Junior Buyer

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:

1. 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.
2. Negotiating pricing, production, display, packaging and product detail.
3. Maintaining relationships with existing suppliers and sourcing new suppliers.
4. Communicating with suppliers to drive the critical path and optimise stock.
5. Working closely with the merchandising team to interpret sales history and analysis to support the buying strategy.
6. Reducing costs and improving quality of supply.
7. Achieving budgeted sales and margin for specific product category.
8. Maintaining the range plan and relevant documentation and systems.
9. Analysing consumer buying patterns and successfully predicting future trends.
10. Comparative shop reports, market research and identifying product trends.
11. Field liaison to gauge sales feedback and range balance alongside donated goods.
12. Communicating display guidelines and product information to the field teams.
13. Supporting the Buyer and wider team with administrative tasks.
14. Training and mentoring junior staff.
15. 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 goods, and a passion for retail, especially within the charity sector.

To succeed in this role you will:

1. Proven track record of success in buying, product development, range planning and margin enhancement in a retail environment.
2. Excellent negotiation and communication skills.
3. Strong commercial acumen and a keen eye for product.
4. Ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
5. Great organisational skills, attention to detail and ability to prioritise a busy workload.
6. A proactive attitude with an ability to think on your feet and problem solve whilst meeting tight deadlines and achieving targets.
7. A passion for Retail, especially within the Charity sector.
8. Ability to manage, motivate and develop direct reports.
9. IT proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, 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.

How to apply

It’s quick and easy to apply for a role at the BHF. Just click on the apply button below to be redirected to our career site.