Job Description

Overview:
Buyer (Decor and Surface)
12 Month Fixed Term Contract
Up to 65,000 + Bonus + Pension + BUPA + ShareSave + 6.6 weeks holiday + Hybrid Working
Southampton, Store Support Office
We believe anyone can improve their home to make life better. From our Southampton Store Support office (SSO) we equip our stores, our people, and our whole business with everything it takes to help our millions of customers create a home they'll love. Join us as a Buyer and you'll be a big part of this. What's the job?:
Lead a category buying team and work in partnership with the Merchandiser to create and deliver an inspirational product range that meets the needs of our customers. Driving sales, margin (GM & GM%) and market share across all channels whilst delivering vendor contributions, rebate and retail price index targets through strong vendor partnerships and negotiations. You'll challenge the status quo, searching for exciting new partners and finding new ways of working with a view to delivering a better proposition for our customers.

• Work alongside the Merchandiser to develop a category proposition that meets our customer needs, identifies opportunities, and mitigates risks, whilst delivering against sales, margin and market share targets
• Become a subject matter expert on all things related to your category, using your knowledge and insights, both internal and external, to understand customer needs, predict future trends and gain a broad understanding of competitors and external factors, to help identify opportunities or future needs to drive profitable sales growth
• Source, develop and select a compelling product range, encompassing branded and own label products, which reflect the category strategy, maximising our vendor base and meeting the needs of our customers across all channels, incorporating current trends and reflecting our brand, including achieving required sustainability and quality standards
• Work alongside the Offer & Sourcing (O&S) team to shape and develop an own label proposition, to excite our customer base and which is appropriate for our market and customer
• Work collaboratively alongside the Digital and Trade teams to develop channel propositions that meet the needs of our customers
• Create a pricing architecture that ensure B&Q remains competitive within the market and in tandem with ranging decisions, delivers our vision of supporting all customers with access to DIY/Trade products

• End to end vendor strategy management including contract and cost price negotiation, delivery of vendor contributions and annual performance review, working in conjunction with the Central Buying team
• Manage and develop vendor relationships, including onboarding and exiting vendors, being accountable for their adherence to B&Q processes and policies e.g. technical and ethical audits, minimum standards; striving for continuous performance; identifying opportunities for growth including new services/products/concepts
• Manage the buying process, with an awareness of impact on cross functional teams, allowing for flexibility, adhering to a critical path, to ensure stock is ordered and delivered on time
• Working with the Merchandiser, Channel Leads and Trading team, co-create and deliver category/promotional trading plans, working with vendors to seek out opportunities
• With the Merchandiser, manage the product lifecycle including range performance, identifying, and optimising trading opportunities and the delivery of promotions and range reviews
• Develop collaborative marketing plans, with both vendors and internal marketing functions, to support trading, including brochures
• With the Buying Assistant, ensure all products and vendors are set up in line with agreed processes, whilst ensuring data provided is both accurate and complete
• Conduct regular store (digital & physical), competitor, vendor and trade show visits to increase awareness and understand trends, informing ranging and trading plans
• Manage and influence stakeholders across a range of levels, internally and externally, to support the delivery of KPIs
• Lead, empower and motivate your team to deliver category strategy, driving high performance and developing future talent whilst role modelling the B&Q values
• Undertake other duties from time to time as may be reasonably required

What we need::

• Previous experience of sourcing, buying and trading product ranges across multiple sales channels
• Ability to understand customer insights and market trends
• Commercially focussed with the ability to understand financial insights and translate into business deliverables
• Ability to drive business performance using insights and knowledge to build compelling product ranges and agile trading plans
• High level negotiation and influencing skills
• Experience in vendor management and contract negotiation
• Strong communicator
• Ability to build relationships at all levels
• Microsoft Office skills, in particular Excel and PowerPoint

What's in it for me?:
As well as a competitive salary, our benefits package includes an award-winning pension scheme, bonus, car or car allowance, ShareSave options, 6.6 weeks holiday, payroll giving, an Employee Assistance Programme, shopping discounts, colleague wellbeing benefits and lots more!
As part of a great team, you'll be supported to grow and encouraged to explore new career directions within the business and the wider group. And, because you'll be inspiring great things for our customers and the whole business, you'll do work worth caring about.