Eastbourne based with regular travel
Full Time 37.5 hours per week
Monday to Friday 8.30am - 5pm
We are proud to support decorators across the UK with our market‑leading paint and sundry ranges. To support this we are looking for a Product Specialist to join our Category & Buying team, playing a key role in shaping these product ranges and driving innovation across our business.
This is a great opportunity for someone with a background in the decorating industry and a deep knowledge of decorating products, with a passion for delivering the right products, at the right quality, for real customer needs. This role brings with it the opportunity to influence product strategy, work closely with experts across the business and make a visible impact on our ranges and performance.
Working closely with our Category Managers, you will help develop and deliver category strategies across a range of paint and sundry products. Your focus will be on range development and brand growth, using your hands‑on experience, customer insight and supplier knowledge to shape clear, compelling product propositions. You will work closely with branches, suppliers and colleagues across the business to ensure our ranges are relevant, innovative and commercially strong.
This role requires regular UK travel around our branch network as well as visiting suppliers and attending regional meetings, so a flexible approach to working and some overnight stays will be required.
We are a family‑owned business with a wonderful heritage of over 120 years. We are unique in that we supply almost all brands of paint in the market and are the largest Decorators Merchant Group on the globe, but we’re not just about paint of course and we anticipate significant growth in categories beyond. We aim to do business through establishing lasting partnerships with our customers and suppliers.
Ranked in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025, founded in 1904, we are proud to be a family business run on family principles with a clear vision to ‘play our part in making the world a brighter place’.
Like any organisation, it’s our people who make us who we are and when it comes to our people, our mantra is to ‘help one another succeed’. We want to see all our people flourish in their roles and reach their full potential, to support our customers in developing their own businesses.
As a Product Specialist, Some Responsibilities Will Include
* Supporting the development and delivery of category strategies and product plans
* Driving product and own‑brand range development at the right scale, pace and quality
* Building strong customer propositions through product, brand and price architecture
* Identifying gaps, innovation opportunities and exclusive product ideas
* Leading product testing and working with external testing agencies
* Developing and delivering category‑related training in partnership with L&D and suppliers
* Building and managing relationships with key suppliers
* Working closely with Visual Merchandising on in‑branch layout and presentation
* Collaborating with branches and Area Development Managers to drive category growth
* Staying ahead of product innovation and regulatory change
* Acting as the product expert for your assigned categories across the business
Who We Are Looking For To Join Our Team
* Confident and commercially minded with a deep knowledge of decorating products and a genuine passion for the industry
* Strong, hands‑on knowledge of decorating products and their application with experience gained within a decorator merchant environment
* Excellent communication, planning and organisational skills
* Attention to detail with a practical, solutions‑focused approach
* Friendly and approachable with a collaborative working style and strong engagement ability with suppliers and internal stakeholders
* Confident using Microsoft Office (particularly Excel) and learning new systems
* Commercially aware with strong customer focus
* Forward thinker who spots opportunities and drives improvement
* Flexible and adaptable, able to manage priorities and work under pressure
In return we offer a comprehensive benefits package consisting of
* Competitive salary
* 33 days holiday including bank holidays increasing with service
* Free life assurance
* 5% of your salary employer contribution to the pension plan (subject to employee contributions)
* Stream – a money management app that gives you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
* Employee Assistance Programme – accessible to colleagues, partner/spouse and dependents
* Virtual GP service for yourself and any dependent children to be able to access unlimited medical advice when you need it
* Medicash, an optional funded scheme where you can claim money back for routine healthcare treatments
* Brewers Colleague discounts giving you huge savings on home improvements
* Discounts and rewards with selected partners – major high street brands, supermarkets etc
* Additional financial assistance such as Cycle to Work Scheme, Season Ticket Loans and Helping Hand Loan Scheme for times of crisis
* Comprehensive Induction Programme and ongoing development
* After a qualifying period, you will also be eligible for additional benefits such as profit‑related pay, enhanced Maternity/Paternity/Adoption pay and a chance to use our Holiday Homes
We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability or veteran status.
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