Japan Buying Manager Job Description

The Buying Manager will be a key member of the Buying team, dual reporting into the Head of Buying & Sourcing in the UK and the Director of Retail & commercial in Japan. As the Buying Manager in Japan you will be responsible ensuring we plan and deliver the most commercial and profitable ranges for the Japan market to excite our customer fan base, ensuring we hit key launch dates and margin targets. You will be responsible for leading the licensed programme in Japan as the expert in market, planning and delivering a strategy and ensuring we work with the best in class licensees to support growth plans.

About the role:

• Identify and onboard key licensees and suppliers. Develop a strong working relationship with the consumer products team and licensees - negotiating first to market and/or exclusive opportunities to surprise and delight the fans & negotiating cost the best costs, margins and terms for the business.

• Identify Japan exclusive ranges and seasonal event opportunities, working with the design, merchandising and compliance team to build a commercial range and launch plan (large proportion of the range is a global product assortment managed by the UK buying team)

• Present and manage ranges throughout the sign off process to senior leadership team.

• Analyse and react to customer preferences and propose product trend ideas for Japan.

• Support the buyer to manage the topline critical path for product development and selection - highlighting any risk.

• Keep the UK based Buying team up to date on Japanese market and support on delivering a commercial and balanced range - this is to include but not exclusive to sizing, pricing and look and feel of a range.

• Evaluate the Japanese supply base - building strong relationship with existing and working with compliance to source and onboard new suppliers where necessary.

• Trading the ranges - minimising any threats and proactively acting on information maximising opportunities.

• Lead your team to support the business expectations - managing their workload and development.

• Collaborate with key stakeholders and teams across the business such as Merchandising, Design, Ecommerce, Marketing and Consumer Products.
About the candidate:

• Excellent English and Japanese - verbal and written, with the ability to adapt style to suit different audiences with a confidence to take the lead in meetings where English speaking is less common.

• Thorough knowledge of the Harry Potter Franchise and a clear understanding of our brand DNA. • Commercial awareness complimented by creative flair.

• Excellent organisation skills. Can multitask and work across several projects, prioritising demands.

• Cope with the pressure of having to make important decisions and meet tight deadlines.

• The capability to work in a fast-paced environment and achieve targets.

• A methodical, accurate, numerical and logical approach. • Confident presentation style.

• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to network and influence people.

• Great team player and strong interpersonal skills.

• Drive and determination, with an ability to problem solve.

• Leadership attributes

Selection criteria

• Previous buying experience in head office role, ideally across multi category product areas.

• Proven experience of working within licensing, as a licensee, licensor or with licensed suppliers.

• Experience of working with a local and UK team.

• Prior team people management experience.

• Proficient use of Microsoft Office applications including (but not limited to) Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Working pattern:

• 37.5 hours per week (full time) on a Monday to Friday pattern, flexibility in hours to accommodate meetings across UK/ Japan time differences.

• Because of the adaptive nature of this role flexibility is required to suit the needs of the business

How We Get Things Done...

This last bit is probably the most important! Here at WBD, our guiding principles are the core values by which we operate and are central to how we get things done. You can find them at www.wbd.com/guiding-principles/ along with some insights from the team on what they mean and how they show up in their day to day. We hope they resonate with you and look forward to discussing them during your interview.

Championing Inclusion at WBD
Warner Bros. Discovery embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of our society and the world around us. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, disability or any other category protected by law.

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