Store Support Centre Graduate Program

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

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 

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.

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


 

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

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 

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 

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 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

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

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

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

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