Job Title: Visual Merchandiser

Department: Retail Department

Hours of Work: 35 hours per week (including evenings and weekends)

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: Up to £33,000 per annum dependent upon experience  

Location: Bullring Store, Birmingham (and other retail locations as and when required)

Closing Date: Sunday 23 March 2025 

Interview Date: Early April 2025  

1. The Department

The Club are continuing our rapid growth trajectory both on and off the pitch, further expanding our commercial footprint with the launch of a brand-new retail store in the heart of Birmingham’s iconic Bullring shopping centre which is scheduled to open in May 2025.

The store design will take inspiration from our rich 150-year history incorporating cultural touchpoints from Villa Park whilst integrating a museum section that celebrates the Club’s deep-rooted connection to both Birmingham and football history.

The store will span 10,000 square feet across a ground and mezzanine floor which will showcase our full retail offering including our kits, training wear and a significant adidas collection.

We are now looking to build our team for the new store who will be responsible for creating a best-in-class customer experience which is inclusive and welcoming for all. 

2. The Role

We have an exciting opportunity for a Visual Merchandiser who will form a fundamental part of the management team in our new store. You will play a vital role in our store’s retail success by bringing our products to life by creating and maintaining visual displays and store layouts that reflect our identity and brand, engage and enhance our customer experience and ultimately contributes to driving our overall store performance.

Your key responsibilities and accountabilities will include designing, implementing and maintaining window displays, in-store layouts and product placement to maximise product visibility, sales and brand identity ensuring alignment with the Club’s brand and calendars.   You will create a strategic customer journey in-store by creating displays which tell a story whilst ensuring that product discovery is intuitive. You will be responsible for ensuring we have brand consistency across all our retail locations and online store working with our Digital team and online retail partner to ensure we have a cohesive visual identity across product pages, photography and promotional materials.

You will also lead on developing and executing seasonal campaigns and specialist merchandising displays in store including exclusive product launches, matchday and in-store promotions. You will also report and analyse the performance of displays and merchandising, providing real time data to the Retail Store Manager.

For further information about the Role, please see the Role Profile.

3. The Person

We are looking for a talented and creative individual with proven experience working in a visual merchandising role, ideally in fashion or sports retail.  You will need keen creative and artistic ability with a keen eye for colour, detail and overall presentation with a strong market awareness of visual and retail merchandising techniques and best practice.

You will excellent organisational and attention to detail skills with the need to be able to meet a challenge head on, being able to adapt to dynamic situations including changing stock, layouts and customer preferences.

You must also be available to work flexibly as the Club requires, this will include evenings and weekends. This role will also be required to provide support across our various retail locations therefore a driving licence with access to a vehicle or the ability to travel between our Club sites, including Birmingham Retail Stores, Villa Park, Bullring, London Office and Bodymoor Heath Training Ground is needed.

4. Why join us?

There has never been a better time to join us, we are celebrating our 150th anniversary, showcasing Aston Villa Football Club in all its glory to a global audience, and are determined to continue our growing success, both on and off the pitch. We currently offer a range of fantastic benefits* including: 

• Offers on tickets for Men and Women’s matches (subject to match and ticketing arrangements)  
• Pension scheme  
• Employee Assistance Programme  
• Club Shop discount 
• adidas discount 
• Travel discount 
• Death in service benefit  
• Free Will writing 
• Free mortgage and insurance broker consultations  
• Free eye tests 
• Mobile network discounts 
• Gym discount

*Please note these are subject to change at any time 

As part of your application, you will be asked to:

1. Upload your CV

2. Answer the following question:

a) Please outline your key skills, qualities and experience which make you the ideal candidate for this role (400 words maximum) 

Right to Close Vacancy Posting Early

The Club reserves the right to close any advertised vacancies earlier than the advertised closing date if sufficient applications have been received. 

Equality Statement

Aston Villa Football Club celebrates the diversity of its Club and embrace equal opportunities for all.

We welcome applications from all candidates regardless of age, race, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, sex and religion or belief.

Safeguarding Statement 

Aston Villa Football Club is fully committed to safeguarding children and adults at risk across our Club. As such, we adhere to Safer Recruitment processes and for some roles a satisfactory enhanced disclosure via the Disclosure & Barring Service may be required prior to starting in a role at the Club. For more information, please see Aston Villa Football Club | The official club website | AVFC - Safeguarding