Buying & Operations Assistant

Craft & Culture; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 50,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Path to Manager

Employment Visa

Health Insurance

Wine Education & Tastings

Shape C&C Index

Job summary

Craft & Culture, based in the UAE, seeks a proactive Buying & Operations Assistant to support wine buying, client services, and Index data maintenance. You will collaborate with the Managing Director and the logistics team, driving efficient operations and supplier relations.

You will manage purchasing, client inquiries, stock movements, and quotations, expanding ownership over time and helping the business scale within the wine trade in the Middle East.

Qualifications

• Experience in buying, procurement, FMCG, beverages, wine & spirits.
• Strong numeracy and data handling abilities.
• Excellent communication with clients and suppliers.
• Comfortable with Excel and purchasing workflows.

Responsibilities

• Buy and procure wine, review offers, raise POs and manage supplier invoices.
• Support private clients with purchases, storage and stock movements.
• Maintain C&C Index data: products, inventory, pricing and availability.
• Coordinate logistics with Head of Logistics and warehouse teams.
• Prepare regular commercial, stock, purchasing and sales reports.
• Develop understanding to own day-to-day operations and improve workflows.

Skills

Organised

Commercial mindset

Numerate

Excel skills

Client communication

Proactive

Tools

ERP systems

Inventory systems

C&C Index

Purchasing software

Job description

Craft & Culture is a UAE-based fine wine business connecting global wine supply with private collectors and trade clients across the Middle East.

We operate our own bonded, temperature-controlled fine wine warehouse in the UAE and provide the infrastructure required to buy, move, store and sell fine wine across the region. Alongside our physical operations, C&C Index gives our team and our clients access to our growing network of fine wine inventory, pricing and purchasing opportunities.

As C&C continues to grow, we are looking for a Buying & Operations Assistant to become a key part of the day-to-day running of the business.

The Role

This is a broad, hands-on position working directly with the Managing Director and across the wider C&C team, covering wine buying, private clients, sales support, C&C Index, inventory, finance administration and logistics coordination.

You will initially work closely with the Managing Director, with the expectation that you take increasing ownership as you develop your understanding of the business. This is not a traditional assistant role — the objective is to help run the day-to-day commercial operation of C&C, ensuring buying opportunities, client requests, orders and operational tasks move efficiently from instruction through to completion.

A day might run from reviewing a merchant's offer list in the morning, to coordinating an inbound shipment with our Head of Logistics, to preparing a client quotation and resolving a stock discrepancy by the afternoon.

What Makes This Role Different

The expectation is not to wait for tasks to be assigned, but increasingly to understand what needs to happen next and take responsibility for making it happen. Within a year, the intention is that a supplier list, a client order, an unexpected delivery or an invoice can land and be handled without the Managing Director in the loop.

Wine Buying & Procurement

• Support and increasingly take ownership of C&C's day-to-day wine purchasing activity
• Review supplier offers and availability lists, maintain buying records and prepare purchasing recommendations
• Raise and manage purchase orders, and coordinate supplier invoices
• Track purchases from confirmation through collection to arrival into C&C inventory
• Maintain accurate records of vintages, quantities, formats, case sizes, purchase prices, currencies and associated costs
• Monitor stock levels, sales activity and existing inventory to identify buying requirements and opportunities
• Develop the commercial understanding to make purchasing decisions within agreed parameters and budgets
• Maintain strong day-to-day relationships with international merchants and suppliers

Private Clients & Client Services

• Act as a day-to-day point of contact for C&C's private clients
• Assist clients with purchases, storage enquiries, stock movements, deliveries and other account requirements
• Manage client orders from initial enquiry through quotation, confirmation, invoicing and fulfilment
• Coordinate wine arriving from clients' international merchants, ensuring it is correctly consolidated and received into their C&C holdings
• Maintain accurate client inventory and order records
• Provide responsive, professional service to a growing private client base
• Respond to incoming product enquiries from private and trade customers
• Prepare quotations and offers using C&C inventory and available supplier stock
• Process orders generated by the Managing Director and wider sales team
• Coordinate stock allocation, invoicing, warehouse instructions and delivery
• Follow outstanding quotations and orders through to completion
• Support the commercial team with pricing, availability and product information

C&C Index

• Use C&C Index as a core part of the role, every day
• Maintain accurate product, inventory, pricing and availability information
• Add new wines, suppliers and purchasing opportunities to the platform
• Use Index to prepare quotations and support client orders
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows and functionality based on everyday operational use
• Work with the team and our developers on the ongoing development of Index, helping ensure the platform reflects the practical requirements of C&C's buying, sales and operational activity

More Than Data Entry

Index ownership is a meaningful part of this job. We want the person who says “we are doing this manually every day — Index should handle it”, and who then works with us to make that happen.

Logistics & Warehouse Coordination

• Work closely with C&C's Head of Logistics to move purchases and client orders efficiently through the business
• Provide the information and documentation required for international collections, consolidations, imports and deliveries
• Coordinate with suppliers and merchants on collection readiness and shipment information
• Track inbound and outbound orders, proactively following up outstanding actions
• Coordinate warehouse picking, packing and stock movements associated with client orders
• Ensure physical stock movements are accurately reflected within C&C's systems

Finance & Commercial Administration

• Raise customer invoices and maintain supporting order documentation
• Process and record supplier invoices and purchase documentation
• Monitor accounts receivable and payable relating to commercial activity
• Follow up outstanding customer payments and supplier credits
• Maintain accurate landed-cost, margin and pricing information
• Assist with reconciliation between purchasing, inventory, sales and finance records
• Prepare regular commercial, stock, purchasing and sales reports for management

What We're Looking For

Someone highly organised, commercially minded and comfortable taking ownership. You should be confident working with numbers, pricing, margins, spreadsheets and inventory, while equally comfortable communicating directly with clients and suppliers.

• Exceptionally organised and accurate
• Proactive rather than reactive — you chase things down rather than wait to be asked
• Comfortable taking responsibility
• Commercially aware and numerate
• Confident dealing directly with clients and suppliers
• Strong with Excel and business systems
• Able to prioritise in a fast-moving environment
• Comfortable within a small, entrepreneurial business where responsibilities naturally overlap

Previous experience within buying, procurement, FMCG, beverages, wine & spirits, inventory, logistics or commercial administration would be highly relevant. Fine wine knowledge is advantageous but not essential — a willingness to learn the category matters more.

Nice to Have

ERP or inventory system experience

Order-management systems

Landed-cost & margin calculation

Import, export or freight exposure

WSET or wine knowledge certification

Multi-currency purchasing

Development

This role is being created as C&C enters its next stage of growth. We are looking for someone who can initially support the Managing Director and wider team, but progressively take ownership of significant areas of the day-to-day business.

Where This Role Leads

For the right person, we see a clear progression from Buying & Operations Assistant toward Buying & Operations Manager as their knowledge, judgement and responsibilities develop.

What We Offer

Path to Manager

Employment Visa

Health Insurance

Wine Education & Tastings

Shape C&C Index