Buyer

Oak Furnitureland; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee discount

Life assurance

25 days holiday per year

Birthday: an additional day off

Pension: 4% employee contribution

Employee Assistance Programme

My Rewards Programme

Job summary

Oak Furnitureland is seeking a talented Buyer to join our Swindon Head Office. This hybrid role combines two days in the office with three days remote, reporting to the Head of Buying.

You will own and deliver category strategy for own-brand ranges, working with sourcing and quality teams to create compelling product offers. You'll manage supplier relationships across the Far East and Europe, drive development end-to-end, and collaborate with Marketing and Web teams to ensure successful product

Qualifications

• Experience in buying with product development in Homewares or Beds & Mattresses.
• Strong commercial acumen and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to present.
• Analytical and numerical skills; able to manage multiple projects.

Responsibilities

• Develop a commercial product offering across Furniture categories.
• Manage and deliver the critical path for new product developments.
• Collaborate with Merchandising, Marketing, QC and other Oak Furnitureland teams.
• Negotiate terms with suppliers and drive product strategy.

Skills

Buying experience

Product development

Commercial awareness

Analytical skills

Numerical skills

Communication skills

Team player

Problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

We're looking for a talented and enthusiastic Buyer to join our Product & Buying team at our Swindon Head Office. We offer a flexible hybrid working arrangement, with two days in the office and three days working from home.

As a buyer at Oak Furnitureland, you'll be responsible for translating and executing the category strategy to deliver profitable growth for the business. You will be accountable for owning and supporting the delivery of category strategy on own brand ranges, working closely with the Head of Buying and the rest of the Buying Team. Establishing effective relationships with key internal and external stakeholders at a senior level is paramount.

You'll be commercially focussed with previous experience of working with suppliers in both the Far East suppliers and Europe as you will be dealing with in-house teams and the sourcing team in the Far East.

The ideal candidate will have proven experience in a buying role, including product development, ideally within the Homewares or Beds & Mattresses sectors. You will be creating an offering that meets customer needs and owning the development end‑to‑end, working closely with our quality and sourcing team to implement each range. Excellent communication skills are required to champion our product across all business areas such as marketing, creative and web, ensuring we launch fantastic products for our customers.

Key responsibilities

• Develop a commercial product offering that meets customer needs across our Furniture product categories.
• Manage and deliver the critical path to ensure new product developments launch on time and be comfortable managing multiple projects at any given time.
• Work closely with internal departments such as Merchandising, Marketing, QC and wider Oak Furnitureland teams.
• Build strong relationships with our supply base and implement successful and efficient ways of working.
• Negotiate the best possible terms with our suppliers.
• Ensure we successfully deliver new products to market whilst finding ways to constantly evolve and update our core collections.

Skills and experience

• Proven track record in a buying role with product development, ideally within Homewares or Beds & Mattresses
• Commercial awareness and an excellent attention to detail.
• A passion for product, balanced with understanding the need for commercial acumen.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Effective communicator, presenter and team player with an ability to bring others with them to deliver a strategy.
• Ability to demonstrate problem solving and provide resolution in a fast‑paced environment.
• Working flexibly as part of the wider Buying team, you will support in cross functional meetings and successfully drive our product strategy.

• Employee discount: amazing discounts available on all Oak Furnitureland products after successful completion of probation
• Life assurance: free cover of a minimum of two times your annual salary up to the age of 65
• 25 days holiday per year
• Birthday: an additional day off for you to celebrate your birthday
• Pension: 4% employee contribution matched by the company
• Employee Assistance Programme: gives all employees access to both telephone and face‑to‑face counselling services
• My Rewards Programme: offers discounts on everything from restaurants and supermarkets, to entertainment and holidays