Head of Buying Specialty

**THE ROLE & THE TEAM**:
As a Head of Buying Specialty you will report into the Head of Buying and will write the next chapter of your department's success by creating a clear strategy for Premium, Sports, Kids and Home. You define seasonal plans and lever the brand portfolio for your units while leading the team leads for the various product clusters.

**INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN**:
**WHY YOU SHOULD BE INTERESTED**:

- Developing the current portfolio to the next level by constantly screening fashion industry, Zalando Fashion Store developments and the offprice competition.
- Building strong cross-category relationships to foster collaboration between Zalando Fashion Store, Partner Program and Lounge.
- Working closely with internal stakeholders in Retail, Merchandising and Supply Planning to improve processes and continually review seasonal strategies for your teams.
- Maximising relationships, you will build strong, trustful long term partnerships with the biggest brands for your category such as Nike, VF, Armani, Ralph Lauren to jointly set up their off-price strategy.
- Leading people is your passion. Alongside your key functional responsibilities, you will be fully responsible for leading, coaching and developing your team by identifying their strengths, development areas and training needs. You will look after a team of around twenty across various levels from Junior Buyers to Team Leads.

**WE'D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF**:

- Relevant Buying Experience at a similar level. You have been part of a fast-paced retailing business, ideally within an E-commerce retailer and have a multi-branded Fashion Buying background, preferably within an off-price business.
- As a strong leader, you will develop your team to the next level. You pride yourself in your leadership skills with at least 7 years of relevant experience leading a large team.
- Stakeholder Management is part of your role. You are a strong strategic thinker and are able to manage multiple stakeholders effectively through your communication style and emotional intelligence. You understand the challenges of the fashion business and the constant change and are exhilarated by this.
- Expertise with all tools and processes is relevant for buying positions. You have an entrepreneurial mindset and hands-on mentality. You know your figures at any time, base your decisions on fact and develop a figure based approach in your team.

**ZALANDO BENEFITS**:
**Career Development**
- We offer peer-to-peer performance reviews twice a year
- Learn and develop through our extensive Zalando training platform
- Join regular all-hands, team meetings, Q&A-sessions, and quarterly anonymous employee surveys to ask your questions and provide your feedback
- Support from an international team of experts; mentoring and professional development opportunities

**Wellbeing**
- 2 days paid leave per year for volunteering
- Minimum of 27 holiday days per calendar year
- Online sports courses, wellbeing, and nutrition advice offered by Humanoo personal wellbeing coach app
- Mental wellbeing support by our Employee Assistance Program and professional consultants to help you find health resources

**Flexibility**
- Flexible working hours
- Home office equipment available for hybrid working, to support you working from home
- Hybrid working model with 60% remote per week
- Opportunity to work from abroad for 30 (working) days per calendar year

**Financial**
- Access to the employee shares program
- 40% shopping discount on products shipped and sold by Zalando, and 30% discount on Zalando Lounge
- Discounts from a wide range of external partners

**Family**
- Employee parents' forums and employee resource group
- Supported transition into and out of parental leave, with a buddy and re-onboarding plan
- 3 fully-paid child sick days per year
- Free counselling, assistance, and referral service for all matters concerning yourself and your family via the Fürstenberg Institute

**ABOUT ZALANDO LOUNGE**:
**Zalando Lounge** is an online shopping club for fashion and lifestyle products in 14 European countries. We offer our members daily, time-limited sale campaigns with discounts of up to 75% off the recommended retail price. However, Zalando Lounge is so much more than discounts. Our strength lies in our focus on fashion: from sought-after labels to niche brands, from famous international names to trendy luxury brands, we make sure to meet the fashion taste of all our customers, who are always on the hunt for the best products at the best prices. Working with our brand partners, we're pioneering innovative supply-chain and production processes and offer them an impactful and smart solution, creating a new way to shop for fashion - and a new way to sell it.