Technical Manager - Marketplace - General Merchandise - Vendor/Seller Onboarding
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: Coventry Store Support Centre - Ansty Park and Home, Coventry, CV7 9RD
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Non Food
Closing date: 23 February 2026
Requisition ID: 400045008
We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. From fragrance to car care, clothing and pots and pans, our General Merchandise team delivers all the non-food items for Sainsbury’s, Habitat and Argos customers. This multi-brand environment means you get to work across most areas. You can also be a pioneer, because the team believes in being brave, iterating and learning as they go. They also develop deep connections to other departments, which opens up a lot of different career opportunities for you. What’s certain is that you’ll spend time on the shop floor to get closer to customers, and bring a broad perspective and the full support of your manager with you wherever you decide to develop next.
In a nutshell
This position is responsible for the technical onboarding, management, compliance, and overall lifecycle of Sellers and general merchandise categories on the ARGOS marketplace platform.
This position will serve as the technical authority responsible for product data, safety, auditing, regulatory compliance, and Seller onboarding. The individual in this role will ensure that all listed products adhere to internal standards, comply with legal requirements, and meet customer expectations.
The position operates cross functionally to support and govern all compliance for Sellers and product and commercial teams, translating regulatory, safety and quality requirements into commercially scalable marketplace processes.
What am I accountable for
Technical & Regulatory Ownership
- Serve as the technical subject-matter expert for general merchandise categories (e.g. home goods, electronics accessories, toys, apparel, lifestyle products) – collaborating with both product experts and the regulatory team.
- Ensure Sellers products comply with applicable UK & NI regulations (e.g. product safety, labelling, chemical compliance, electrical standards).
- Interpret regulatory requirements and translate them into marketplace policies, process, technical specifications, and validation rules.
- Manage any regulatory changes and work alongside category teams and sellers to both issue updates and manage QMS
- Own category-specific onboarding processes, technical standards, testing documentation evidence and documentation guidelines.
- Translation of complex technical and regulatory concepts into clear commercial and operational requirements for marketplace.
Marketplace Product Governance
- Define and maintain product listing requirements, attributes, and validation logic to ensure accuracy, compliance and consistency.
- Partner with product teams to implement compliance checks, risk flags, and enforcement tools.
- Review and approve / reject high-risk or escalated products prior to listing.
- Oversee corrective actions for non-compliant products, including ‘off sale’, remediation plans, recalls and seller education.
- Support on sanctions for issue / stock recovery.
Supplier & Seller Enablement
- Support seller onboarding by rolling out technical documentation requirements (test reports, declarations of conformity, certifications etc).
- Act as a technical escalation point for sellers, category managers, and customer support teams.
- Develop guidance, training materials, and self-service tools to help sellers meet compliance standards efficiently.
Risk Management & Quality Assurance
- Identify emerging regulatory and safety standards, along with quality risks within general merchandise categories.
- Conduct root-cause analysis of product incidents, recalls, or customer safety complaints.
- Develop controls and preventive measures to mitigate operational, reputational, and compliance risks.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce defect rates, compliance breaches, and customer dissatisfaction.
- Collaborate with legal and risk teams on audits and investigations.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with category management, legal, operations, and data teams to align technical requirements with commercial goals.
- Provide technical input into category expansion, new product launches, and new product entry strategies.
- Support regulatory audits and respond to external authority inquiries when required.
What I need to know
Essential
- Strongly developed leadership and communication skills.
- Able to build strong cross functional relationships and key stakeholder management.
- Has wide knowledge of GM product categories and quality, safety and regulatory requirements.
- Has wide knowledge and connections with authorities, key bodies that inform, guide and support regulatory requirements within retail and selling.
- Can work under pressure and make balanced, commercial timely decisions.
Qualifications
Desirable
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, product safety, quality management, or a related technical field.
- 5+ years of experience in product compliance, technical product management, quality assurance, or regulatory affairs within general merchandise or consumer products.
- Strong working knowledge of product safety and compliance frameworks across multiple categories and UK / NI.
- Experience working with large product catalogues, suppliers, or marketplace environments.
Preferred
- Experience in large scale business / e-commerce or multi-seller marketplace platforms.
- Familiarity with rule-based validation systems, or product data tools.
- Exposure to international regulatory regimes and cross-border trade requirements.
- Project management experience in cross-functional, fast-paced environments.
Core Competencies
- Technical judgment and risk-based decision-making
- Regulatory interpretation and application
- Ability to balance commercial objectives with compliance and ethical standards.
- Audit Management / QMS knowledge
- Stakeholder management and influence
- Process design and scalability
- Data-driven problem solving
- Data Analytics with strategic follow up actions.
- Clear written and verbal communication
Success Metrics
- Management and reporting of non-compliant listings and regulatory incidents
- Improved seller compliance rates and onboarding efficiency
- Audit readiness and regulatory response quality
- Customer safety outcomes and product quality indicators
- Scalability of technical standards across categories and regions
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them: Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform. Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday, and we provide private healthcare. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme. Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave. Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
