We have an amazing opportunity for a Senior Buying Admin Assistant to join Team OB in our Support Office in Chessington.

As the Senior Buyers Admin Assistant at OB you will provide a key support role for your Buying team. This is a broad role and involves liaising with numerous departments so being versatile and personable are key qualities.

You will have a proactive and organised approach to your work and the ability to use your own initiative when prioritising tasks.

Our Support Office is based in Tolworth, near Chessington, only a 30-minute journey from London Waterloo. We offer hybrid working with a split of 3 days in the office and 2 days home working per week.

A bit about us

Oliver Bonas is an independent British lifestyle store. We are proud to call ourselves Team OB and believe Oliver Bonas is a truly special place to work. Our company values are Work Hard, Play Hard & Be Kind, and these values sit at the heart of every role here at OB. We are passionate and provide everyone with a fun place to work. Working at OB is more than just a job; it's somewhere to build a career you are passionate about.

More about the role

An OB Senior Buying Admin Assistant will:

• Prepare for weekly trade meetings and present findings, contributing to analysis discussions with the team.
• Overseeing sample management: organizing fit samples and commitment rails, chasing photoshoot and press samples for required deadlines & conduct regular sample sales.
• Raise and amend PO's ensuring information within these is accurate.
• Log relevant information in the range plan and product packs.
• Regularly monitor email inbox ensuring queries are resolved in a timely manner, using initiative and communication with relevant teams to accurately respond, flagging any issues to Buyer/ AB.
• Work with the shipping team to ensure all product is approved to ship on time and feed any issues back to the Assistant Buyer and/or Buyer
• Conduct regular analysis of competitor activity though the completion of competitor shops.
• Responsible for smooth running of fit sessions, ensure fit samples are collected from post area, cut dates input into fit log and typing comments into workbooks within fit session.
• Oversee preparation of approvals to show Buyer/ AB on a daily basis, ensuring buying comments are clearly communicated to the supplier
• Work closely with the Merchandising and Buying team to monitor and analyse all product life cycles, this will include identifying range strengths and weaknesses and maintaining accurate records.
• Management and support of BAA's - oversee and ensure all departmental duties are completed and tasks/ deadlines are prioritised effectively.
• Training BAA's in expected standards, how to use systems and company practising.
• Oversee critical path - weekly analysis of critical path alongside BAA to ultimately ensure intake dates are met and all issues flagged and promptly resolved.
• Ensure all departmental administrative duties are completed in a timely manner by supporting the BAA's/ AB/ Buyer when needed
• Fit sessions - Actively engaging within fit sessions with an understanding of garment technology.
• Support Buyer with costing negotiations on small supply base.
• Attend department meetings, presenting stats and raising supplier and delivery issues
• Liaise with the PR and Marketing, Web and Ecommerce and Art Design team to ensure that samples are organised and photographed in a timely manner to maximise exposure of the OB
• Monitor the supply chain, tracking product from supplier to delivery into the warehouse
• Create fit lists for fit sessions, chase samples, and work with the Garment Technologists to ensure garments are fitted on time and in line with critical path dates
• Mentor the BAAs in the department and role model the OB behaviours

What we look for:

• Experience in a Buying Admin role is essential
• Experience working to critical paths is essential
• Experience with sample management and organisation is essential
• Thorough understanding of the buying cycle.
• Work with care and attention to detail
• Taking responsibility for own tasks, showing initiative and confidence to ask questions.
• Supporting others if you can do so
• Workload prioritization
• Work with others in a positive way
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to multitask as having multiple tasks at once is a part of the role.
• Thrive in a fast paced environment.
• Strong communication skills.
• Proficient in Excel/ Outlook/ Word/ Powerpoint

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at OB

At Oliver Bonas, our promise is to do our bit to make living a joyful experience and give cause for optimism. This promise is central to our work in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). To bring joy to others, we must first ensure everyone at OB feels valued, included and most importantly, can be themselves at work.

It is important to us that our brand reflects wider society and the communities in which we operate. As a result, we welcome all eligible applicants for this role however we are particularly interested in speaking to eligible candidates from the Black, Asian & Mixed Heritage communities.

To read more about our ED&I commitments, head over to the EDI page on our website: