Buyer – Cookshop
About The Role
We have a great opportunity to join our Buying team as the Buyer of Cookshop. You will be a highly motivated, experienced individual who uses your expert knowledge to plan and purchase the best ranges for our customers within the category. Your remit includes delivering agreed KPIs such as sales, profit, stock, margin, and achieving required customer metrics and hit rates. You will source an assortment of high‑strategic importance and complexity that optimises market trends and creates a competitive advantage. As an experienced negotiator you will independently manage brand supplier relationships and work closely with your Merchandiser to analyse commercial input and market data across all channels to develop an appealing category assortment for the John Lewis & Partners customer base.
Key Details
- Salary: £54,500.00 – £84,100.00 per annum (up to £65,000 depending on experience)
- Contract: Permanent
- Working pattern: Hybrid; minimum 3 days per week in the Pimlico Head Office and a minimum of 12 visits per year to John Lewis branches
- Location: Pimlico, Head Office, London, England
- Interview dates: week commencing 17th November
Key Responsibilities
- Collaborate with Merchandiser, Category Lead, Buying Manager, Head of Buying, Trade Planning, Trading & Product Operations, Online and Marketing teams to drive pace and agility.
- Accountable for the commercial success of the product range, from range planning to agile in‑season trading.
- Maintain up‑to‑date market knowledge and anticipate future dynamics.
- Build and sustain strong supplier relationships, ensuring adherence to standards and agreed terms.
- Make decisions on product assortment, development, sourcing, brand positioning, price structure and margins in line with category and customer strategy.
- Deputise for the Buying Manager when appropriate.
- Manage and develop a team of three Buying Assistants within Cookshop.
Essential Skills / Experience
- Proven experience in buying.
- Experience dealing with large, global brands.
- Strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
- Highly numerate with strong analytical capabilities.
- Commercial experience of trading in a fast‑paced, reactive environment.
- Cohesive collaborative approach across teams.
Desirable Skills / Experience
- Previous experience in cook and bakeware.
Important Points to Note
Some roles are subject to pre‑employment vetting, which may include DBS checks. Required vetting data will be provided during the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability, please contact us early. We support flexible working arrangements, including flexible or compressed hours, job sharing, or shorter hour contracts where possible. Flexible work arrangements should be discussed with the hiring manager.
About The Partnership
We’re the largest employee‑owned business in the UK, home of John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re driven by our purpose to build a happier world and focus relentlessly on retail excellence, innovation, adaptation and diversification.
