NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
DRAFT
Merchandising & Buying Manager (initial 2-year fixed term
contract)
Purpose
The National Portrait Gallery is one of the country’s premier visitor attractions
with over 2 million visits in 2011-12. The Gallery generates an increasing
proportion of its own running costs from a variety of activities including Trading.
Reporting to the Head of Retail, the Merchandising & Buying Manager will play
a key role in contributing to the strategy to maximise profits for the Gallery from
its retailing, trade and online businesses. Combining extensive experience in
buying and merchandise management with great empathy for the business, the
post holder will enhance the Gallery’s reputation for excellence by delivering
imaginative, profitable and professionally managed merchandise.
Main Objectives

To contribute to the Gallery’s retail strategy to ensure that product lies at the
heart of the business and to develop and manage the accompanying retail
marketing plan to ensure that it drives the retail business.

To lead the buying and development of original, high quality, appropriate
and profitable merchandise for the Gallery’s retail, wholesale and online
businesses.

To oversee the visual merchandising plans and processes and contribute to a
programme of innovative promotions and displays, to make the Gallery shops,
including online, a memorable and indispensable part of the visitor
experience.

To ensure that Trading profits are increased year on year through effective
budgetary and financial management, stock and inventory control, and
effective and mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers.
Main Tasks and Responsibilities
Merchandising
 Responsible for all retail stock, ensuring that core and other agreed lines,
including Gallery publications, are kept in stock at all times, are reordered or
reprinted in appropriate quantities and adhere to purchasing and stockholding
targets.
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 Responsible for ensuring that reports on stock levels for all lines are produced
on a regular basis and that slow moving stock is addressed and returns and
write-downs are identified appropriately.
 Uses EPOS and other sources to inform optimum opening and repeat order
quantities to maximise sales and profitability.
Buying and Product Development
 Creates and develops inspiring, profitable, high quality ranges based on the
Gallery’s collection and exhibitions programme.
 Liaises with the Retail Operations Manager to ensure that new product buying
and development reflect and support operational concerns, customer feedback
and agreed marketing objectives.
 Works closely with suppliers to develop new products, ensuring that the look
and quality of merchandise compares favourably with the best London
museums and equivalent retailers, that a balance of price points and product
types is represented in the stock range and that the visitor profile is also
appropriately reflected.
 Works closely with the Rights and Images team to ensure that all rights in new
products are negotiated and cleared and that all opportunities for product
licensing are exploited.
 Presents new merchandise ranges to the Retail Operations Manager, Sales &
Marketing Co-ordinator and other Trading department colleagues on a regular
basis.
Strategic

Contributes to the development of departmental business and marketing plans
with the aim to deliver the most profitable retail and trade sales.

With the Head of Retail and Retail Operations Manager, creates an annual
retail marketing plan and delivers and evaluates the strategy over the course of
each year to ensure that all revenue opportunities for the Gallery’s
merchandise, digital products and publications are optimised.

