Location

 📚 Hybrid 1-2 days a week in Coleshill, Birmingham. 

Why The Works?

🏆 10th Best Big Company to Work For 2024 - 'Best Companies'

We don’t just sell products.
We inspire reading, learning, creativity and play.

The Works. It literally means everything. And whatever your story or background, we’re all about unlocking imagination and making creativity accessible to everyone. Whether you’re engaging with customers on the frontline or supporting our colleagues behind the scenes, your impact can be profound and far-reaching.

This is more than toys and books and art supplies. This is about inspiring people to read, learn, create and play. So, with the right passion, it all starts with you.

Bring stories to life for the next generation

At The Works, we’re passionate about inspiring creativity, learning, and imagination—and children’s books are at the heart of that mission. As our Buyer for Children’s Books, you’ll play a key role in shaping a range that inspires young readers and supports parents, teachers, and gift-givers with thoughtful, engaging choices.

🎯 Your Mission

• Manage the end-to-end buying process for the Children’s Books category
• Identify trends, seasonal opportunities, and emerging authors or formats
• Negotiate cost prices, terms, and promotional activity with suppliers
• Collaborate with merchandising, marketing, and supply chain teams to ensure smooth delivery and strong in-store/online presence
• Monitor sales performance and adapt the range to meet customer needs
• Define category strategy—decide what should be in our range and why, identifying the best sources and driving a competitive edge
• Test and trial new ideas for future growth based on market data
• Brief new product development (NPD) opportunities and work with creative teams to deliver unique, competitive products
• Build compelling product ranges, balancing private label and branded titles, and manage product exits with clear change plans
• Manage the critical path—review development trackers and flag risks to ensure smooth progress
• React to sales trends and take action to maximise sales and minimise risk, including promotional activities and seasonal space planning
• Maintain trackers and provide actionable insights based on analysis
• Collaborate with suppliers and QA to ensure product specifications and ethical compliance
• Negotiate trading terms and funding support with suppliers
• Produce internal communications, presentations, and sign-off packs
• Coach and develop junior team members, setting the standard for what great buying looks like
• Influence internal stakeholders and lead your product area through the full buying process
• Present to Board members and complete all required sign-off documentation
• Take on additional responsibilities including budget setting, strategic sourcing, store/web reviews, and operational collaboration with your AM buddy

🧠 What You’ll Bring

• Experience in a buying role—ideally in books, publishing, or retail
• A passion for children’s literature and an understanding of what engages young readers
• Strong commercial awareness and negotiation skills
• A proactive, organised, and collaborative approach
• A customer-first mindset and a love for storytelling

Being a great leader

As a great leader with wonderful people skills, you'll create an environment that's more than just co-workers — it's a team.

• Align Goals with Values: Ensure that your team’s goals are clearly connected to the company’s values and purpose. This helps colleagues see the bigger picture and understand how their work contributes to the overall mission.
• Clear Communication: Ensure that your team understands the goals, expectations, and their roles. Regularly share updates, encourage open dialogue and have regular check-ins.
• Role Model: Lead by example. Demonstrate the behaviours and attitudes you expect from your team, such as punctuality, responsibility, and being a brand ambassador.
• Provide Feedback: Offer constructive feedback regularly. Recognise achievements and address areas for improvement in a supportive and continuous growth manner.
• Empower Your Team: Delegate tasks and trust your team to handle them. This builds confidence and promotes professional growth.
• Conflict Resolution: Address conflicts promptly and fairly. Foster an environment where issues can be discussed openly and resolved amicably.
• Empathy: Understand and consider the feelings and perspectives of your team members. This helps in building strong, supportive relationships

And let's not forget about the most important part… your team's well-being and aspirations. You'll be their biggest supporter, cheering them on. You'll have amazing everyday conversations with your team, discussing everything from their performance to their wildest career aspirations.

Our PERKS really are ‘The Works’

• 💪 25% Colleague Discount! - Plus, exclusive Double Discount days!
• 😎 MyWorks - Access exclusive online discounts across hundreds of retailers, holidays, utilities deals, tech and more!
• 🚀 Holiday – 33 days including bank holidays.
• 💃 Holiday Purchase - Purchase an additional 5 days
• 🎓 Can-Do Academy - Grow your skills and career with instant access to further training and development in areas that interest you.
• 💸 Wagestream - Claim early access to 50% of your wages as you earn them – for when ‘life’ happens!
• 🏬 Share Scheme - Unleash your inner Monopoly mogul and own a piece of The Works!
• 💛 24/7 support for you and your family - Through our partnership with the Retail Trust who provide an Employee Assistance Programme and so much more!
• 🩺 Healthcare Cash Plan – To support your everyday healthcare costs
• 🥳 And loads more! – Long Service Awards, pension, life assurance, Cycle to Work and optional charity giving.

Our Purpose

To inspire reading. learning, creativity and play - making lives more fulfilled.

Our Values

We are Crafty | We are Caring | We are Can-do

We Listen. We Care

Each year, we run an anonymous colleague engagement survey. This is so important for us to hear your feedback and suggestions. We want to know what’s going great, and what needs a couple of tweaks to help make The Works the best place you’ve ever worked! You’ll have opportunity to help give us that direction.

Promoting Diversity, Inclusion, and Applying Reasonable Adjustments

At The Works, we are proud to have an inclusive culture where everyone truly feels able to be themselves. Our roles are open to all, including under-represented groups such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, carers & members of the LGBTQ+ community (including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bi, trans, non-binary, or use another term).

We are open to discussions around working hours and flexible working. And, where possible, we'll try to support this. If you need reasonable adjustments for an interview you might attend with us, let us know in your application and we’ll be happy to help!