Assistant Buyer - Own Brand Womenswear

Internal use only - Grade H

About us. 

We’re the team behind digital retailer Very. 

Our purpose, helping families get more out of life, powers everything we do. 

And we want our people to get more out of life too! If you’re high-performing, ambitious and make the most of every opportunity, we want to hear from you. In return, you’ll enjoy heaps of flexibility, great perks and benefits, and the freedom to be yourself, keep learning and take your career wherever you want it to go. 

If you love making a difference, you’ll love making it sparkle for millions of Very customers. ✨ 

About the team.

Our Buying team have some of the best minds in fashion and retail and are leading the way in finding the next trends and products.  

We’re excited to share an opportunity for a high-reaching, creative and dedicated individual looking to expand their buying career.  

About the role.

We have an exciting opportunity for an Assistant Buyer on Own Brand Womenswear. You’ll report directly into a Buyer / Buying Manager for the area and manage a Buying Assistant so lots of opportunity to further develop your skills.  

Day to day you will be meeting and handling supplier relationships, working closely with the design team to develop a commercial range suited to our customer, producing and communicating reports at trade meetings on trends, forecasts and opportunities.  

We’re looking for an Assistant Buyer who already has experience at this level or someone who has transferable skills in a relevant profession and can demonstrate a strong understanding and passion for Buying.  

The skills and behaviours imperative to being a successful Assistant Buyer candidate are; methodical, passionate, strong communication skills, can demonstrate initiative, has a strong eye for product, understand the current market/competition and you must have excellent attention to detail.  

About you. 

• Able to deputise for the Buying Manager and Buyer in key meetings.  

• Liaison with Senior Management Team and can clearly articulate category performance.  

• Trading actions – identifying how to improve best sellers and identifying worst sellers and minimising risk.  

• UK supplier appointments and negotiation with support of manager.  

• Critical path management including product approvals and leading the garment fit process.  

• Relationship management: both internally and externally will be important, building positive relationships to improve commercial opportunities.  

• Commercial awareness: Awareness of the market is key, keeping track of competitor activity, market trends and price positioning.  

• Ensuring weekly checks of imagery, price and relevant copy.  

• Management of a buying assistant in the team, providing development and career progression.  

• Sample management, chasing samples ahead of sign offs, collating fit samples, liaising with VM teams to ensure visibility of sign off product per month.  

Some of our benefits 

• Flexible, hybrid working model 

• Inclusive culture and environment, check out our Glassdoor reviews  

• £250 flexible benefits allowance to suit your needs 

• 27 days holiday + bank holidays 

• LinkedIn learning access 
• Up to 25% discount on Very.co.uk 

• Matched pension up to 6% 

• More benefits can be found on our career site  

How to apply 

Please note that the talent acquisition team are managing this vacancy directly, and if successful in securing this role, you will be required to undertake a credit, CIFAS, Right to Work checks and if a specific requirement of your role a DBS (criminal records) check. Should your application progress we require you to let the team know if there is anything you need to disclose in relation to any of these checks prior to them being undertaken, including any unspent criminal convictions.  

What happens next? 

Our talent acquisition team will be in touch if you’re successful so keep an eye on your emails! We’ll arrange a short call to learn more about you, as well as answer any questions you have. If it feels like we’re a good match, we’ll share your CV with the hiring manager to review. Our interview process is tailored to each role and can be in-person or held remotely.  

You can expect a two-stage interview process for this position:  

1st stage - An informal 30-45 minute video call with the hiring team to discuss your skills and relevant experience. This is a great opportunity to find out more about the role and to ask any questions you may have.  

2nd Stage – A one-hour formal task based interview where you can expect both competency and technical questions.

As an inclusive employer please do let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments.  

If you'd like to know more about our interviews, you can find out here. 

 
Diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities

We’re building a culture of everyday inclusion, and welcome applications from anyone who believes they can do the job. We don’t discriminate based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

We want our recruitment process to be accessible to everyone. If you need reasonable adjustments to apply, interview, or perform a role, let us know via [email protected]. We’ll be happy to support you.

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer and have nine brilliant colleague networks - including DAWN (Disability Awareness at Very) and Think (Neurodiversity at Very) - that are helping us make Very an even more inclusive place to work.