Buying Team Assistant

Oak Furnitureland; Swindon; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee discount

Life assurance

25 days holiday per year

Birthday: day off

Pension: 4% matched

Employee Assistance Programme

My Rewards Programme

Job summary

Oak Furnitureland in Swindon is seeking a Buying Team Assistant with furniture or homewares experience to join our buying department on a fixed term maternity cover of 15 months. You will provide comprehensive administrative support to the Buying Team.

The role requires excellent organisation, strong MS Office skills (Excel, PowerPoint and Word) and the ability to juggle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment within the Commercial team.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of buying processes and experience within a buying team.
• Strong administration skills and excellent organisation.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks and work at pace.

Responsibilities

• Create, monitor and maintain a wide range of documents to support the buying team.
• Provide comprehensive administrative support to the wider Commercial team.
• Manage the sample room (Mock Shop) and end-to-end sample process across UK, Far East and Warehouse teams.
• Coordinate between buying and marketing to manage critical path dates for product photography.
• Review the market and conduct competitor analysis to feed trends into the Buying Team.
• Support the Buying Team with daily tasks as required.

Skills

Buying processes

Organisation

Communication

Relationship building

Prioritisation

Problem solving

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Job description

We have an exciting opportunity for a Buying Team Assistant preferably with furniture or homewares experience to join our buying team. The role is based in our Swindon head office and is a fixed term maternity cover contract for 15 months.

As a Buying Team Assistant at Oak Furnitureland, you\'ll be responsible for supporting the Buying Team by providing comprehensive, timely and professional administrative support.

We are looking for someone who is organised and personable with an ability to multi-task to support a busy Buying team across all product categories.

The successful candidate will have strong administration skills, a knowledge of buying processes, excellent organisation and communication and a can-do positive attitude. Knowledge and ability to confidently use Excel, Powerpoint and Word is essential as is an ability to juggle multiple tasks at one time.

Key responsibilities:

• Responsible for creating, monitoring and maintaining a wide range of key documents to support the buying team.
• Providing comprehensive administrative support to the wider Commercial team.
• Managing the sample room (Mock Shop) and end to end sample process. Acting as a key contact for coordinating and tracking new product samples between the UK, Far East and Warehouse teams.
• Acting as a key coordinator between buying and marketing, managing the critical path dates and schedules to ensure samples are available for photography on time, chasing where necessary.
• Reviewing the market, conducting competitor analysis, consistently looking for trends and feeding this into the Buying Team.
• Supporting the Buying Team in daily tasks as requested

Skills and experience:

• A good working knowledge of buying processes/experience within a buying team
• Excellent organisation and communication.
• A proven track record for developing effective working relationships.
• Good competitor knowledge and understanding in both retail and online.
• The ability to prioritise effectively whilst working at pace.
• Excellent Microsoft Office and Powerpoint skills.
• Ability to demonstrate problem solving and provide resolution in a fast-paced environment.
• Working flexibly as part of the wider Commercial team
• 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 plus bank holidays
• 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