Manages supplier relationships with a view to ensuring effective delivery and
inventory controls and maximising margins.
Financial and Team Management
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 Uses open-to-buy or other systems and processes to manage purchases,
production costs, margins, stock levels and pricing strategies to achieve agreed
targets and performance measures, including stock-turn, gross margin, average
transaction values and profitability.
 Prepares and issues management information and provides effective financial
performance reporting for stockholding, write-downs, work-in-progress and
purchases.
 Analyses sales data, interpreting results and providing sound recommendations
based on findings; researches and identifies issues and trends.
This is not, however, an exhaustive list of duties and the gallery’s management
may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
Merchandising & Buying Manager
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Person Specification
Qualifications and Experience
 A minimum of 5 years’ experience and demonstrable success in buying and
merchandise management with responsibility for strategic development of
profitable product ranges.
 Demonstrable line management experience with a track record of delivering
results through leading, developing and motivating teams.
 Proven success in managing budgets and schedules as well as in financial and
management reporting and analysis.
 Experience in devising, costing and delivering effective marketing plans,
ideally within a museum/gallery or a similar not-for-profit organisation.
 Experience of, or empathy with, the cultural and heritage sector is desirable, as is a
knowledge of the Gallery’s key subject areas (History, Biography, Photography, Art)
and a desire to expand this knowledge.
Skills and Attributes
 Strong commercial acumen and a successful track record of driving sustained
growth.
 The ability to think strategically and understand the practical issues of
identifying markets and planning, implementing and meeting targets in a
challenging financial environment.
 A strong communicator (verbal and written) with excellent interpersonal skills,
and the ability to forge and maintain effective business working relationships
with buying and merchandising partners, suppliers and colleagues at all levels.
 Excellent organisational and time management skills, along with meticulous
attention to detail.
 A good working knowledge of production methods and issues in all major
product areas (eg textiles, ceramics, paper print) and the principles of image
licensing models and rights clearance is desirable.
 The ability to work under pressure, plan and manage workloads and take
decisions about both individuals’ and team priorities while identifying
strengths and development areas within the team, and working towards the
development of the team’s performance overall.
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 An interest in current affairs and the ability to relate, when appropriate,
displays within the shops to reflect this.
 A high level of computer proficiency in standard business software including
Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), particularly
experience of EPOS systems and maintaining, creating, and generating
spreadsheets and reports in Excel is essential.
Other Attributes
 Flexibility with regard to working hours, including an occasional need to be
available during evenings and at weekends.
 An interest in art and history.
 An interest in, and commitment to, the work of the Gallery.
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National Portrait Gallery
Trading
Director of Trading
Assistant to the
Director of Trading
Head of Business
Development
Head of Retail
Licensing &
Digital Sales
Manager
Managing Editor
Merchandising &
Buying Manager
Production
Manager
Editor
Assistant Editor
Assistant Manager
Rights & Images
Copyright Officer
Sales & Marketing
Co-ordinator
Picture Librarians
Merchandiser
Retail Operations
Manager
E-commerce &
Stores Coordinator
Assistant Buyer
Assistant
Managers
Retail Supervisors
Stores Assistants
Retail Assistants
Admin Assistant
(Apprenticeship)
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NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
Merchandising & Buying Manager
Details of the post are given below and in the job description. You should take
care to show in your application how you can fulfil the requirements of the job.
Term of appointment:
This post is for a fixed period of two years initially.
Hours
Your contracted hours of work are 40 gross (5 days) per week including a lunch
break of one hour.
Pay
The salary for this post will be circa £35,000 per annum.
Annual Leave
The annual leave allowance for this post is 25 days per annum.
Place of Work
Most of the work is based in the Gallery at St Martin’s Place, but all staff are
required to work at other locations if necessary.
Equality
The Gallery believes in the employment and advancement of people solely on
their ability to do the job required. When recruiting people, we will therefore
disregard their gender, marital status, race, age, colour, nationality, ethnic origin,
religion and sexual orientation. There will be no unfair discrimination on the
basis of disability. If you would like to submit your application in a different
format we are happy to allow this. Please contact us (telephone: 020 7306 0055
email: personnel@npg.org.uk) so that we may discuss suitable alternatives.
Pension
Pension benefits are provided under the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme
(PCSPS).
Probation and Trial Period
All appointments are subject to satisfactory employment and character references
and security clearance. There is a probationary period of 1 year for all
permanent posts. For fixed term appointments the probationary period may be less
than 1 year. The probationary period for this post is 1 year.
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Data Protection Act
Information provided by you as part of your application will be used in the
recruitment process. Any data about you will be held securely with access
restricted to those involved in dealing with your application in the recruitment
process. Once this process is completed the data relating to unsuccessful applicants
will be stored for a maximum of 6 months and then destroyed. If you are the
successful candidate, your application form will be retained and form the basis of
your personnel record. Information provided by you on the Equal Opportunities
Monitoring Form will be used to monitor National Portrait Gallery’s equal
opportunities policy and practices. By signing and submitting your completed
application form you are giving your consent to your data being stored and
processed (if you submit your application by e-mail and the application form is
un-signed we will assume that consent by you is given) for the purpose of the
recruitment process, equal opportunities monitoring and your personnel record if
you are the successful candidate.
Season Tickets
Interest free loans are available for the purchase of a season ticket for travel to
work.
Please return your completed application form to:
Personnel at: personnel@npg.org.uk
Or by post
Caroline Wynter
Head of Personnel
National Portrait Gallery
2 St Martin’s Place
London
WC2H 0HE
by 9.00am on Monday 3rd December 2012.
We are expecting to hold interviews on Thursday 13th December 2012. Please
indicate on the form if you are not available on either date.
If you are delivering your application by hand, please take it to the reception
desk at 39-45 Orange Street.
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For practical reasons we are unable to respond to every application. Therefore, if
you have not had a response to your application by 21 December 2012, please
assume that, regretfully you have not been successful on this occasion.
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