Trainee Buyer

**Who we are?**

Hillier Nurseries Ltd; a family business, has been growing for over 150 years and is passionate about a lot of things. At our core, we care most about our planet, our people, and our future. Evidenced by our Planet Mark certification. We remain a family business to this day and continue to stay true to our horticultural roots, championing the creation of green living spaces. Inspiring every generation to embrace the natural world is our mission, and as we succeed in this, our business and family are growing. You will join the business at an exciting stage in its growth as several new centres and significant redevelopments are maximised and we broaden our product offering to become a true leisure destination.

**What we offer**:

- Competitive salary of up to £26,000 per annum (depending on experience).
- 31days annual leave (including bank holidays).
- 20% staff discount Enhanced Employee Assistance Programme for both you and your immediate family, including free counselling on health, financial, legal and personal/family matters.
- Company Christmas gifts (eligibility based on start date with Company).
- Free access to the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Romsey and deals at other gardens nationally.

**The role**:
As an assistant buyer within Hillier, you will take full responsibility for sourcing and managing a selection of product categories.
- Supplier management - ensuring that we receive the very best commercial terms, quality, and availability. Making Hillier the ‘must supply’ retailer.
- Stakeholder management - building strong relationships with other head office and operational teams to ensure the execution of your ranges meet a consistently high standard across the business.
- Efficiently follow critical paths for POS, customer communications, and events ensuring 100% accuracy and delivery enhancing the customer journey and maximising sales.
- Manage stock, retails, promotions, and range to ensure maximum profitability whilst minimising wastage. Through excellent planning and inflight management, budgeted profit and sales are always achieved.
- Ensure the Hillier portfolio is delivered in an ethical, sustainable, and legal way in the sourcing of product ranges, aligned to the overall business strategy.
- Analyse and evaluate overall performance against the original strategy and identify lessons to learn for future business cycles.

**Who you are?**

To succeed in this role you will be creative, energetic, a strategic thinker and a strong team player. You will be passionate about product and have a clear vision of how your ranges and products will appeal to our customers, whilst ensuring our offer is truly unique.

Desirable skills
- Experience of working in a similar role for a multi-site retailer.
- Experience in managing a diverse portfolio of suppliers and products.
- Excellent organisational and efficient working practices with strong attention to detail.
- Fantastic verbal and written communication skills.
- Proficient using Microsoft Office.
- Able to manipulate complex data.
- Experience of managing seasonal categories.
- Knowledge of the gardening market and garden centres.
- Interest in gardening.