Coles Grads sitting outside with their laptops

Store Support Centre Graduate Program

Start your new corporate career
​​​​​​​at Coles Group

Whether you studied economics or eCommerce, compliance or computer science, marketing or business management, you can choose from 19 career streams. This is your chance to start making your mark as part of our SSC Graduate Program and relish the challenge of hands-on experience. Maybe you'll work with machine learning to forecast daily store demand. Perhaps you'll test Coles Group own brand products before they hit the shelves. Or you could help build the next system that processes and manages 18 million transactions a day. There's so much happening here – and it can happen to your career. Now, that’s food for thought!
Tracy

 
Choose from 19 corporate career streams.
That's food for thought!
 

eCommerce


By combining the fast-paced culture of retail with the ever-growing world of eCommerce, Coles Online takes the time and effort out of grocery shopping. With services such as Home Delivery, Click & Collect and smart lockers, we’re always working on new ways to make life easier for our customers – no matter where they are. 

Coles Online is an exhilarating and innovative team that is constantly changing and evolving to exceed our customers’ expectations.  As a Coles Online Graduate, you will be exposed to a variety of opportunities within all facets of the ecommerce business. From working with operations to delivering strategy driven projects in line with our road map or supporting our ever-growing network and driving a seamless website experience, the scope for development is endless. If you think you are ready to constantly challenge for the better and implement real change in a rapidly growing market, Coles Online is for you!

Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Customer Service & Engagement, Network Development, Operations, E-Commerce, B2B, Customer Delivery 


Preferred educational background/interest: Information Technology/E-Commerce, Marketing, Economics, Business, Law

Finance


Our Finance team partner with every area of the business and ensure commercial thinking feeds into everything Coles does. By working across every team, they look at how Coles is performing and provide useable insights to support strategic business decisions. You will handle all sorts of questions such as; how do you ensure reliable and accurate financial reporting to the wider business? How do you determine the best course of action to drive Coles’ sales and profit? 
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Length of program: 3 years

Rotation possibilities:

 Financial Accounting & Control (Treasury and Banking/Tax/Business Assurance/Accounting Investigations and Stock Accounting/Financial Accounting and Reporting/External Reporting & Governance/Payables and Expenses/Capital and Order Management)

Preferred educational background/interest: Commerce, Finance, Accounting

*Graduates will be supported in completing a CA/CPA qualification throughout the program 

Technology


As the way we shop continues to evolve, our Technology team keeps us at the cutting edge. Driven by our innovative, inclusive, and forward-thinking culture, we’re constantly looking at ways to reinvent the shopping experience for our customers and build the next generation of digital retailing. ​ 

Coles Technology is an exhilarating and fast-paced team focused on delivering continued innovation and enhanced personalised services to customers, team members and stores. The heavily team-oriented environment provides team members with plenty of networking opportunities whilst working on cross-functional and multi-platform projects in the digital space. Technical, business focused or creative; you’ll find endless career paths to explore!​ 


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Analytics, Insights Services, Merchandise IT Platforms, Supply Chain Technology, Infrastructure Project Delivery, Cloud Engineering & Architecture, Microsoft Partnership, Coles Online Technology, Stores and People Platforms 


Preferred educational background/interest: Information and Communication Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Applied Cloud Technology, Applied Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Business Analytics, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Data and Analytics, Business Computing.

Agribusiness


​​​​​​​Graduates will develop a deep understanding of the Australian meat supply chain for Coles, working with farmers, processors, and retail packers to deliver exceptional livestock products. From a strategic point of view, we have some big challenges coming up relating to carbon emissions, livestock pricing driven by the export market, security of supply for future generations and providing customers with continued quality and inspirational products that get shoppers to repeat purchase. Recent brands you may have seen on our shelves include our Meat Free “Herb & Sons”, grass fed “Graze” Beef and Lamb, our Meal Solutions range and recent rebrand on labels.

​​​​​​​Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Livestock, Retail Production, Primary Production, Supply Chain, Own Brand, SSC DILO. 

Preferred educational background/interest: Agriculture, Livestock orientated, Food Science, Agribusiness.

Commercial

 
The commercial function is all about delivering the best market offering for our customers in a fast-paced and dynamic environment. As a commercial Graduate you will help determine the type, price, and the way a new product is launched across the hundreds of Coles’ retail outlets in Australia. Some of the aspects of the role involve commercial management of a Profit & Loss statement, supplier relationship management, innovation and range management and customer centric decision making. Negotiating and working with our suppliers will also be fundamental to your success in landing your category strategy. No two days are the same as you will be working across multiple functions, including Marketing, Operations and Supply Chains to develop category plans and bring this to life in-store. 

