Digital Head of Trading

Head of Digital Trading - Outdoor GroupLocation: JD Group HQ (Bury, Greater Manchester)Department: DigitalEmployment Type: Full-Time, PermanentRole OverviewThe JD Group is a leading omnichannel retailer of sports, fashion, and outdoor brands. Our Outdoors division owns iconic UK retailers like Blacks, Millets, and Ultimate Outdoors, with digital platforms vital to inspiring and enabling outdoor experiences.We are seeking a data-driven, commercially focused Head of Digital Trading to optimise digital performance across our outdoor brands. This role oversees online sales, trading strategy, and customer experience across digital channels, leading a high-performing team to enhance customer engagement, boost online revenue, and execute seasonal and promotional plans.Responsible for the digital trade strategy across all JD Outdoor facias, you will ensure Sales, GOV, and EBIT targets are met. You’ll lead fascia channel managers, merchandising, and copy teams to align all channels with clear objectives. Collaborating across marketing, merchandising, UX, development, and senior stakeholders, you’ll align digital strategy with overall business goals.What you will be responsible for:Digital Trading & PerformanceOwn and drive the digital commercial strategy for the Outdoors Group across multiple brands and platforms. Deliver strong growth across online revenue, conversion rate, AOV, margin and EBIT. Working alongside the senior leadership team and finance team to set overall and fascia level sales targets Analyse site performance daily, identifying trading opportunities and making data-driven decisions to optimise sales. Lead the digital promotional calendar in line with the wider marketing and commercial plan. Collaborate with the Merchandising and Buying teams to ensure product and pricing strategies are effectively implemented online. Ownership of the Search Merchandising road map Team LeadershipManage, develop, and inspire a team of Digital Trading Managers, Copywriting teams and Merchandising teams across different brand sites to ensure all product is featured in an accurate and timely manner on site. Foster a performance-driven culture, with clear KPIs, career development, and continuous improvement. Train, develop and motivate the digital trading and merchandising teamsCustomer Experience & OptimisationConstantly review the site navigation, look and structure looking for ways to improve conversion rates. Champion continuous CRO initiatives and onsite A/B testing. Oversee site navigation, category performance, product discovery, and on-site merchandising to maximise commercial impact. Work closely with UX/UI and development teams to enhance the end-to-end customer journey across desktop, mobile, and app. Analysing competitor activity , looking for new trends and development Optimise merchandising activity by analysing traffic and conversion to improves overall effectiveness across categoriesCross-Functional CollaborationPartner with Performance Marketing to align on traffic-driving strategies (SEO, PPC, Affiliates, Email, Paid Social). Communication of trading priorities and budgets to paid performance, SEO and affiliates teams . Working with Retail Operations and Store teams to support the retail strategy online. Liaise with IT and development teams to ensure timely delivery of trading and UX enhancements. Act as a key voice of the outdoors customer within the wider Group ecommerce strategy. Manage delivery of trading and marketing campaigns digitally. Work alongside the Commercial teams to agree and execute digital promotion plans. Work with commercial teams to ensure best possible presentation of brands, ranges, categories throughout the season. Partner with group carrier teams and logistics to deliver best in class service to digital customers. Liaise with customer services where required. Reporting & InsightsProduce weekly and monthly trading reports with actionable insights and recommendations for senior leadership. Continuously review trading performance and implement improvements. Use tools such as Google Analytics, and internal dashboards to track and interpret performance trends. Key Relationships:Commercial Team External Brands and Agencies Retail operations and store teams Finance Teams Carrier Teams Customer Services MarketingSkills, Knowledge and Experience you will require:Proven experience in a senior digital trading role within a fast-paced, multi-brand retail environment. Deep understanding of ecommerce KPIs and digital performance levers. Experience managing P&L responsibility across multiple digital sites. Strong leadership, team management, and people development experience. Expertise in merchandising, forecasting, promotional planning, and trading analytics. Excellent knowledge of ecommerce platforms (e.g., Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Magento, Shopify Plus). Strong organisational skills and ability to manage multiple ongoing trading plans and projects. Strong communication skills with the ability to lead and mentor a team. Commercially savvy with strong stakeholder management skills. Knowledge of outdoor, sports, or fashion retail sectors. Understanding of omnichannel customer behaviour and online/offline integration. Familiarity with tools such as GA, Looker, and BI tools.#J-18808-Ljbffr

Created: 2025-08-14