The Junior Buyer is responsible for managing their own category, reporting into the Buying Manager for their department. The role includes managing an Assistant, developing the range in line with concept, meeting margin targets and managing the supply base. You will contribute and help drive a department strategy to deliver amazing product to our customer.
Commercial Awareness- Understand our Brand and our customer in all our trading regions. Be customer focused in the way you work and in the decisions you make. Be aware of economic and social trends that impact our business.
Strategy- Deliver a seasonally framework with sales, buys and options mixes with Merchandising and Design partners to deliver a relevant product range that delivers on topline sales with the customer at the forefront.
Product Development - Drive the development of our amazing product working closely with Design, Garment Technology and suppliers while ensuring intake margin is delivered.
Trade- Quick to respond to current trade and constantly evaluating upcoming ranges and looking for opportunities to trade.
Build in ability to trade with your supply base and establish trigger dates for trade.
Chase and mitigate risk where required.
Work with the fabric team to book and monitor fabric/yarn commitment to trade effectively through the season.
Work closely with the Designers, Techs and Product Merchandisers from the start of the development stage to ensure the designs align with the Product Framework and meet quality and margin targets
Pre-empt difficulties you may encounter and find solutions
Review development samples with the team to ensure suppliers have followed instructions, flag how they may differ with suppliers and what can be done to improve in the future
Supply Base – Continually assess supply base, building strong relationships to deliver best price, quality, reliability and repeat lead times.
Recognise opportunities and risk that form part of the Supplier Strategy
Negotiation – Negotiate and grow your skills to meet each seasons target margin
Set targets and understand where you are going to make the biggest margin impact
Critical Path – Ensure the department Critical Path is on time and delays are escalated to management with solutions
Establish workable FOB dates to ensure instock is met.
Work with Design and Technical teams to ensure Supplier can achieve lead time.
Ensure garments are always fitted on time and with fit & flatter in mind
Team Management – Get the best out of your team but motivating, developing and coaching, keeping brand values at the forefront.
Carry our regular 121’s and performance reviews setting out clear, measurable targets and giving regular feedback.
Delegate and manage the workload of your team appropriately to ensure accurate and quick response
Have strong relationships with the supply base and internal teams to ensure smooth running of the department.
Communication – clearly communicate to get quick decisions to avoid delays, be able to recognise when you can make the decision and what needs to be escalated
Speak up when something is going wrong and avoid it becoming a bigger issue
Systems – Ensure PLM/S5 up to date and accurate at all times
We want Boden to be the place everyone wants to work. Friendly and open, understanding and supportive. A best-of-British company with diverse teams, equal opportunities, and fair working and recruitment practices. We believe in hiring the best person for the job whoever they are, helping them thrive in it and celebrating their individuality.
We would like to encourage people from a diverse range of backgrounds to apply for our roles. If you need any reasonable adjustments or additional support during your application process, please do not hesitate to let us know.