Product Specialist / Buyer

Product Specialist / Buyer Oldham – Office based Experience in toys or similar would be beneficial **Fantastic offices, flexible start and finish times, excellent career progression** Do you want to work for an exciting supplier to retailers, dealing with a wide variety of products across toys, and related products? Our client is looking to strengthen the Product team with a driven and proactive individual, who’s eager to learn and develop their existing skills, in an exciting and fast paced creative working environment. Job Purpose: To own and drive the creative and commercial development of product ranges across assigned brands and categories, becoming a recognised expert in the market. This includes curating seasonal collections across all relevant price points and formats, delivering trend-led products ahead of competitors, and responding to customer-specific briefs with speed, quality, and cost efficiency. The role also requires ongoing development of everyday core SKUs, ensuring continuous improvement and adaptability to market demands. Duties include: Market & Trend Insight • Conduct regular in-store and online competitive shopping to identify market trends, product formats, pricing, and emerging opportunities. • Capture detailed notes and photographs, saving findings in the designated shared folders for team access. • Present insights to the wider team to inform product strategy and range development. Range Building & Concept Development • Create commercially viable ranges that align with customer requirements, brand identity, and trend insights. • Develop draft range plans including SKUs, RRPs, item descriptions, packaging concepts, and supplier recommendations. Supplier Sourcing & Cost Management • Identify, evaluate, and build relationships with suitable suppliers. • Negotiate quotations to ensure competitiveness and margin requirements are met. • Work with the Product Admin to maintain accurate and up-to-date pricing and specifications. Project Management & Communication • Set up dedicated Teams project chats to manage cross-functional communication and file sharing. • Maintain an up-to-date development range plan as a working document accessible to all relevant teams. • Set and monitor clear deadlines to ensure smooth workflows. Style Files & Documentation • Oversee the creation and maintenance of style files for every item in development. • Ensure all specifications are confirmed, clear, and approved before progressing. Artwork & Presentation Approvals • Review and approve all product, packaging, and presenter page artwork. • Ensure designs are proofread and details are accurate to achieve ‘right first time’ sampling. • Approve final sales presentations before release. Person Specification: • Strong commercial acumen • Exceptional communication abilities • Proficient in numerical analysis and data interpretation • Confident and engaging presenter • Highly skilled in negotiation and influencing • Enthusiasm for developing innovative and distinctive product formats • Sharp eye for product detail and quality • Creative mindset with a naturally curious approach • Skilled at identifying emerging trends and opportunities • Decisive and effective under pressure Apply online or for further information please contact one of our specialist consultants quoting reference number: NJR16772 #SUP