Assistant Buyer jobs in London

Ateliers London is a leading British manufacturer of bespoke luxury upholstered and hard case furniture, sought after by distinguished interior designers and architects internationally. Renowned for our work in luxury residential and hospitality projects, our workshop is home to skilled craftspeople and technical designers , merging traditional craftsmanship with innovation to create truly exceptional, covetable furniture.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Production Buyer to manage purchasing across the workshop.

This is a role for someone who has already run a supply base in a bespoke or made-to-order environment and understands what it takes to keep a workshop supplied without compromising on quality. Negotiating directly with suppliers and handling day-to-day sourcing, you will keep the workshop supplied on time, on specification, compliant and at the right cost — across an exciting mix of one-off pieces and large-scale FF&E projects. Working closely with the Production, Workshop, CAD and Quality teams, you will make sure every component arrives when it's needed.

Key Responsibilities

• Purchase across all material categories, such as wood, upholstery materials, hardware, and finishing.
• Source, commission and expedite bespoke and custom samples with suppliers and the workshop to expedite client sign-off dates.
• Buy to the Production Schedule, raising and expediting orders so materials arrive ahead of production-ready dates, and flagging risk to the schedule early.
• Negotiate pricing, lead times, payment terms, discounts (trade, volume and prompt-payment) and framework agreements with suppliers.
• Manage supplier account terms.
• Source and qualify new suppliers.
• Run comparative sourcing on significant materials across origins and grades (composition, quality, price per unit, Incoterms, MOQ and lead time), maintaining a certification-backed approved supplier list and clean item master data.
• Carry out supplier reviews, annually for all key suppliers, quarterly for strategic and single-sourced partners, using performance scorecards for delivery, quality, responsiveness and price to drive corrective action.
• Monitor supplier performance and resolve goods-in and QC discrepancies (shortages, wrong spec, rejects) through returns, credits and corrective action, ensuring purchase orders are accurate so deliveries reconcile cleanly at goods-in.
• Maintain minimum/maximum stock levels, reorder points and MOQs in the ERP system, using stock and production data to prevent stock-outs and overstock without tying up working capital — working with the Warehouse & QC team.
• Ensure purchased materials meet UK furniture regulations, obtaining and retaining supplier certification and test evidence, such as, the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations and contract fire standards (BS 5852 / Crib 5) for hospitality and contract projects.
• Manage chemical, finish and timber compliance — VOC-compliant finishes with safety data sheets supplied to the workshop and H&S adviser. FSC / PEFC due diligence — and apply Modern Slavery Act due diligence, supporting our ISO 9001 / ISO 14001 objectives.
• Procure and issue PPE and consumable safety items for workshop staff (PPE at Work Regulations), and arrange statutory equipment inspections (e.g. forklift Thorough Examinations under LOLER/PUWER), retaining certificates and flagging renewals, alongside the H&S competent adviser.
• Operate and maintain the ERP system and associated purchasing tools, and identify cost savings and supply-risk reduction across the business.

About You

• 4+ years in a buying or procurement role within furniture, joinery, interiors or a comparable bespoke manufacturing environment.
• Detailed working knowledge of furniture and upholstery materials, able to hold a technical conversation with both a supplier and the workshop.
• Proven track record of negotiating improved pricing, terms and lead times, with examples you can talk through.
• Experience buying to a production schedule in a made-to-order or low-volume, high-mix environment, including sourcing and managing samples.
• Experience building supply chain resilience — dual/multi-sourcing, supplier qualification and supply-risk management — not just transactional buying.
• Experience running structured, certification-led sourcing — benchmarking materials across multiple origins/grades and approving suppliers against quality, ethical and environmental standards (e.g. ISO 9001/14001 supplier approval, OEKO-TEX, RDS/GTDS).
• Working knowledge of UK furniture compliance and confident obtaining and assessing supplier compliance documentation.
• Commercially astute on payment terms and experienced in negotiating discounts.
• Experience managing inventory planning — reorder points, min/max levels and MOQs — in an ERP/MRP environment.
• Able to interpret technical drawings and specifications and suggest alternative materials or construction methods.
• Confident with ERP/MRP systems and strong Excel skills for analysing spend, pricing and supplier performance. Experience of SAP, Xero or comparable ERP/finance systems is advantageous.
• Familiar with the procurement side of workplace safety — issuing PPE and arranging statutory equipment inspections (e.g. LOLER/PUWER) — working alongside a competent H&S adviser.
• Experience of international sourcing, incoterms and freight.

CIPS qualified or working towards it is desirable but not essential. Bilingual is desirable but not essential.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: £30,000.00-£35,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Company pension
• Employee discount
• On-site parking

Experience:

• Production Buying in Luxury Furniture: 3 years (required)

Work Location: In person