Buying Assistant

About This Role Step into the world of buying at Freedom, where your creativity and analytical skills will help shape homes across Australia. As a Buying Assistant in our Homewares team, you'll work directly with experienced buyers who will mentor you in product selection, development, and bringing beautiful designs to life. This entry‑level role offers insight into both the creative and commercial sides of retail, helping you transform concepts into products that customers love. Your work will directly contribute to Freedom’s 40‑year mission of making beautiful things for the home available to everyone, making a tangible difference in how people live and enjoy their spaces. How This Will Transform Your Career This role serves as an excellent launchpad for a career in buying, merchandising, or product development. You'll build a solid foundation in retail operations while developing specialist knowledge in homewares. Working alongside experienced buyers, you'll gain practical skills in product sourcing, cost analysis, supplier relationship management, and the entire development lifecycle. These transferable skills are highly sought‑after across the retail industry and beyond. Freedom offers clear career progression paths. Many of our current buyers and category managers started in assistant roles just like this one. Why You'll Like Working Here At Freedom, we’ve earned our certification as a Great Place to Work by putting our people first. We’ve created an environment where innovation thrives and every team member can make their mark. Our culture is built on transparency and collaboration, ensuring you’ll always have clarity about your progress and impact. You’ll enjoy: Hybrid working arrangements that respect your work‑life balance A competitive salary package with superannuation Generous 25% staff discount on all Freedom products, including sale items True flexibility with our innovative “Freedom to Flex” program – work from anywhere in the world for up to 4 weeks annually Monthly themed pop‑up Town Hall’s to connect with wider teams in our Support Centre What You’ll Be Working On You will support the buying team in developing and sourcing homeware products that fit the Freedom criteria of design, style, taste, quality and value. The key responsibilities of the role include: Assisting the buying team in the sourcing of new homeware pieces that have been identified as opportunities and gaps. Working collaboratively with Planning, Shipping, Quality and our supply partners. Arrange and track product costings, price comparisons from suppliers, retail competitors and potential country of manufacturing for homeware categories. Maintain the product development tracker with the latest developments including material, quality, changes, costs and dates. Maintain SKUs in the product database (PIM) for respected categories. Support creating documents such as new product introduction sign‑off memos for homeware categories. Liaise with overseas suppliers on development sample statuses and sample test reporting, keeping relevant stakeholders updated. What Type Of Person Will Succeed Tertiary education preferred Experience in the homeware or retail industry would be beneficial Excellent written and verbal communication skills Intermediate MS Excel skills required A high attention to detail and ability to organise to multiple deadlines is required. How To Apply We’re excited to grow our team and would love to learn more about you. To take the first step towards your future at Freedom, click the apply button to submit your application and don’t forget to attach your resume. Freedom to grow. Freedom to think. Freedom to be #J-18808-Ljbffr