Buyer, Women’s Own Brand Shoes

We are looking for a strategic, trend-conscious experienced own brand Buyer to join our Women’s Footwear team. This high-profile role brings an opportunity to put your stamp on a beloved British brand. You won’t just be managing a category; you’ll be the architect of a new offering, working alongside world-class Designers and Technologists to deliver a portfolio that defines the "John Lewis woman" for the next generation.

Your remit will be to deliver agreed KPIs including sales, profit, stock & margin. You will be an experienced negotiator, adept at independently managing multiple supplier relationships. Working alongside your Merchandiser, you will analyse commercial input and market data from all channels to develop a category assortment that appeals to the new and existing John Lewis customer base.

At a glance:

• Salary: Salary up to £60,000 per annum based on skill and experience

• Contract type: This is a permanent position 

• Hours and location of the role:

  • 35 hours per week

  • Your home location will be our London Pimlico head office

  • The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The expectation is a minimum of 3 days per week in the office as team collaboration is critical in this role - core days will vary across teams 

Key responsibilities:

• Maximise opportunities as they arise and lead the in-season trading to potentialise the outcome for both customers and your category

• You will be a People Manager of your category team’s Buying Assistants, creating the conditions for them to thrive, and balancing their focus and priorities as required

• You will take an active role in supporting the Buying Manager in leading the team and as a highly experienced Buyer, and take responsibility for coaching the team through challenges

• Managing multiple stakeholders both internally and externally.  You will work at pace and with agility within a collaborative environment with your Buying Manager, Head of Buying, Trade Planning, Trading & Product Operations team, Design and Product Technology. Externally you will hold a strong relationship with your suppliers

• You will be accountable for the commercial success of a product range as defined and agreed with your Buying Manager L5 and the commercial and customer success of a product range through range planning and agile in-season trading

• You will ensure you have up to date expert market knowledge for the category and can predict future market dynamics

• You will be accountable for making decisions on the product assortment: development, sourcing, price structure and margins. These will be in line with category and customer strategy. In collaboration with merchandising, you will need to make season trading and volume decisions along with the commercial terms and product lifecycle with the suppliers

• You will need to deputise for your Buying Manager L5 when appropriate

• Foster a collaborative and high-performance team culture, providing leadership and guidance to the buying team.  Support the professional development and growth of team members, ensuring a skilled and motivated workforce capable of achieving departmental objectives

• Responsible for all commercial negotiations 

• Support the Buying Manager L5 in building a strategy across the whole footwear offering

• Develop and buy market leading own brand ranges, managing product lifecycle from launch to exit of product ranges

• Collaborate with specialist functions to plan and develop ranges and sourcing strategies 

• Work with and comply with all critical path requirements as necessary

Essential skills and/or experience you’ll need: 

Retail Industry Experience: 

• Proven experience at Buyer level in the retail industry, with a focus on buying, category management, or product management within Footwear

• Direct experience in buying practices, merchandising strategies, and supplier negotiations

Negotiation Skills: 

• Strong negotiation skills and experience in leading strategic commercial negotiations with suppliers and vendors to secure favourable terms and agreements, maximising value and profitability for the category

Category Expertise: 

• In-depth knowledge and expertise within Footwear and Own Brand, including an understanding of product trends, customer preferences, and industry dynamics

Communication Skills: 

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to effectively communicate and present ideas, negotiate agreements, and build relationships with internal and external stakeholders

• A passion for fashion! 

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We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.  

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.