Length of program: 2 years

Rotation options: Category Management, Non-food, Grocery, Fresh Procedure, Bakery & Deli, Meat, Dairy, Freezer & Convenience, Merchandise Transformation 

Preferred educational background/interest: Business/Commerce, Management, Marketing, Finance/Accounting, Economics



 

Export


Coles has been a trusted retailer in Australia for over 100 years and our story is well known. It is the Export team’s privilege to take this story and tell it to the world. We are doing this by leveraging our Australian heritage, retailing pedigree and ‘Own Brand Powerhouse’ to provide the best quality Meat, Liquor, Fresh Produce, Dairy and Grocery items to our global partners. The international market is highly dynamic, leading to countless variables in creating the best international offering.

Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Export Customer Account Management, Export Operations/Supply Chain, Export Marketing, Export Product Development/Technologist

Preferred educational background/interest: International trade, Business, Commerce, Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Supply Chain, Economics

Legal


Coles Legal supports all facets of the Coles and Liquor businesses. Our aim is to be trusted advisors and strategic enablers, and to protect against legal and reputational risk. We take pride in actively partnering with the business, and in delivering services which align with business objectives and strategy and are commercially relevant. 

As a Legal Graduate you will develop skills across a broad array of platforms, work in a multifaceted regulatory
environment and turn strategy into concrete deals, as well as get exposure to the broader world of law. You will get the satisfaction of direct contact with your clients and can take real ownership of legal work


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities:  Merchandise & Marketing, Procurement & Operations, Head Office & Business Development Advisory, Property, Regulatory Compliance including Privacy, Marketing and Ethical Sourcing, Regulatory Licensing, Special Projects


Preferred educational background/interest: Law Degrees including post-grad e.g. Juris Doctor 

Coles Liquor


With three iconic brands (First Choice, Liquorland and Vintage Cellars) to our name, our liquor team is intent on becoming Australia’s favourite locally relevant drinks specialist, serving up everything  from  premium & exclusive wines and craft beers,  to spirits from local distilleries. We’re passionate about putting customers first and have fantastic team members working in operations, merchandise, supply chain, marketing, finance & strategy to make this happen.  

Coles Liquor provides you with a fantastic opportunity to join a passionate and close-knit team whose vision is to be a simpler, more accessible, locally relevant, drinks specialist. As a Liquor Graduate, you can choose your own adventure, working across a variety of areas in retail. With over 900 liquor stores, 3 great customer brands and millions of customers, there’s sure to be an opportunity for you within Coles Liquor.


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Supply Chain, Store Formats, Liquor Direct, Merchandise Central Ops, Strategy, Marketing, Trade Planning, Transformation


Preferred educational background/interest: Commerce / Business / Economics, Supply-chain, Science, Engineering & Law

Marketing


As one of the biggest brands in Australia, Coles connects with over 19 million people each week. Whether it's innovative in-store design, creative omnichannel storytelling, or a major advertising campaign that reaches 98% of Australians, the Marketing team play a pivotal role in driving the Coles brand forward, helping our customers lead healthier and happier lives. 

From communicating with millions of Australians every week, to analysing trends in customer behaviour, or developing a powerful TV commercial, as a Marketing Graduate you will join the innovative team at the cutting edge of retail marketing. 


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Brand & Content, Business Unit Marketing, Coles Brand Marketing, Digital Marketing, Events & Sponsorships, Insights, Marketing Operations, Marketing Transformation, Media

Preferred educational background/interest: Marketing, Data Analytics / Behavioural Science, Psychology 

People & Culture


Our People & Culture team work hard to create an inclusive workplace driven by support and empowerment. Working across our Centres of Excellence, P&C Central and Business Partnering, we focus on bringing out the best in our people, making their lives easier through better experiences, helpful tools, innovative tech and ongoing career opportunities. 

As a People & Culture Graduate, you will have plenty of opportunity to influence the future of Coles through developing a diverse team, recruiting top talent or enabling flexible work environments, making Coles the best place to work for our teams and ensuring our customers come first. 


