Head of Buying

Head of Buying

SDA’s / Homewares

Manchester - Office Based

Up to £70,000 plus excellent benefits

Are you a highly experienced Buying professional within the electrical sector? Our client, a well established supplier to retailer now has an exciting opportunity for a Head of Buying to join their team in Manchester.

Candidates will ideally come from a supplier background, with strong product development experience and knowledge of SDA’s, electricals, etc.

Purpose of role:

As the Head of Buying, you will be at the forefront of our clients purchasing efforts, driving strategic initiatives to enhance profitability and market competitiveness. Reporting directly to the Commercial Director, you will play a pivotal role in shaping product strategy, maximising sales, and optimising profit margins.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assume full ownership of PO budget/orderbook, intake budget, margin, deposits, and stock budget. Develop and implement recovery plans as necessary to ensure targets are met.
• Lead the development and execution of new product development (NPD) initiatives, staying abreast of market trends across all categories.
• Formulate and execute product strategy and range assortment plans, identifying key growth opportunities to drive sales and profitability.
• Analyse performance within the product range and take corrective actions to optimise performance as needed.
• Drive data-driven decision-making processes within the buying teams, leveraging market insights and analytics.
• Anticipate market challenges and opportunities by understanding the broader market context.
• Lead and motivate the buying teams to deliver high-quality range plans on time, conducting thorough range reviews and sign-off processes.
• Manage end-to-end range management activities, including SKU optimisation, supplier optimisation, and global sourcing, in collaboration with key stakeholders.
• Demonstrate strong planning and project management skills to ensure targets are consistently met.
• Foster teamwork within the wider team, collaborating closely with Sales, QA, and Merchandising teams to successfully launch product ranges.
• Inspire and empower direct reports and the wider team to achieve high performance through collaboration and cross-functional cooperation.
• Coach and mentor the buying team to achieve agreed-upon KPIs.
• Develop new and existing teams members to enable high performance.

Skills Required:

• Proven experience in buying and Far East sourcing.
• Strong capability in range building and SKU validation.
• Demonstrated expertise in market analysis and trend development.
• Can-do attitude with a willingness to be hands-on when necessary.
• Exceptional commercial acumen.
• Ability to self-learn and find solutions independently.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to prioritize workload effectively.
• Strong communication skills to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in Excel for data analysis and reporting.

Apply online or for further information contact one of our specialist consultants quoting reference number: NJR15927