Head of Buying (Womenswear)

BODEN; London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

Stylish, grounded, uplifting - these values live through everything we do at Boden. Without the collaboration, honesty and friendship between our teams, we wouldn't be where we are today. We curate a world of beauty that's ethical, inclusive - and importantly - good fun. We inspire you to live your best life. We are Boden.

Overview

Boden is a Brand that puts the customer at the heart of what we do. This role will be leading Boden's Womenswear Buying team to study the detail whilst also maintaining a high-level overview, to deliver a range that is on brand and meeting KPIs, sales and margins are achieved.

Location: 4 - 5 days per week based at our North Acton Office.

What You Will Do

Commercial Awareness

1. In depth knowledge of Boden, our customer and competition in all our trading regions driven.
2. Champion through the entire Buying Team.
3. Execute Divisional Product Strategy and Framework to enhance ranges and drive sales and profit.
4. Collaborate across Design, Merchandising, Technical & Sourcing counterparts to ensure best range mix, sourcing approach & margin expectations are delivered.
5. Trade departments to capitalise on opportunities and grow sales, taking lead with Head of Merchandising in sign off.
6. Ensure all trade communication to wider business is timely, accurate and strategic.
7. Ensure Team are reviewing and managing commitment both short term (trading) and longer term (fabric booking & production planning).
8. Critical Path Management.

Managing Supply Base

1. Work with technical counterparts to deliver agile supplier strategies that can flex with shifts in business requirements, whilst securing sound relationships with key routes.

Team Leadership

1. Managing the performance of the Buying teams, leading, motivating and developing teams.
2. Develop succession plans across wider buying teams, recognising and nurturing talent.

What We Are Looking For

1. Proven experience in driving results across categories, chasing opportunity and mitigating risk with pace.
2. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
3. Numerate with proven experience in range planning using numerous key attributes.
4. Experience in sourcing, working across multiple countries of origin, across suppliers and lead times.
5. Driving margin gain and future proofing against macro trends.
6. Knowledge of US / UK retailers, building clear price architectures.
7. Excellent team leader, able to succession plan.
8. Great interpersonal skills and being able to flex your approach dependant on the audience.
9. Multi-tasking skills, reprioritising when needed.