Buying Assistant, Small Kitchen Appliances

Are you ready to kickstart your buying career alongside the biggest names in kitchen tech?

We are looking for a talented, retail obsessed Buying Assistant to join our fast-paced Small Electricals team. From the iconic curves of SMEG and KitchenAid to the everyday reliability of Russell Hobbs, you’ll be at the heart of the team managing the brands that define the modern British home. If you’re a collaborative spirit who thrives in a high-energy environment, this is your chance to put your stamp on an iconic retail brand.

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £4.25 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

• Salary: £28,000.00 - £38,900.00 per annum

• Expected salary: Up to £31,000 depending on skill and experience

• Contract type: This is a permanent opportunity 

• Location: This is a hybrid working role. The normal place of work for this role is our London Central Office in Pimlico. The expectation is a minimum of 3 days per week in the office as team collaboration is critical in this role - core days are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

Key responsibilities:

• Managing milestones and adhering to standard processes

• Supporting, buying and executing the administrative tasks required across critical path management, pricing, range building, marketing, and trading activities for your assigned category

• Taking responsibility for the complete competitor and assortment analysis, working with supplier and internal teams to collate and deliver events, marketing activities, samples, range building and assortment reviews)

• You will take pride in executing work in a right first time and accurate manner. You will be able to flex to the ebb and flow of seasonal demands, including supporting additional categories as the need arises

• Externally you will maintain operational relationships with our Suppliers

• You will propose actions to your category group and execute their decisions within their critical path, assortment, marketing and range plans templates. You will manage exceptions to these processes with the relevant stakeholders

• You will be responsible for coordinating with Suppliers and internal teams to deliver digital assets and samples required for marketing activities/events online and in branches

• You will be responsible for executing administrative tasks to support packaging development and pricing activities where required

Essential skills and/or experience you’ll need: 

• Strong administration skills

• A willingness to learn

• A passion for retail and enthusiasm for collaborative working

• A true people person with experience of using the Google Suite

Desirable skills and/or experience you may have: 

• Retail experience/Buying experience

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.