Junior Buyer - Home Improvements

Internal use only – Grade F

About us.

We’re The Very Group, home to Very.co.uk, Littlewoods.com and a team of 4,000 super-talented people. We are currently looking for a Junior Buyer based in our Speke office in Liverpool. 

We’re the UK’s largest integrated digital retailer and financial services provider, and we’ve been helping customers say yes when it matters most for over 100 years. In that time, we’ve consistently reinvented our business to adapt to economic conditions and industry changes – going from bricks, to clicks, to mobile. 

But despite our passion for reinvention, we’ve never wavered from our purpose; to make good things easily accessible to more people. It means giving our customers the brands they love, an outstanding shopping experience and flexible ways to spread the cost. 

We’re fired up for the future and the next stage in our development. We’ll give customers access to more great brands for themselves and their families, a seamless shopping experience and even more control of their finances through innovation in flexible ways to pay. 

Ready to reinvent? Get in touch. 

About the Role

• Supporting in the development and implementation of the Home Improvement category strategy and how it supports the wider home strategy. 

• Reviewing brand & range performance and creation of lessons learnt and how they inform future range & brand planning. 

• Commercial awareness: Awareness of market trends, competitor activity and price positioning, new brands to market opportunity. 

• Formulating Range Frameworks/ Brand Plans alongside merchandising functions. 

• Brand development maximising opportunity & mitigating risk effectively dependant on market conditions & brand life cycle.

• Conducting range building inline with planned frameworks and product sign offs inline with OTB & Branded budgeting process with support of line manager.

Key Responsibilities 

• Responsibility for a category or subcategory reporting into a Buying Manager or Buyer. 

• Management of category critical path, brands and category trading calendar.

• Managing a Buyers Admin/ Assistant Buyer.

• Overseeing category critical path and ensuring milestones are adhered to. 

• Contributing to trade meetings, communicating key messages and actions to wider departments.

• Maintaining relationships with Brands inline with TVG Brand Values. 

• Able to deputise for Buyer or Senior Buyer in key meetings.

• Liaison with SMT can clearly articulate category performance.

• Able to delegate/ take lead and make decisions under pressure. 

• Face to face brand meetings, terms negotiations and showroom visits. 

• Ability to recognise trends and feed back to the wider business. 

• Wider exposure outside of the  team inputting into cross functional workstreams. 

About You

• Previous significant experience of operating at an Assistant Buyer level as a minimum.  
• Previous experience within the Home Improvement category preferable.
• Ability to work under pressure and in a fast paced environment 
• Champions what is right for the business, team and customer 
• The ability to support and engage a high performing team 
• Solutions and delivery focused 
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills 
• Logical approach to thinking of innovative solutions 
• Ability to work on a variety of systems cohesively 
• Strong organisational, analytical and communication skills 
• Excellent interpersonal skills 

Some of our benefits

• Flexible, hybrid working model
• Inclusive culture and environment, check out our Glassdoor reviews
• £1000 flexible benefits allowance to suit your needs
• 30 days holiday + bank holidays
• Udemy learning access
• Bonus potential (performance and business-related)
• Up to 25% discount on Very.co.uk

• Matched pension up to 6%
• More benefits can be found on our career site

How to apply

Please note that the talent acquisition team are managing this vacancy directly, and if successful in securing this role, you will be required to undertake a credit, CIFAS, Right to Work checks and if a specific requirement of your role a DBS (criminal records) check. Should your application progress we require you to let the team know if there is anything you need to disclose in relation to any of these checks prior to them being undertaken, including any unspent criminal convictions.  

What happens next?

Our talent acquisition team will be in touch if you’re successful so keep an eye on your emails! We’ll arrange a short call to learn more about you, as well as answer any questions you have. If it feels like we’re a good match, we’ll share your CV with the hiring manager to review. Our interview process is tailored to each role and can be in-person or held remotely.

You can expect a two stage interview process for this position:

1st stage - An informal 30-45minute video call with the hiring team to discuss your skills and relevant experience. This is a great opportunity to find out more about the role and to ask any questions you may have.

2nd stage – A one-hour Task based Interview which is relevant to the BAU of the role followed by a Q&A.

As an inclusive employer please do let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments.

If you'd like to know more about our interviews, you can find out here.

 Equal opportunities

We’re an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.