Head of Product Development and Buying - The Royal Household : Job Details

It’s creating a collection of merchandise that attracts audiences worldwide.

It’s being at the forefront of design and innovation. And it’s the satisfaction of leading a team to deliver exceptional results. This is what makes working for Royal Collection Trust Retail so unique.

As Head of Product Development and Buying, you’ll play a central role in shaping the future of Royal Collection Trust’s retail offering. From defining product strategies to leading a creative and dedicated team, you’ll ensure our range remains innovative, sustainable, and reflective of the Royal Collection’s rich heritage.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and deliver a strategic vision for our product range, ensuring it aligns with audience demand, retail trends, and brand integrity while showcasing the Royal Collection’s assets.
• Lead the product development and buying process, managing supplier relationships, negotiating contracts, and ensuring gross margins are maximised.
• Champion sustainability, embedding eco-conscious practices across all stages of buying and product development.
• Oversee category performance, ensuring data-driven decision-making, effective range planning, and seamless collaboration with key stakeholders.
• Manage and inspire a talented team of Buyers and Product Developers, fostering a culture of creativity, trust, and continuous improvement.

Although St. James Palace will be the regular place of work, the post holder will be required to travel to Stoke on Trent between 2-4 times per month to visit their direct reports within the Product Development team.

Essential Criteria:

• Proven experience in buying or product development, with a strong understanding of the design and manufacturing processes within high-end markets.
• Commercially aware with expertise in business planning, forecasting, and achieving optimal price points.
• Exceptional leadership and management skills, with the ability to motivate and develop a team.
• Adept at building and managing supplier relationships, with excellent negotiation and contract finalisation skills which you’ll achieve by being a skilled communicator.
• Experience in implementing sustainable practices within a retail setting, and a passion for historical collections would be a plus, however not essential.

Benefits:

We know that to deliver our best work; we need to feel at our best. That’s why at the Royal Household we offer a generous benefits package designed to support your wellbeing and life priorities.

Enjoy 25 days annual leave, rising to 30 days (plus bank holidays) dependent on the length of time you have worked for us.

Our excellent non-contributory pension plan (we’ll contribute 15% and you can contribute more if you wish) is highly valued by our employees, as is complimentary lunch on-site to keep you fuelled throughout the day.

We also offer a range of leave options to support your life priorities, such as parental pay and leave and volunteering days, as well as benefits to support your physical and mental wellbeing.

Other perks include 20% off at our Royal Collection Trust Shops and complimentary admission tickets across all our locations, along with many more exclusive employee discounts.