Are you passionate about retail and eager to make a difference in the charity sector? The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is looking for a dynamic and proactive Junior Buyer to join our new goods Furniture and Electrical team for BHF Home Stores. This is a fantastic opportunity to support our mission and contribute to the development of new goods within our retail portfolio. Our award-winning retail division is the largest and most successful charity retailer in the UK with rewarding careers in buying. As a Junior Buyer, you will play a crucial role in supporting the Buyer and wider team in managing the range life cycle, strategic planning, and product development. You will work closely with suppliers, ensuring product quality and optimising stock availability. As a Junior Buyer, your key responsibilities include: Strategically planning new goods furniture and electrical ranges for BHF Home stores in conjunction with Buyer, taking responsibility for a key area and presenting to senior retail management.
Negotiating pricing, production, display, packaging and product detail
Maintaining relationships with existing suppliers and sourcing new suppliers
Communicating with suppliers to drive the critical path and optimise stock
Working closely with the merchandising team to interpret sales history and analysis to support the buying strategy
Reducing costs and improving quality of supply
Achieving budgeted sales and margin for specific product category
Maintaining the range plan and relevant documentation and systems
Analysing consumer buying patterns and successfully predicting future trends
Comparative shop reports, market research and identifying product trends
Field liaison to gauge sales feedback and range balance alongside donated goods
Communicating display guidelines and product information to the field teams
Supporting the Buyer and wider team with administrative tasks
Training and mentoring junior staff
Maintaining a high level of QA awareness specific to product category
In this position you'll collaborate closely with multiple internal and external stakeholders including UK suppliers, Marketing, Merchandising and store field teams. About you We are looking for someone with previous experience as junior buyer or assistant buyer in a Retail Head Office environment. You should have excellent negotiation and communication skills, a proven track record of success in buying, product development, range planning and margin enhancement in a retail environment To succeed in this role you will: Proven track record of success in buying, product development, range planning and margin enhancement in a retail environment
Excellent negotiation and communication skills
Strong commercial acumen and a keen eye for product
Ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders
Great organisational skills, attention to detail and ability to prioritise a busy workload
A proactive attitude with an ability to think on your feet and problem solve whilst meeting tight deadlines and achieving targets
A passion for Retail, especially within the Charity sector
Ability to manage, motivate and develop direct reports
IT proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint & SharePoint)
Line management experience and working in retail shops would be beneficial. In return you get the chance to join a talented team that works on exciting projects that really make a difference.
Working arrangements This is a blended role, where your work will be dual located between your home and our Northampton office (NN1 2BN). At the BHF we believe in the power of being together, so our colleagues on blended contracts can expect to spend some time in their office, at least one day each week, on average. The use of our office spaces is driven in part by your role and the activities you need to do. This may vary from time to time, so you will need to work in a flexible way to unlock your best work for our cause. Interview process 1st stage interviews will be a one-way video interview. 2nd stage will be a panel interview which will be held in the Northampton office. These are due to take place mid-end of April.
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