Buying & Merchandising Assistant - Register Your Interest

River Island Clothing Co., Ltd.; City Of London; On-site; GBP 26,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fashion retailer is seeking a Buying & Merchandising Assistant at their Head Office in London. This role involves providing administrative support to both the Buying and Merchandising teams, ensuring product samples are managed and maintained, and assisting in reporting and analysis. Ideal candidates should have a keen interest in fashion, strong organizational skills, and be confident with numbers. This full-time permanent position offers competitive compensation and numerous employee perks.

Benefits

50% staff discount

Onsite gym

Subsidised restaurant

23 days paid holiday

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Genuine interest in fashion, retail and the commercial side of the industry.
• Strong attention to detail and excellent organisational skills.
• Proactive, flexible approach with the ability to prioritise and multitask.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to the Buying team.
• Manage product samples and ensure they’re labelled and organised.
• Support the Merchandising team with daily admin and reporting.

Skills

Attention to detail

Organisational skills

Confidence with numbers

Intermediate Excel skills

Communication skills

Job description

Buying & Merchandising Assistant - Register Your Interest

Department: Buying & Merchandising

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Head Office, Chelsea House

Compensation: £26,000 / year

Description

Are you passionate about fashion, commercially minded and looking to start your career in Buying or Merchandising? We’re always on the lookout for enthusiastic, detail-driven individuals to join our dynamic Product teams as Buying or Merchandising Admin Assistants.

Both roles play a vital part in bringing our ranges to life, supporting everything from initial product ideas through to delivering the right stock, in the right place, at the right time.

As a Buying Admin Assistant, you’ll:

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to the Buying team
• Manage product samples, ensuring they’re correctly labelled and organised
• Raise and maintain purchase orders and line sheets accurately
• Liaise with suppliers to ensure samples and key information are received on time
• Assist in preparing for range reviews and product sign-offs
• Support with competitor research and trend analysis
• Maintain accurate product information across systems

As a Merchandising Admin Assistant, you’ll:

• Support the Merchandising team with daily admin and reporting
• Update and maintain sales, stock and intake reports
• Raise purchase orders and ensure accuracy across systems
• Track deliveries and stock movements
• Help compile trade reports and analysis to guide commercial decisionsWork closely with Buying, Distribution and Stores to maximise stock efficiency

What we’re looking for:

• A genuine interest in fashion, retail and the commercial side of the industry
• Strong attention to detail and excellent organisational skills
• Confidence with numbers and data (especially for merchandising roles)
• Intermediate Excel skills and strong computer literacy
• A proactive, flexible approach with the ability to prioritise and multitask
• Great communication skills and a collaborative mindset

About Us

We’re a much-loved brand with an exciting future. Our Islanders are a diverse bunch of bright, talented people who love working together – and are proud of the work they do. Progression here can take you in all kinds of directions. This is what a career at River Island is like. And this is where yours starts.

This role is based at our Head Office in West London. Check us out here on a map.

What we can offer you:

• Generous 50% staff discount so you can treat yourself to the latest products, and a bargain staff shop on site!
• Reducing Islanders everyday expenses through discounts, benefits, financial advice, wellbeing solutions and more through Reward Gateway!
• A free onsite gym, subsidised restaurant & café to fill you needs. Various social events to socialise throughout the year.
• Every family is unique, we support Islanders with all different family setups enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility treatment. We also work closely with the Retail Trust to create dedicated support for all our Islanders!
• Flexible working is a given, on top of payday and summer early finish Fridays.
• Give as you earn scheme, a ‘Giver Island’ day each year and receive matched funding.
• Support with upskilling through on the job training and qualifications. A succession plan if you want to progress.
• 23 days paid holiday, exclusive of Bank Holidays. With the added option to purchase additional holiday twice a year for whatever the need!

Keeping You Safe

At River Island we are committed to the safeguarding of all of our employees regardless of age or job role. We will fulfil our obligation under the Prevent duty which seeks to stop extremism and extremist views from materialising in our business. We promote and encourage the belief in British Values- including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. To find out more, please visit www.gov.uk.

Our Island is made up of a diverse community, where we all belong and feel part of something bigger. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles unless operational requirements prevent otherwise. To find out more about this interview process, check out our hiring process below.