Junior Buyer

Manage the procurement and commercial negotiations with suppliers in their assigned categories and ensure the product range reflects the market and customer requirements.

**Key responsibilities & accountabilities**
- Develop an in-depth knowledge of the products in the assigned categories & understand the needs of customers.
- Responsible for sourcing and purchasing products, negotiating best prices, rebates & payment terms with continual improvement.
- Accountable for supplier management, working with key suppliers and building strategic trading relationships.
- Responsible for having signed commercial agreements with all suppliers.
- Identifying new suppliers for best prices and commercial terms for products or services.
- Develop and implement category pricing strategy in conjunction with Commercial Finance & Pricing function.
- Use data and analysis to develop insights on market trends and competitor activity to help create and implement strategies that drive sales growth.
- Responsible for the development of appropriate product ranges and services to deliver a sector leading proposition.
- Support the sales teams to provide product knowledge and training.
- Support the Marketing Team with the creation of customer focussed marketing plans to win new business as well as retain existing spend.
- Compile reports on sales figures, inventory levels, and other business metrics for use in future planning.
- Manage product related issues - product data, invoice queries, complaints, supplier issues.
- Establish effective working relationships with cross functional colleagues to drive commercial advantage through collaboration.
- Support wider Paragon group initiatives where relevant in order to maximise group commercial synergies and sharing of best practice.
- Ensure the implementation of procurement policies is consistent with corporate responsibility and the requirements of the Competition Act
- Undertake all activities in line with Company Health, Safety, and Environmental policies and procedures and participate in the development of a safe and healthy workplace.

**Key competencies**

**Agility **- Ability to demonstrate quick decision making. Responsive to customer needs and is focused on delivery. Willing and able to adapt and flex approach to changing business and customer needs.
- Needs to react to market trends and conditions regarding commercial terms with suppliers (cost, rebates, etc)
- Needs to be adaptive and agile with product launches.
- Able to manage multiple processes and tasks.
- Able to prioritise tasks and workload to achieve deadlines.
- Respond to customer enquiries/complaints in a timely manner

**Partnership** - Collaborates across the company and fosters long term relationships internally and externally. Communicates effectively, managing all stakeholders. Promotes effective team working which supports knowledge sharing and a positive and respectful working environment.
- Collaboration with internal stakeholders across Operations, Sales, Marketing & Finance.
- Relationship building with suppliers and developing strategic partnerships where relevant.
- Shares best practice with colleagues

**Innovation** -Proactively seeks ways to improve products, services and processes. Demonstrates a creative approach to solving problems and generating innovative solutions, which may include simplification, automation and digitisation.
- Ensuring our product ranges are in line with the market trends and customer needs.
- Inquisitive approach to all tasks and projects
- Able to work through problems and identify solutions.
- Driven to achieve departmental strategy

**Integrity** - Takes accountability and owns issues. Finds solutions to challenges and is trusted to deliver consistent high quality outputs.
- Takes responsibility and ownership of all tasks.
- Seeks solutions to resolve issues identified whilst completing projects.
- Effective use of cross functional working where required to ensure delivery of objectives.

**Qualifications or equivalent experience**
- Proven track record of working in an FMG environment.
- Desirable to have experience within the Furniture sector.
- Experience of strategic sourcing (vendor selection, negotiation, planning and completing contracts).
- Demonstrable experience of working on own initiative & as part of a team
- Strong Excel capability.

**Skills & Knowledge**
- Strong numeracy and analytical skills, attention to detail and able to interpret and present complex information to others clearly.
- Ability to communicate effectively both verbal and written.
- Effectively builds working relationships at all levels and cross functionally with ease.
- Ability to identify a problem, develop a solution and implement the solution to achieve a goal.
- Able to support multiple Senior Category Managers with excellent organisational skills.
- Collaborative and proactive working to support goals and objectives.

**Job Type**:Full Time**Job Location**:Ashton-under-Lyne**Sal