilities as your experience and confidence develop.For the right person, this role could be an important stepping stone towards a broader visual merchandising, retail or creative career.The RoleAs Senior Visual Merchandiser, you will take ownership of the visual presentation of the garden centre, working closely with our Retail Managers, Buying and Marketing teams.You'll help plan and deliver seasonal and promotional themes, create engaging displays and ensure the centre remains visually exciting throughout the year.You'll be expected to take ideas from concept through to completion, while continually maintaining and refreshing displays once they are in place.Key ResponsibilitiesPlanning & Creative DevelopmentDevelop creative and commercially focused visual merchandising plans across the garden centre.Plan seasonal, promotional and thematic displays well in advance, working closely with buying and retail teams.Develop concepts for key trading periods including Christmas, spring, Easter, Mother's Day, summer and other seasonal events.Plan window displays, feature areas, product presentations and in-store installations.Consider customer journeys and how visual merchandising can encourage customers to explore different areas of the centre.Work with the architecture and characteristics of the garden centre to maximise available space and create impact.Keep up to date with retail, visual merchandising and design trends and identify opportunities to introduce new ideas.Hands-On DeliveryTurn visual merchandising plans and concepts into finished displays.Be prepared to get hands-on with moving stock, fixtures, props and display materials.Assemble, dismantle and refresh displays and seasonal installations.Work alongside retail teams to implement visual merchandising plans effectively.Continually maintain, replenish and refresh displays to ensure they remain full, tidy and commercially appealing.Take ownership of the appearance of key areas rather than simply creating a display and moving on to the next project.Respond quickly to changing stock levels, promotions and commercial priorities.Be willing to support the retail teams when required, particularly during busy periods and seasonal changes.Commercial MerchandisingUse visual merchandising to maximise product visibility, customer engagement and sales.Work with Retail Managers to understand sales priorities and develop displays that support commercial objectives.Identify opportunities to improve product presentation, cross-selling and customer flow.Use sales performance, customer feedback and observations to evaluate and improve displays.Balance creativity with practical considerations such as stock availability, space, margin and ease of replenishment.Ensure displays remain commercially effective as stock sells through.Props, Fixtures & MaterialsIdentify, source and organise props, fabrics, hardware, lighting and other materials required for displays.Build relationships with suppliers and negotiate where appropriate.Maintain an organised stock of reusable visual merchandising materials and props.Manage the visual merchandising budget effectively and ensure spending delivers value.Communication & TeamworkWork closely with Retail Managers, department teams, Buying and Marketing to ensure visual merchandising supports wider business objectives.Communicate visual merchandising plans clearly to colleagues.Create simple visual merchandising guides, layouts or packs where required.Encourage and coach colleagues in good merchandising principles and standards.Build strong working relationships across the business.Listen to feedback from colleagues and customers and use it to improve displays.Standards & Continuous ImprovementEnsure the garden centre looks immaculate, inspiring and commercially engaging every day.Regularly walk the centre and identify areas that need attention, improvement or refreshing.Maintain high standards of presentation, housekeeping and product availability within displays.Continually look for opportunities to improve the customer experience.Monitor the visual impact of changes and use feedback and sales information to refine future activity.About YouWe're looking for someone who is creative, organised, energetic and commercially minded, with the confidence to take an idea from a blank piece of paper through to a finished display.You will be a natural planner who enjoys thinking ahead, but you also need to be someone who is happy to roll up their sleeves and get the job done.The successful candidate will ideally have:Previous experience in a visual merchandising, retail display or similar creative commercial role.A proven understanding of visual merchandising principles.Experience using visual merchandising to support sales and commercial performance.Strong creative and spatial awareness.Excellent planning and organisational skills.The ability to manage multiple projects and seasonal deadlines simultaneously.A strong eye for detail and high standards of presentation.A practical, hands-on approach to work.The energy and enthusiasm to continually maintain, replenish and improve displays.The ability to respond positively to changing priorities and commercial requirements.Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.The confidence to work with colleagues across different departments and levels of the business.The ability to coach and support colleagues in good merchandising practices.Good knowledge of Microsoft Office.Experience managing budgets and working with suppliers would be advantageous.Experience within garden retail, department stores, homeware, interiors or another seasonal retail environment would be beneficial.A genuine love of gardening, plants, retail, interiors or design would be an advantage.A passion for Christmas and creating memorable seasonal experiences would be particularly welcome!What We OfferSalary of £32,000–£34,000 per annum, depending on experience.28 days' holiday.A range of company benefits.A positive and collaborative working environment.The opportunity to have a genuine creative influence over the appearance and customer experience of an established independent garden centre.The opportunity to work across a wide variety of seasonal, retail and creative projects.The chance to help create some of the most exciting seasonal displays in the Bristol area.An opportunity to learn, develop and grow your responsibilities as you build your experience within the business.The Person We're Looking ForWe're looking for someone who wants to make their mark, not simply fill a role.You might create a fantastic display in the morning, but if it's sold through by the afternoon, we need someone who notices, gets involved and makes sure the area continues to look great.You'll need to enjoy the balance between planning and doing — someone who can spend time developing a seasonal concept, but is equally happy moving stock, dressing shelves, hanging signage and getting stuck in with the team to make it happen.You'll have the freedom to bring your own creativity and ideas to the role, while working within a commercial environment where the customer and the sales opportunity always remain at the heart of what we do.If you're ready for your next step, excited to learn, and want the opportunity to develop your skills while making a real difference to the look and feel of an independent garden centre, we'd love to hear from you.