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: P&C Central (Generalist), Learning, Talent Acquisition, Systems Technology & Process, Reward, Organizational Development Projects, Advisory, P&C Operations

Preferred educational background/interest: Human Resources Management, Commerce/Business, Psychology, Law 

Property


Property graduates will gain experience in each phase of the property lifecycle and deliver the customer experience in our physical spaces. With over 2500 retail locations around the country, Coles’ Property team looks after one of the most dynamic portfolios in Australia. Working with teams across the business, Property teams provide a range of services from site acquisition, leasing and renewals, through to development, construction and asset management. 

Whether it be consulting with local councils and communities, negotiating new and existing leases or expanding and refurbishing stores and DCs, there is plenty of opportunity for Property Graduates! 


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Lease Management, Network Planning, Construction, Development, Site Procurement 


Preferred educational background/interest: Commerce, Business, Economics, Law 

Central Operations


The Central Operations team is the engine room that keeps us moving and delivering our products and services to all Australians. We empower and support our store, DC and logistics teams across the country, helping them inspire customers, sell smarter and win together every single day. 

As a Central Ops Graduate, you will have the opportunity to be challenged as a leader, take ownership, and work on large projects that span Coles end-to-end. You will be the vital link between the SSC and stores & DCs so that we can land change that is Best for Coles, drive sales, improve profitability and make life easier for our team and customers. 


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Innovation, Transformation & PMO, Profit Protection, Workforce Strategy, DC Automation, Future Network Design, Central Store Operations & Optimisation, Supply Chain Optimisation, International Supply Planning, Availability & Replenishment 

Preferred educational background/interest: Business, Commerce, Management, Supply Chain, P&C, Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Economics, and International Business. 

Own Brand


​​​​​​​In the Own Brand team, we spend our time immersed in products - eating, designing and developing great products to inspire our customers.  We collaborate across the whole business (with central teams and subject matter experts) and our suppliers in a ‘winning together’ way.

The skillset that we develop ensures success including problem solving, project management, supplier relationship, communication skills and above all, a love for food. 

No two days will be the same and as a Graduate part of the Coles Brand team, you will learn how to develop innovative and world class products working with local and international suppliers and ensuring we meet our Quality and Sustainable commitments. 


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Own Brand central team

Preferred educational background/interest: Business, Commerce, Management, Supply Chain, P&C, Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Economics, and International Business.

Corporate Affairs


Corporate Affairs is the face and voice of Coles Group. They manage our internal and external corporate communications. They are the frontline of all communications and directly work with suppliers, community partners, government bodies, media, external stakeholders, the Executive Leadership Team, and the broader Coles team to ensure that Coles is known around Australia as a brand that can be relied on and trusted as one of Australia's largest retailers. 

Crisis and issues management, liaison with local, state, and federal governments on policy and regulations, fostering partnerships with community and charitable organisations, raising awareness of our great range of products, stores and services, working with industry bodies and sharing our story with our team members – Corporate Affairs does it all!


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Media and corporate communications, Community and stakeholder engagement, Internal communications, Public Affairs


Preferred educational background/interest: Communications, Public Relations, Media & Marketing, Politics, Law, International Relations

Procurement


Procurement is all about making a positive impact on Australian communities and Coles. Procurement teams do this by giving functions the tools, systems and direction they need to transform how Coles work and improve our customer and partner experiences. ​ A s part of the Procurement function, graduates are given real responsibilities to not only participate and lead in the end-to-end process of selecting preferred vendors, implementing sustainability, and negotiating commercial and contractual terms, but are given opportunity to meaningfully impact on Australian business landscape and to ensure that Coles can sustainably feed all Australians 

The Procurement team oversea $3B worth of spend per annum and are responsible for the sourcing of all goods and services, ranging from the equipment in stores to the acquisition of Coles trailers you see on the roads, agency partnerships for TV/radio advertisements and even the future of technology such as big data analytics! 

Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Procurement Transformation, Supply Chain, Store Service, Marketing & Corporate Services, Digital & Strategic Projects 


Preferred educational background/interest: Commerce, Business, Economics, Supply Chains, Science, Engineering & Law

Safety


At Coles we want to help Australians live healthier and happier lives and that includes our team. ​ 

​You will have the opportunity to impact the lives of our team members by how they feel about their workplace and how they remain safe whilst at work. You will also ensure that our customers are provided with a safe shopping experience and as a food retailer, ensure the safe handling of our food products. We do this by partnering with all Business Units, Store Development and Operations to ensure all new concepts and innovations land safely in Stores and we engineer out identified risks.  

