Assistant Buyer — Hybrid, Vendor & Range Growth

B Q; Eastleigh; Hybrid; GBP 27,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid working

Career development

Competitive rewards

Colleague discounts

Wellbeing support

Generous holidays

Inclusive workplace

Make a difference

Job summary

B&Q is seeking an Assistant Buyer to join our Southampton Store Support Office in a permanent, hybrid role. You’ll help create an inspirational product range and drive sales, margins, and market share through strong vendor partnerships.

You will support end-to-end buying processes and collaborate across Marketing, Digital, and Merchandising to optimise ranges and promotions. The role requires experience in sourcing, vendor management and contract negotiation, with strong communication,

Qualifications

• Experience in sourcing and buying product ranges.
• Ability to understand customer insights and market trends.
• Experience in vendor management and contract negotiation.
• Strong communication and influencing skills.
• Ability to build relationships at all levels.
• Attention to detail to assist with issue resolution and problem solving.
• Commercial and financial awareness; experience managing projects and stakeholders.
• Flexible, adaptable and proactive; proficient in MS Excel and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Work with the Buyer to create and deliver an inspirational product range.
• Drive sales, margin and market share across channels, delivering vendor contributions, rebates, and price index targets.
• Be responsible for performance of subcategories and vendor relationships.
• Develop and implement a category proposition to meet customer needs.
• Support sourcing and development of a compelling product range with vendors.
• Shape and develop an own label proposition with the O&S team.
• Support buying processes and ensure stock is ordered and delivered on time.
• Support end-to-end vendor strategy management including contracts and cost negotiations.
• Gather insights to support category pricing hierarchy using Minderest.
• Collaborate with Merchandising, Visual, and Digital teams on product lifecycle and promotions.
• Coordinate sampling with QA and Lab setup; manage data setup for products/vendors.
• Lead on marketing assets and brochures with Marketing and Digital teams.
• Share category information via Yammer and respond to queries.
• Conduct store, digital, and vendor visits to inform decisions and KPIs.
• Manage stakeholders across levels to deliver KPIs.
• Undertake other duties as required.

Skills

Sourcing & buying

Customer insights

Vendor management

Contract negotiation

Communication

Relationship building

Attention to detail

Project management

Commercial awareness

Flexibility

Proactive

Excel

PowerPoint

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

B&Q is seeking an Assistant Buyer to join our Southampton Store Support Office in a permanent, hybrid role. You’ll help create an inspirational product range and drive sales, margins, and market share through strong vendor partnerships.

You will support end-to-end buying processes and collaborate across Marketing, Digital, and Merchandising to optimise ranges and promotions. The role requires experience in sourcing, vendor management and contract negotiation, with strong communication,