Title: Supply Chain Systems Engineer
Reporting: Supply Chain Technology Manager
Location: Bury or Derby
JD Group
JD Sports Fashion Plc has long been established as the leading UK specialised multiple retailer of fashionable branded and own-brand sports and casual wear, principally through the growth of its main retail fascia, JD Sports.
We instil our staff with the knowledge and training they need to fulfil challenging and rewarding careers.
Our workforce is built on motivated self-starters, and we encourage our people to constantly seek ways to improve our business. This means challenging the way we merchandise, sell, and manage the business, being creative and forward-thinking in suggesting alternative solutions. Problems are solved and opportunities seized by people from all levels of the organisation, working together.
The Supply Chain Technology Team
The supply chain technology team exists to support JD Group’s supply chain function as experts in the technology underlying our supply chain capabilities.
The Supply Chain Technology team’s commitment to JD Group is that:
- We deliver a rock-solid platform that just works
- We scope, design and execute changes in capabilities within JD Group’s supply chain
- We help our supply chain colleagues achieve the outcomes they need from the technology they interact with
- We methodically improve the capabilities that supply chain provides JD Group through continuous improvement and intentional innovation
You will be working in a team with other supply chain systems professionals, where you will be supported to grow, develop, learn, and take measured risks. You will be working with colleagues across multiple levels of JD Group, external suppliers & contractors.
Role Description
You will be a Supply Chain Systems engineer. In this role, you will:
- develop solutions to complex problems using new or existing technologies through innovation, creativity and technical analysis
- understand the people, environment, platform, and dependencies which enable us to deliver the supply chain technology which JD group relies upon
- act as a guide for our stakeholders, helping our technical teams to understand the operational impacts of their decisions and helping our supply chain colleagues to get the best out of our technical teams
- operate and support any systems which the supply chain technology team are responsible for delivering to the business
A Supply Chain Systems engineer is expected to be a solid individual contributor, able to take on any technical problem related to their discipline or domain confidently. They are expected to clearly articulate how they’re working with others to help their team reach its goals. While we don’t expect any engineer to work alone, SCS engineers are highly independent and capable, and can lead on the design and implementation of a feature or project.
An SCS engineer not only delivers their own work, but also demonstrates the ability to bring up others around them, for example through activities such as onboarding engineers into their team, or mentoring less experienced engineers working with them. They’re engaged in the challenges, opportunities and risks faced by their team, collective and discipline – taking part in the initiatives where they’re best placed to help.
Reporting to the Supply Chain Technology Manager, the Systems Engineer will support all aspects of the design, configuration, and implementation of all aspects of the supply chain technology systems across the JD Sports Fashion global distribution network.
The Systems Engineer will be expected to be one of the subject matter experts when it comes to the systems that support the logistics operation, including warehouse management systems, automation & robotics systems, transport management systems, labour management systems – and integration with the wider IT systems architecture.
The Systems Engineer will work closely with a wide range of stakeholders across both IT and the business, including project teams, IT development teams, testing teams, technical teams, logistic management teams, super users, and external partners.
Responsibilities
Operational
- Own requests within the Supply Chain Solutions backlog, designing configurations to meet requirements.
- Collect, analyse, and document business requirements, mapping them to technical solutions.
- Fully document system configurations across multiple environments.
- Analyse the impact of software releases on current configurations and business processes.
- Collaborate with testing teams to build test plans and scenarios for all types of testing.
- Transfer knowledge to support teams and super users.
- Input into business change and readiness processes as a subject matter expert.
- Travel to sites across the supply chain network as required.
- Serve as a technical liaison between supply chain operations and IT, ensuring business requirements are accurately translated into system solutions.
General
- Participate in the processes which support change management within JD Group
- Identify and implement process improvements with senior stakeholders.
Reporting
- Contribute to service management reports, including problem, root cause, and major incident reports.
- Provide routine progress reporting across key initiatives.
Skills/Behaviour
Essential
- Strong interpersonal skills, offering a positive and adaptable approach to Project teams in a rapidly changing environment
- Proven problem-solving skills that demonstrate a methodical and analytical approach
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt style for different audiences with varying degrees of technical experience
- Ability to build strong relationships and engage effectively with key stakeholders, including both third party vendors and internal IT and business teams
Preferable
- Excellent planning and organisational skills – delivering and communicating plans effectively, with the ability to balance the requirements of multiple stakeholders
- A keen eye for detail and the ability to work accurately when working in a fast-paced environment with multiple competing priorities
- A keen interest in following developments within the IT industry
- Proven ability to work using own initiative