Assistant Buyer - 6 month FTC
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: Coventry Store Support Centre - Ansty Park and Home, Coventry, CV7 9RD
Contract type: Fixed-Term Assignment
Business area: Food Commercial
Closing date: 13 April 2026
Requisition ID: 400055609
Why join us
Our Buying team plays a crucial role in delivering our business strategy. Joining our friendly and passionate team means being part of an exciting and fast-paced environment where you can contribute to our ambitious growth plans. We value work-life balance and offer flexibility in our ways of working, allowing you to find the right balance that works for you. As an Assistant Buyer, you will have the opportunity to work with a dynamic range of products, developing strategies to enhance sales and profitability while understanding the needs and preferences of our customers. With previous buying experience and a passion for product, this role offers a platform for you to showcase your analytical skills, negotiation abilities, and commercial acumen.
What you'll do
You will play a vital role in delivering our ambitious growth plans and offering our customers a great range of beautiful products, amazing quality at competitive prices. With a keen eye for relationship building and negotiation, coupled with your analytical approach, you will help drive sales and profit by implementing a variety of strategies.
Collaboration with Design, merchandise, technical and our global sourcing will be crucial in setting quality and design criteria for own label products. As part of a fast-paced environment, you will showcase your problem-solving skills and ability to work with UK suppliers, while efficiently managing administrative duties and sample management. Overall, your expertise in buying, combined with your commercial acumen, love of product and attention to detail, will be key in contributing to the success of our team.
Who you are
You are an experienced professional with a background in Clothing buying and possess a deep understanding of product and range building, market trends, and the need for commercial acumen. Your strong analytical and numerical skills, combined with excellent communication and organisational abilities, enable you to contribute to range optimization, pricing accuracy, and promotional strategies. You are skilled in building relationships with UK suppliers and negotiating effectively, while working collaboratively with cross-functional teams. With your problem-solving mindset and ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, you play a crucial role in driving sales, ensuring product quality, and maintaining customer satisfaction.
Essential Criteria: -
- Clothing buying experience – previous experience working within a clothing/apparel buying team is essential.
- Excel Proficiency – intermediate skills required including vlookups and pivots
- High degree of accuracy - will thrive in a busy environment and maintain data accuracy
- Strong organisational skills – be able to demonstrate ability to prioritise workload
- Collaboration – strong team player who can work with multiple stakeholders.
- Problem-Solving Mindset – ability to adapt and find creative solutions.
- Communication skills - ability to contribute to meetings, update team on progress and outstanding actions.
- Hybrid working - required on site average twice a week but may be more.
#Commercial
#Buying
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them: Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 5% of salary, depending on how we perform. Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an employee assistance programme. Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave. Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
