Buying Admin Assistant Third Party Brands Full Time

This is a fantastic entry-level opportunity within the branded buying team at M&S, perfect for someone detail-oriented, organised, and confident in a fast-moving, transformational environment.

In this role, you’ll provide vital administrative support across multiple product areas, owning the critical path and ensuring accurate, on-time product set-up. You’ll also help maintain key data and support the team in delivering against the buying cycle.

There’s also the opportunity to support the Assistant Buyer by attending branded appointments and contributing to buying decisions.

Success in this role requires strong attention to detail, excellent time management, effective communication, and the ability to build relationships with both internal teams and external brand partners.

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Summary

Join a fast-paced, dynamic Brands team as a Buying Admin Assistant (BAA), supporting some of the leading names on the high street.

This is a fantastic entry-level opportunity within the branded buying team at M&S, perfect for someone detail-oriented, organised, and confident in a fast-moving, transformational environment.

In this role, you’ll provide vital administrative support across multiple product areas, owning the critical path and ensuring accurate, on-time product set-up. You’ll also help maintain key data and support the team in delivering against the buying cycle.

There’s also the opportunity to support the Assistant Buyer by attending branded appointments and contributing to buying decisions.

Success in this role requires strong attention to detail, excellent time management, effective communication, and the ability to build relationships with both internal teams and external brand partners.

All the details

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger – helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation· Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more· Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours [*REMOVE THIS FOR RLA/B roles*]
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future· Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one· Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal· Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave· 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services· One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you

What You’ll Do

Your key responsibilities will include

• Manage product set-up via the M&S buying portal by liaising with brands and offshore teams to ensure accurate pricing, product attribution, and timely receipt of brand assets, while monitoring and leading critical path meetings to identify risks and drive solutions that keep all stages on schedule.
• Prepare Sign-Off and Trading Packs to support key meetings.
• Manage sample requests and sign-offs.
• Build strong relationships with internal teams (Merchandising, .com) and external partners to support product delivery and launches.
• Stay informed on product trends and competitors while developing a strong understanding of key brand partners and the M&S customer, providing valuable feedback to the team.

Who You Are

Your skills and experience will include

• Experience in buying or retail environment, ideally working at BAA level, with a strong passion for fashion brands as well as a solid understanding or desire to learn the end-to-end buying process and critical path management
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail, able to anticipate and manage problems, prioritise tasks and escalate when necessary.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook) and quick to learn new systems, with a solid understanding or desire to learn the end-to-end buying process and critical path management.
• Good communication skills; communicating clearly using phone, email, VC etc.
• Comfortable working in a fast paced, agile workplace

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you’d benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.

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