Senior Buyer

Royal Academy of Arts; London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

An established cultural institution seeks a Senior Buyer to lead its retail strategy, merging creativity with commercial insight. This role demands a deep understanding of product development and supplier management within a design-led environment. The ideal candidate will leverage data to inform buying decisions, ensuring a compelling product mix that resonates with diverse audiences. Join a dynamic team committed to fostering creativity and championing art, while enjoying a range of benefits including enhanced holiday and wellbeing support. This is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in a vibrant organization.

Benefits

Enhanced Pension

Generous employer contributions

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Access to a virtual GP Service

Mental Health First Aiders

Agile Working

Employee Clubs

Football Club

Staff Choir

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading a buying team in a cultural retail environment.
• Proven success in product development and managing multiple product categories.

Responsibilities

• Shape product strategy and develop a profitable product mix.
• Manage supplier relationships and use sales data for decision making.

Skills

Commercial Buying

Product Development

Supplier Management

Data Analysis

Retail Planning

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business or related field

Job description

Join to apply for the Senior Buyer role at Royal Academy of Arts.

The Vacancy

The Royal Academy of Arts is looking for a Senior Buyer to join our Retail team.

The Senior Buyer will shape the RA’s product strategy, bringing together creativity, commercial insight, and a deep understanding of the RA brand. As Senior Buyer, you will lead the development of a retail offer that reflects both the RA’s identity and changing exhibition programme.

You will be responsible for creating a distinctive and profitable product mix, working across multiple categories to deliver high-quality ranges that resonate with RA audiences. Managing supplier relationships and using sales data to guide decisions is key, as well as your ability to identify new opportunities and respond to trends.

You will set the direction for the product offer while leading on the planning, development, and the effective management of a diverse category mix.

About You

To be considered for this role, you will have significant experience leading a buying team or function, with extensive experience of commercial buying and an understanding of buying within a cultural or design-led retail environment.

With a commercial, entrepreneurial and retailing drive, you will have proven success in product development and of managing multiple product categories and suppliers.

Using data to inform decision making and future buying options will be your instinctive approach to working, and you will be well-versed in retail planning, including forecasting, OTB, and sales mix analysis.

The Company

The RA dates back to 1768 when a group of artists and architects persuaded King George III to help them establish a society for promoting the Art of Design. The original academy, in Pall Mall, was less than 10 meters long. Since then, there have been many changes, though the RA’s core purpose of bringing art and design to a broad audience and championing art and artists still holds true.

Today we are a contemporary art organisation hosting internationally acclaimed exhibitions and through investment in employee training and development, with courses such as Unconscious Bias, LGBTQ+ Awareness, Bystander, and Mental Health First Aid training, we are striving to foster a safe space for everyone through positive action. We also have Employee Network Groups, Ways In Groups, and an Employee Council so every employee has a voice and a way to feel heard by colleagues through the CEO.

The RA is truly a unique place, both as an attraction to our visitors, but also as a workplace. Our people are at the heart of all we do, and we support a broad and inspiring mix of departments; from exhibitions, curators, art handlers, researchers, publishers, and digital to schools and education, visitor welcome, fundraisers, and corporate support.

The Benefits

• Exhibitions
• Reciprocal Agreements with galleries across the UK
• Enhanced Pension
• Generous employer contributions
• Enhanced Holiday
• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Wellbeing
• Access to a virtual GP Service and Mental Health First Aiders
• Agile Working
• The opportunity to work flexibly
• RA Staff Council
• Where your views are heard and listened to
• Employee Clubs
• Football, Staff Choir and more

Seniorities and Employment Details

• Level: Mid-Senior level
• Type: Full-time
• Function: Purchasing and Supply Chain
• Industries: Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos