Senior Buyer - Womenswear

Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd; Coventry; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retailer in Coventry is seeking a Senior Buyer for Womenswear. The role involves developing a sourcing and product strategy, managing relationships with suppliers, and driving commercial performance. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in womenswear and strong negotiation skills. This position offers a competitive salary and an array of benefits, including a performance-related bonus. Flexibility is supported with a hybrid working approach.

Benefits

Colleague discount

Performance-related bonus

Private healthcare

Qualifications

• Proven track record of delivering strong commercial results in Womenswear Clothing.
• Extensive experience in own-brand product development.
• Strong relationship-building and negotiation skills.
• Confidence navigating complex stakeholder environments.
• Exceptional attention to detail with a passion for product.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a customer-focused sourcing and product strategy for Clothing.
• Manage complex, end-to-end apparel sourcing models.
• Lead key category initiatives and projects.
• Accountable for category plans and performance targets.

Skills

Strong womenswear experience

Excellent negotiation skills

Relationship building

Commercially sharp

Team collaboration

Job description

Overview

Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits. Location: Coventry Store Support Centre - Ansty Park and Home, Coventry, CV7 9RD. Contract type: Permanent. Business area: Food Commercial. Closing date: 10 February 2026. Requisition ID: 400047125.

We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. Here, everything in our Sainsbury’s stores starts out in Sainsbury’s Commercial. Whether it’s the product, proposition, packaging or price, or the fact that something tastes great, our team is responsible for all food, non- food and Clothing items available in Sainsbury’s stores, digitally and on demand. You’ll discover it’s incredibly fast-paced. People here are in it together and not afraid to take risks. They’re enthusiastic too, and their amazing leadership team is right behind them. The knowledge and experience you gain here could set you up for career moves anywhere else in the business. So, if you’re passionate about your products and just as hungry to learn, you’ll fit in perfectly.

Senior Buyer – Womenswear

At Sainsbury’s, our Buying teams shape the products millions of customers choose every day. We’re committed to delivering standout style, great value and quality our customers can trust.

This Senior Buyer role sits at the heart of our Womenswear team, giving you the opportunity to lead a high‑profile category with real commercial impact. If you want to shape the future of Womenswear at scale, this is the place to do it. You’ll take full ownership of our womenswear sourcing, buying and selling strategy, from trend‑led development through to long‑term sourcing plans. Your decisions will directly influence the ranges our customers love and how we deliver value in a highly competitive market.

You’ll also play a key role in evolving our end‑to‑end sourcing model, improving quality, sustainability, ethical standards and the overall customer experience, all aligned to our ‘Plan for Better’ commitments. With Womenswear a major focus for the business, your commercial thinking and creativity will drive both immediate trading performance and long‑term growth.

We’re looking for someone with strong womenswear experience across multiple product areas, who’s passionate about product and thrives in a fast‑paced retail environment. You’ll bring energy, curiosity and confidence, with the ability to lead cross‑functional teams, build strong supplier partnerships and make clear, commercially sound decisions.

What You’ll Do

• You’ll develop and execute a customer‑focused sourcing and product strategy for Clothing, shaping a compelling womenswear assortment that reflects customer needs, market trends and business priorities. You’ll work closely with Design, Technical, Merchandising, Ethical, Supply Chain and Finance teams to bring products to life and ensure they land brilliantly in stores and online.
• You’ll manage complex, end‑to‑end apparel sourcing models and build strong international supplier relationships, negotiating effectively to drive value. You’ll lead key category initiatives and projects, implement pricing and ranging strategies, and use data and insight to identify opportunities that keep us ahead of the market. Working across multiple internal teams, you’ll be accountable for category plans, delivering against sales, profit, value and range performance targets, while maintaining the right balance of style, quality, durability and ethical standards.

Who You Are

• A passionate Womenswear Buyer who is commercially sharp, dynamic and agile, with a deep understanding of the customer and fashion trends. You bring pace, clarity and confidence to drive growth and transformation, thriving in fast‑moving retail environments where priorities shift and decisions matter.
• Known for your independent thinking, you balance strong commercial outcomes with forward‑looking strategic intent. You take full accountability and are comfortable operating autonomously while staying aligned to wider business goals.
• A natural communicator and collaborator, you influence with credibility across functions and levels, bringing teams and partners with you. Curious, solutions‑focused and resilient, you challenge the status quo and push for better across product, people, process and performance.

Experience & Skills

• Proven track record of delivering strong commercial results in Womenswear Clothing across multiple categories
• Extensive experience in own‑brand product development, with the ability to deliver pace in a dynamic retail environment
• Demonstrated ownership of an apparel category P&L, balancing margin, volume and market performance
• Strong relationship‑building and negotiation skills, with experience developing robust supplier strategies and long‑term partnerships, including flexibility to travel to supplier locations as required
• Confidence navigating complex stakeholder environments, with sound judgement, resilience and clarity in decision‑making
• Clear evidence of a continuous improvement mindset, combining creative thinking with practical problem‑solving
• Exceptional attention to detail, alongside a deep passion for product and raising standards
• Clear, compelling communicator and confident presenter
• Inspirational and empathetic leader who motivates and develops others

You’ll split your time between home and Ansty SSC (Coventry), coming into the office when it matters most for collaboration and business needs.

Benefits

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

Starting off with colleague discount, you’ll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and in-store at Sainsbury’s, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We’ve got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You’ll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance‑related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.

Your wellbeing is important to us too. You’ll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week’s holiday, and we provide private healthcare. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme.

Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.

Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).