Junior Buyer

The Commercial team are responsible for sourcing, developing and selling products that represent fantastic value for money, offer great quality, are innovative and sustainable. The commercial team are also responsible for trading ranges to optimise sales and profit and for developing strong relationships with our suppliers.

You will be joining a talented team of Buyers and Merchandisers and Designers.

The Commercial Team environment is fast-paced and energetic. We are positive, ambitious, forward-looking and data driven. We have to take calculated risks, to keep growing market share.

The goal of Commercial is to drive sales and profit for Dunelm through sourcing the best quality products, at the best prices, from sustainable and ethical sources. The Commercial Team encompasses Buying, Merchandising, Sourcing, Technical and Design.

You will be a key member of the Commercial Team, accountable for executing the trading and sourcing strategy for your product department.

**What this role requires of you**:

- Support the Buyer in the departmental strategy and taking ownership of a sub-category, using key insight and data to improve performance and customer experience. This involves sales and profit analysis, working with the Merch team to understand historical performance, gap analysis and competitive pricing analysis. This also involves working cross functionally to identify key opportunities for new product innovation, quality changes, sustainability initiatives and visual merchandising initiatives.
- Reviewing sales and margin to propose trading actions to improve performance.
- With support from the Buyer negotiate with new and existing suppliers on all costs, Term’s and Conditions’s, exit plans, rebates, promotional support and MOQs to improve sales and profit.
- End to end range building for my sub category, including web exclusive products that complement our in-store range. This involves research into new products and trends, developing new products, planning the range architecture, price architecture and exit plans/churn planning.
- Building successful long-term relationships with supply base. This also involves an in-depth understanding of the supply chain and production processes, and cross-quoting and re-tendering, to ensure Dunelm get the best deal.
- Buying promotional and special purchases, along with supporting seasonal campaigns
- Working closely with Merchandising to agree rates of sale (ROS), optimising our space by ensuring products are graded correctly, exit planning for End of season and promotional buys, monitoring sales and sell through and ensure that new ranges are delivered on time, following critical path. Working with the Merchandising team I also support the delivery of stock or substitute stock, to ensure we meet customer availability targets.
- Support with critical path planning for my department for all new range launches, marketing and promotional activity. I will ensure products are photographed and packaging is developed in a timely and accurate manner, with strong attention to detail.
- Working with the Web team and ME Team (Visual Merchandising) to ensure that planograms for new launches showcase our products and optimise our in-store space, and that web presentation of our products is accurate, customer friendly and drives views and conversion.
- You will support the development of a Buying Assistant
- You will have strong attention to detail ensuring accurate line set up, accurate costings, ensuring packaging and pricing is 100% correct and ensuring all product photography is clear. Following red and gold seal sampling processes to ensure that products are the correct specification. Where quality issues are identified, working with the Quality team to resolve issues to improve customer experience, and to minimise the cost to Dunelm. Working with the Quality team to improve our supply base, making it more ethical and sustainable and ensuring that Dunelm quality standards are met.

**Essential skills**:

- A real passion for homewares and the energy to constantly innovate and drive forward the product offer.
- Strong attention to detail.
- Excellent communication skills
- A “get things done” mindset, knowing how communicate the direction whilst delivering value quickly
- Strong organisation skills, with clear ability to be able to prioritise workload.
- Curiosity. Willing to listen and learn. Will ask for help when it’s needed.

**Behaviours**:
The following behaviours are some examples of how these values materialise for Junior Buyers at Dunelm:

- Always start with the customer, working backwards to create the best products and customer experience. Encouraging the team to adapt an ever more customer first approach.
- Building strong, long-term relationships within Dunelm and with our suppliers and working cross functionally. Making time to actively connect, with and without an agenda, creating pathways for easy communication and sharing of information.
- Be