You will partner with leaders across the business to design workflows and environments that are safe and operationally efficient. You will do this by participating in and completing risk assessments and trials to validate safety data. If things do go wrong, you will also participate in investigations to understand the root cause and what controls can be implemented to eliminate the risk.  ​ 


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Mind Your Health Program, Food Safety, People Safety, Store Design and Innovation, Injury Management and Workers Compensation  


Preferred educational background/interest: Commerce, Business, Economics, Law

Sustainability


As one of Australia’s leading companies we need to show the way forward. By acting together now, we can create a better Australia for future generations. As part of this ambition, we launched our Sustainability Strategy under two pillars ‘Together to Zero’ and ‘Better Together’. At Coles, the sustainability team is divided into three Centres of Excellence: 

Group Sustainability – responsible for the governance of all the sustainability commitments across the business and works closely with the Business units, Own Brand and Liquor to drive the sustainability strategy​ 

Sustainability reporting and engagement – responsible for writing the annual Sustainability report, Coles Annual Report Sustainability section, managing the internal and external audits to verify the data and engagement and communications internally and externally​ 

Head of Energy – responsible for Coles energy (Coles is the 12th biggest consumer of energy in Australia) and measuring carbon emissions 


Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Sustainability Centre of Excellence, Energy, Resource Recovery


Preferred educational background/interest: Environmental Science/Engineering, Science, Law, Commerce, Arts

Manufacturing & Engineering


In the Coles Manufacturing & Engineering Graduate Program you will gain great exposure to across our Maintenance & Engineering teams. As part of this program, you will own end to end projects impacting our manufacturing sites and build your skills Mechanical/Electrical Engineering and Site Services skills in a practical environment.

Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Continuous Improvement, Capital Project Management, Operations, Continuous Improvement and Operational Analyst, Project Management, Supply Chain – Inventory, Supply Chain – Production Planning 


Preferred educational background/interest: Bachelors (or Masters) of Engineering in the areas of Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing or Mechatronics

Supply Chain


The supply chain stream will focus on two key roles, a supply planner and a demand planner across a range of business units. 

Your main responsibilities as a supply planner will include monitoring and managing availabilities for key categories, implementing range reviews, aligning on promotions with demand and managing capital targets.

As a demand planner you will assist in the promotional plan review and forecast, promotional sell through, review forecast bias, review week to date set ups and new line forecast reviews.



Length of program: 2 years

Rotation possibilities: Meat, Bakery, Deli & Seafood, Grocery Dairy, Freezer & Convenience, Non-Food


Preferred educational background/interest: All disciplines

Weigh in on innovations used by millions

Work with machine learning that helps us understand the way people shop with a career in technology or eCommerce.
Text: Take a byte out of this cherry!

Get a guaranteed job at the end

Plus, you might be eligible for a salary increase in the second year. 
Text: Bring home the bacon

Learn and grow with an Accelerator Coach

An Accelerator Coach will act as your mentor and support your career progression throughout the grad program.
Text: We'll cheers to that!

What you need to know

coles graduates sitting at a table
Who can apply?
  • Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents at the time of application can apply.
  • If you hold a Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) by October 31st 2024 that is valid until at least February 14th 2028, you are eligible to apply for the Technology stream.
  • You'll have completed a bachelor’s degree before commencing the program.
coles graduates sitting at a table
Can International Students apply?
International Students can apply within the Technology stream.

​​​​​​​To be eligible for the program, you must hold a Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) by October 31st 2024 that is valid until at least February 14th 2028.

Coles graduates sitting at a table
What's the process?
Candidates wishing to apply will undertake a four step process. Click below for more information.
Coles graduates standing at reception
How do I apply?

Applications for our 2024 program have closed. 

What our Graduates are saying

Anthony Tripodo
"Grads are taught to drive their careers, reach out to leaders in the business they would want to work with, build a strong network and take great pride in the work that they do."

​​​​​​​Eliza Donaldson
Marketing Graduate
Chris Allen
"An inquisitive mind will shine, and your desire to learn or understand how things work is far more important than what degree you come with ."

​​​​​​​Matthew Gennaccaro
Technology Graduate
Image from Victoria Xu
"Coles is very supportive of providing opportunities for team members to move laterally so that they can broaden their knowledge and skills in different areas of the business."
Victoria Xu
People & Culture Graduate