Assistant Buyer

**About the role**:
It’s a place where innovative cookware and inspirational homewares go hand in hand with passionate people and exceptional service. It started as a small family business in a garage in Windermere and now boasts 67 stores nationwide and overseas franchised stores.

Come and develop your skills and career in a respected thriving family owned company that nurtures its colleagues and cares about its customers.

We're looking for an Assistant Buyer to work in our Buying department at our head office in Windermere. You will:

- Be responsible for the set up on our system, and progression, of all new/updated products into the business including; testing, legal compliance, Lakeland quality compliance, instructions, packaging design and origination, price negotiation, payment terms, MOQs, delivery requirements. Negotiate any aspects necessary in order to achieve the best solution for Lakeland
- Support new suppliers in order that they understand the high standards required by Lakeland and our customers
- Support our marketing department by ensuring copy notes and samples are ready in line with their deadlines. Present new/updated products at a Product Awareness Meeting with the copywriters, web team, catalogue production team
- Support our retail and contact centre teams with any product queries they have
- Support our product query team by answering any customer queries/ issues in a timely manner
- To ensure all new lines arrive into the business with the correct testing certificates and compliance testing, as required by the product type, and advised by a technologist
- Assist the Buyer with New Product Development(NPD) management by collating suggestions and helping to co-ordinate new innovations by providing administrative and communications support as required
- Brief packaging requirements ensuring that the packaging meets the design brief/packaging guidelines and will be informative, supportive and visually appealing.

**Job Purpose**:
As an Assistant Buyer, you will work closely with the Buyer. Your responsibility is to manage newly selected products through our setting up and compliance process and into the business. All new products remain the responsibility of the Assistant Buyer until the point of arrival at our Distribution Centre in Kendal. Role modelling the Lakeland values and behaviours at all times you will ensure that excellent service and operational standards are achieved.

**Knowledge, skills and experience**:
**Essential - the ‘must haves’**
- Be an effective communicator, with an ability to deal diplomatically at all levels, both internally and externally
- Have buying office/retail environment knowledge/ experience
- Have excellent planning and organisational skills to ensure deadlines are met
- Have strong numerical skills, ability to work accurately with data
- Understands the importance of meeting deadlines
- Able to work to a critical path, prioritise their workload, and ‘flex’ it as the needs of the business change
- Happy to be challenged by a fast pace role with a high interruption level
- Able to demonstrate a creative innovative approach to problem solving
- Capable of working unsupervised and able to use own initiative
- Have proven negotiation skills
- Have experience of working with Outlook and Microsoft Excel
- GCSE English & Maths Grade 4/C or equivalent
- Ability to multi task

**Desirable - the ‘nice to haves’**
- Knowledge of Lakeland Products
- Experience of working in a team
- Have an understanding of a multi-channel retail business and an interest in product
- Educated to ‘A’ level standard or equivalent

**About Lakeland**:
From humble beginnings as a tight-knit family operation, we’ve grown into a prestigious kitchenware retailer with 63 stores nationally, from Aberdeen to Truro. We’ve done that by always staying ahead of the pack and looking at things in our own way. When the home freezing boom happened in the 70s, we anticipated a kitchenware revolution. Now, we’re investing millions to ensure that our online offering is top notch, and that our retail stores can offer an experience worthy of a visit. That innovative spirit coupled with our intense customer focus has been the story of our success - work with us and it could be yours too.

**Benefits**:
There are many benefits to being part of the Lakeland team. Other than being part of a huge and happy working family, our colleagues are rewarded with a competitive salary, discretionary bonus scheme and a group personal pension plan.

There are 29 days’ paid holiday (including bank holidays) and generous discounts on our products. We offer a great retail environment, and the chance to be part of