Head of Buying

Vanquish Fitness; Enfield; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A growing activewear brand in the UK is seeking an experienced Head of Buying to lead their product and design team. The ideal candidate will have at least 2 years in a similar role and a solid background in Buying and Merchandising, especially within the fitness industry. Responsibilities include defining product strategies, managing budgets, and developing team performance. This pivotal role will contribute to the brand's growth through data-led decision making and collaboration across departments while offering a hybrid working environment with various employee benefits.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Sick pay

Annual apparel allowance

Discounts on products

Free drinks in the office

Quarterly Socials

Hybrid working (2 days from home)

Free Parking

Modern office environment

Qualifications

• 2+ years experience in a Head of Buyer role.
• Demonstrable experience managing product/design functions.
• Strong history of production excellence.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead seasonal and long-term product strategy.
• Manage the range plan and line architecture.
• Collaborate with finance on seasonal spend and product investment.
• Mentor and develop the product and design team.
• Review data from various departments to manage product growth.
• Ensure quality, timeliness, and cost of production.
• Build relationships with suppliers.

Skills

Experience in Buying/Merchandising

Data analysis

Team management

Job description

Head of Buying (Activewear)

About the Company

Vanquish Fitness was created in 2015 by two school friends, Oliver Maloney and Ruben O’Brien, and is now, not just an apparel brand and online retailer, but one of the fastest growing fitness communities in the world! Our mission is to inspire our colleagues on their pursuit of self-defined greatness. Providing the time and resources that our employees need to strive to become Better Than Yesterday .

About the Role

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Head of Buying, with extensive experience within Buying and Merchandising, to join and lead our product / design team. We are looking for someone that encompasses our values and mission, and is excited about the idea of furthering our company through data lead strategy with a constant conscience on commercialisation. You will have experience working within large projects, managing a large team, organising the entire critical path from start to finish and utilising data to produce the most commercially driven collections. Experience working within the fitness / activewear industry would be extremely beneficial. You will report into the two founders of the business and work closely with the other departments to obtain and assess internal and external data to drive the business forward.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Be the expert on the product strategy and vision, define and lead the seasonal and long‑term product strategy and ensure collections align with the brand identity, customer needs and market trends
• Manage the range plan and line architecture
• Collaborate with finance to manage the seasonal spend and product investment, set the price architecture, margin targets and volume expectations, making sure everything supports the forecasted revenue goals and delivers sufficient stock levels across channels
• Manage, mentor and develop the product and design team through clear KPI and goal setting, feedback and reviews and ensuring collaboration across the functions
• Regularly review and analyse data from marketing, digital, finance and customer service, as well as externally, to manage the growth of the product and design offerings
• Be accountable for the quality, timeliness and cost of production for all collections
• Build strong relationships with all suppliers and review on a regular basis to highlight areas for improvement
• Present all collections to stakeholders while taking on all suggestions from the wider team on new products

About You

• 2+ years experience within a Head of Buyer role, with a wealth of years of experience in Buying / Merchandising, ideally within the fitness / activewear industry
• Demonstrable experience managing and evolving a product / design function
• A strong history of production excellence within timeliness, quality, costs etc
• Experience working across departments to collate useful data
• A drive and passion to review and analyse both internal and external data to create forward thinking and commercially driven collections
• Lead and directed a team within the product / design function, guiding, motivating and monitoring their performance
• Experience and comfort working in a startup environment

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave (Plus BH)
• Sick pay
• Annual apparel allowance
• Discounts on everything Vanquish
• Attendance to our community events
• Free drinks in the office
• Quarterly Socials
• Hybrid working (2 days from home)
• 35 hour working week
• Free Parking
• Modern office in the grounds of a beautiful House gardens, perfect for lunch time walks to get your steps in