Assistant Category Buyer

Halfords Careers; Redditch; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Employer pension

Life assurance

Employee discounts

Job summary

Halfords is transforming its Commercial team into a dynamic Category Management function that aligns with our Retail strategy. This role sits at the heart of shaping ranges, pricing, and availability to keep customers moving with the right products at the right time.

You will partner with the Category Buyer and cross-functional teams to leverage customer insight and market data, ensuring value-led decisions across planning, supplier management and ESG commitments, while contributing to Halfords’

Qualifications

• Experience as Assistant Category Buyer or similar commercial role.
• Analytical and numerically minded, confident working with data to support decisions.
• Strong collaboration, communication, and influencing across functions.

Responsibilities

• Support plans that deliver market-leading share targets.
• Lead range review programme with insight-led, commercially strong decisions.
• Collaborate with ESG, Supply, Digital and Store Operations to land products across channels.
• Own accurate reporting of sales, price and promotional files to keep the business moving.
• Help deliver negotiated margins, cost prices, rebates and product mix.
• Support the annual budget process and help hit key financial targets.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Numerical skills

Stakeholder management

Collaboration

Job description

Job no: 568949
Work type: Full time
Site: Redditch
Categories: Buying
Location: Worcestershire

About us

We’re evolving our Commercial team into a dynamic Category Management model that’s fully aligned with our Retail strategy. This transformation creates a future-ready function that blends strategic insight, customer focus, and stronger cross-functional collaboration. Our approach empowers teams, sparks innovation, and drives data-led decisions that deliver sustainable growth.

To bring this vision to life, we’re investing in our people - expanding capacity and nurturing talent across our Category teams. It’s an exciting time to join Halfords, where you’ll discover exceptional development opportunities and have the chance to make an immediate, meaningful impact. If you’re ready to help lead the way in an ever-evolving retail landscape, we’d love to hear from you.

About the role

Join us as a key partner to the Category Buyer and help create product ranges that keep our customers moving - delivering the right products, at the right price, at exactly the right time.

In this fast-paced role, you’ll work across the business to make every range a success: using customer insight to shape smarter planning, teaming up with Commercial to secure unbeatable value, and partnering with Supply to keep stock turning smoothly. You’ll also collaborate closely with Store Operations, Digital, and ESG to ensure every product lands brilliantly across all our channels.

If you’re curious, commercially minded, and excited by the idea of shaping standout ranges in a market-leading retail and services business, Halfords is the place to make your mark.

Key responsibilities

• Champion growth by supporting plans that deliver our market-leading share targets.
• Power a best-in-class range review programme, ensuring every product decision is insight-led and commercially strong.
• Lead positive change by supporting Halfords’ ESG ambitions, helping manage supplier and product improvements that make a real impact.
• Own accurate reporting, maintaining sales, price and promotional files that keep the business moving at pace.
• Boost profitability by backing the delivery of negotiated margin, cost prices, rebates and product mix.
• Stay ahead of the market with deep customer understanding and competitor awareness, helping shape ranges that give Halfords a long-term competitive edge.
• Collaborate across the business, from Supply to Digital to Store Operations, building strong supplier relationships and using data to drive smarter decisions and standout promotional activity.
• Drive Halfords’ sales and margin success by supporting the annual budget process and ensuring we hit key financial targets.

About you

• You bring experience from an Assistant Category Buyer role or a similar transferable commercial position, ideally within a fast-paced retail environment.
• You’re analytical and numerically minded, confident working with data to support decisions.
• You thrive in a fast-paced environment, staying focused and proactive when things get busy.
• You have strong commercial awareness, keeping a close eye on competitor activity and understanding what customers need.
• You’re a collaborative team player with a positive, ‘can-do’ approach, always ready to support colleagues and move projects forward.
• You communicate and influence effectively, building and maintaining strong relationships across functions and with external partners.
• A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, annual discretionary bonus scheme, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave.
• Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations.
• We offer hybrid working in our Support Centre, you will be based at our Support Centre 3 days a week with an optional 2 days working from home.
• You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords suite of products and services.
• Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords.

At Halfords we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for our colleagues. We're an equal opportunities employer and proud to welcome applications from all backgrounds and embrace diversity within our one Halfords Family.

At Halfords, we operate a hybrid working policy with 3 days on site at our Support Centre in Redditch, Worcestershire.

Advertised: 29 Oct 2026 GMT Standard Time
Applications close: 06 Nov 2026 GMT Standard Time