Buying and Product Development Assistant London, England
Job description
Who We Are…
We are a collection of members' clubs, restaurants, hotels and cinemas, catering to those in the film, media, fashion and creative industries. The company has unique ventures throughout the UK, USA, Canada, Europe and Asia, with new openings planned globally. Soho House is a space for its diverse membership and teams to connect, grow, have fun and make an impact.
Soho Home…
Soho Home is a modern interior brand designed for relaxed, sociable living. With more than 25 years of design heritage, our ranges are created to mirror the look and feel of our Soho Houses around the world. Soho Home is an interiors collection from Soho House that includes furniture, lighting, tableware, and accessories created for, and inspired by the Houses.
The Role…
Reporting to the Buying and Product Development Manager, the Buying and Product Development Assistant will play a key supporting role in the product development strategy for Soho Home bringing bespoke products to the retail marketplace and to the internal Soho House hospitality arm. As Buying and Product Development Assistant, you will support the team to optimize all key functions across the buying and product development department, to ensure each brief is executed to a high standard and hits all KPI's.
Main Duties…
- Provide administrative support to the Junior Buyer & Product Developer & Manager, supporting with daily tasks
- Manage all administrative tasks along the critical path and product lifecycle, from brief to first production and commercial trading
- Maintain an awareness of the development critical path for both retail and internal hospitality projects, supporting the team to ensure key calendar milestone are always met
- Ensure key product information across all internal platforms is up to date and accurate
- With the support of the Junior Buyer, update and maintain the seasonal development tracker, ensuring all key dates along the development calendar are input
- Attend weekly design and production meetings and final sample inspections, recording comments and preparing feedback for suppliers
- Support in the department trade preparation, presenting in the absence of the Junior Buyer or Manager
- Assist in compiling competitive analysis reports and other preparations required for seasonal sign-off meetings
- Assist in all preparations required for prototype and finalisation meetings – Best/Worst sales boards, GBB sheets, and physical set up of the sample space/showcase. Oversee all logistical elements to ensure samples are on time and in place as directed by the Manager and/or Design Director.
- Support the Junior Buyer and/or Manager to communicate legal and packaging requirements to the factory
- Create skus and input across all internal platforms as required
- Generate product labels seasonally and/or as required
- Request and record all Product Specification Sheets, accurately copying the data to all internal platforms
- Request and record all Assembly Instruction Manuals
- Support the Junior Buyer and/or Manager to brief and approve bespoke packaging where required
- Create sample SKUs and POs where necessary
- Aid with on-boarding new suppliers as and when required
- Take responsibility of all sample/swatch requests and shipments in line with department demands
- Manage samples from shipment through delivery and general organisation/storage
- Ensure approved samples are passed to the Creative team in a timely manner for Ecom pack shots and lifestyles imagery
- Organise and own the raw materials/swatch library for the product development and design department
- Proactively manage customer service queries to drive the best resolution, with the support of the Junior Buyer
- Support the department ambitions for sustainability within the product development life cycle
- Coordinate and manage sample sales with the wider Buying and Product Development team as and when required
Requirements…
- Some product development and commercial buying experience preferred but not essential
- An excellent communicator both written and verbally, with strong interpersonal skills
- Naturally collaborative
- A creative problem-solver, innately curious with the confidence to challenge current practices and prompt positive change
- Impeccable organisational skills with an emphasis on attention to detail and accuracy
- Results orientated
- Upholds a mature and professional demeanour at all times
- Enjoys working in a changing environment, able to demonstrate agility when responding to industry trends and evolving demands as Soho Home expands into new markets
- An avid multi-tasker, able to manage multiple systems within a fast-paced office environment
- Excellent time management skills
- A self-motivator who is enthusiastic and keen to progress and develop
- Passionate about Soho House and Soho Home, ensuring the member and customer is at the heart of all key decision making
- Ability to keep calm under pressure, always retaining a friendly and positive can-do attitude
Benefits
Soho House offers competitive compensation packages that feature global benefits and perks. Whether you're seeking entry-level employment or a new opportunity to expand your profession, we offer training to develop the technical and managerial skills necessary to grow your career.
- Discounts at Soho House globally, as well as Soho Home and Cowshed
- Soho Friends Membership
- Enhanced Pension Scheme
- Private Health and Dental Care
- Cycle to Work Scheme/Season Ticket Loan
- In conjunction with Soho Impact, take 3 days paid a year to support a charity of your choice.
- Cookhouse & House Tonic: Our Cookhouse & House Tonic programmes offer unique food and drink trainings, events and opportunities to inspire and educate.
- Team Events: From fitness sessions to cinema screenings and art classes, each month we hold a series of fun events which you can sign up to.
Opportunities for all…
Soho House was created to bring diverse communities of people together, and we take the same approach when building our teams. We thrive on differences and believe it is critical to our success as a global company. Soho House is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace that seeks to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We therefore encourage applications from all genders, races, religions, ages and sexual orientations, as well as parents, veterans, people living with disabilities, and any other groups that could bring diverse perspectives to our business.
