Assistant/Junior Buyer

Due to our growing business needs we are looking to expand our buying team and are looking to speak to people on varying levels from Assistant Buyer to Junior Buyer level.

This job would suit someone from a multi-category clothing background who is used to owning their own category areas and who has experience of managing at least one other. This role will span Womenswear, Menswear, Kidswear and accessories. This role will sit across both Chelsea Peers and Renfold brand portfolio.

This position will report to the Buying Manager.

Key Responsibilities:

• Detailed management of department critical path - liaising with suppliers to ensure CP is up to date, escalating issues and risks to deliveries to the Product and Operations team. Ensuring internal teams are looped in on critical dates.
• Working to ensure the Buying function runs smoothly.
• Price negotiating and order closures with global factories ensuring all ranges are closed and POs sent in line with the critical path.
• Build and maintain great relationships with the supplier base.
• Responsible for the approval process, viewing approvals through commercial eyes, understanding the vision for the final product and escalating concerns. Ensuring a strong working relationship with the design and print teams.
• Fit session participation
• Awareness of when approval and fit decisions will affect the critical path and communicating this to the team.
• Conducting regular competitive shops and sharing competitor activity with the team. Putting plans in place to correct concerns and identify new product opportunities.
• Price Benchmarking seasonally.
• Product develop directly with the suppliers using initiative to drive ranges forward and constantly source newness. Ensuring sustainability is at the forefront of any innovation.
• Assisting in team meetings such as range building, sign offs and strategies.
• Reviewing and preparing weekly sales information to draw conclusions and suggestive actions ahead of trade meetings. Ensuring learnings are factored into future ranges.
• Understanding product components, technical requirements, sourcing and supply chain issues and commercial margin parameters.
• Day-to-Day management of Buying and Wholesale Administrator within the team, developing both their technical and leadership skills
• Understanding and supporting the departmental sourcing strategy.
• Raising delivery delays to BM and Senior Merchandising Manager, managing outcome, cross referencing with wholesale customer orders.
• Sign off all reference samples and gold seal samples in a timely manner, ensuring all test reports and paperwork have been received.
• Assist with capacity planning each season and collating key dates for production to build company 's critical path.
• Analyse quality issues and customer returns data and implement corrective actions with the help of the Garment Technologist.

Skills and Experience Required:

• Strong attention to detail
• Flexible with the ability to work at pace in a fast-moving environment.
• Ability to question the norm and make improvements as and when necessary.
• Good communication and organisational skills
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Self-Motivated
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel
• Full understanding of how to work through the different stages of product development and the buying lifecycle