Head of Buying - London

The role · We are looking to hire a Head of Fashion Buying to join our Content team in London on a fixed-term basis to cover the maternity leave of an existing employee. · This is an office-based role out of our London office. · Working at WGSN · Together, we create tomorrow  · A ...

Job description

The role

We are looking to hire a Head of Fashion Buying to join our Content team in London on a fixed-term basis to cover the maternity leave of an existing employee.

This is an office-based role out of our London office.

Working at WGSN

Together, we create tomorrow 

A career with WGSN is fast-paced, exciting and full of opportunities to grow and develop. We're a team of consumer and design trend forecasters, content creators, designers, data analysts, advisory consultants and much more, united by a common goal: to create tomorrow. 

WGSN's trusted consumer and design forecasts power outstanding product design, enabling our customers to create a better future. Our services cover consumer insights, beauty, consumer tech, fashion, interiors, lifestyle, food and drink forecasting, data analytics and expert advisory. If you are an expert in your field, we want to hear from you.   

Role overview 

We are seeking an experienced and commercially astute Head of Fashion Buying (Interim) to lead WGSN's Fashion Buying content function during a maternity leave period. This is a senior leadership role responsible for defining and delivering the global content strategy across the Buying platform, ensuring it drives measurable client value, commercial growth and market authority.

This role operates at the level of an in-brand Head of Buying.

You will oversee the Buying content roadmap end-to-end — from long-term strategic direction and platform positioning to day-to-day team leadership and cross-functional alignment. As the most senior buying authority within Content, you will represent WGSN externally as a thought leader and internally as the strategic voice of the buyer across product, sales and marketing initiatives.

You will balance strategic thinking with operational rigour — ensuring Buying content is commercially impactful, future-facing and seamlessly integrated into the broader Fashion ecosystem.

Key accountabilities

Strategic Leadership & Vision

- Define and lead the global Fashion Buying content strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives, product roadmap and revenue priorities.

- Maintain clear content pillars and seasonal frameworks that support buyers across key milestones in the buying lifecycle.

- Identify white space opportunities across reports, dashboards and data products to strengthen the Buying ecosystem.

- Ensure Buying content remains differentiated, commercially actionable and indispensable to clients.

- Shape how Buying content integrates alongside Fashion Design platform, Data dashboards, Buying tools, Pulse and TikTok Dashboard to create a cohesive client journey.

Team Leadership & Development

- Lead, mentor and develop the Buying team, fostering high performance and clear accountability.

- Elevate standards of insight, commercial depth and storytelling across all Buying outputs.

- Provide clear direction on priorities, workflows and long-term team structure.

- Oversee resource planning and workload management to ensure sustainable delivery.

- Act as final editorial authority for key strategic reports.

Commercial Impact & Client Authority

- Partner closely with Sales, Client Services and Marketing to support client acquisition, retention and growth.

- Act as senior representative in high-level client meetings, workshops, webinars and industry events.

- Identify revenue-driving opportunities including bespoke projects, advisory, workshops and partnerships.

- Translate client feedback and market signals into actionable content evolution.

- Serve as a visible external thought leader, providing media commentary and industry POV.

Cross-Functional Influence

- Collaborate with Product, Data Science and Analytics teams to shape future Buying tools and dashboards.

- Influence prioritisation of platform developments that impact the Buying customer.

- Ensure seamless integration of proprietary data (ecommerce, search, catwalk, social, consumer) into Buying narratives.

- Act as the Buying voice in global content planning and Fashion leadership discussions.

Content & Forecast Direction

- Oversee macro and micro trend development from a buyer lens, ensuring commercial clarity.

- Ensure all reports clearly link trend insight to assortment strategy, pricing architecture, risk management and retail formats.

- Maintain strong global market visibility across premium, mid-market and value sectors.

- Guide forecasting direction to ensure it is future-proofed against structural shifts (supply chain, sustainability, AI, consumer behaviour shifts, etc.).

This list is not exhaustive and there may be other activities you are required to deliver.

Skills, experience & qualifications required

- Extensive senior-level experience within fashion buying at Head of Buying level or equivalent.

- Deep expertise across womenswear, with strong cross-category and cross-channel understanding.

- Activewear experience a plus

- Experience operating across monobrand, multibrand and omnichannel retail environments preferred.

- Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams.

- Strong strategic planning capability with the ability to connect long-term vision to tactical execution.

- Commercially minded with clear understanding of margin architecture, OTB management, pricing strategy and risk mitigation.

- Demonstrated experience using quantitative and qualitative data to drive decision-making.

- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; able to influence senior stakeholders with clarity and authority.

- Comfortable representing a brand at C-suite level externally.

- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills across product, analytics, sales and marketing.

- Technical proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Workspace. - Familiarity with data tools (SQL, Tableau) advantageous.

What we offer

Our benefits and wellbeing package offers flexible benefits you can tailor to your own personal needs, including:  

- 25 days of holiday per year - with an option to buy/ sell up to 5 days

- Pension, Life Assurance and Income Protection Flexible benefits platform with options including Private Medical, Dental Insurance & Critical Illness 

- Employee assistance programme, season ticket loans and cycle to work scheme 

- Volunteering opportunities and charitable giving options  

- Great learning and development opportunities.

More about WGSN

WGSN is the global authority on consumer trend forecasting.

We help brands around the world create the right products at the right time for tomorrow's consumer.

Our values 

We Are Everywhere

The future is everything, it happens everywhere. WGSN is the world-leading forecaster because we track and analyse consumer behaviours, product innovation, design and creativity, everywhere.

We Are Future Focused

We utilise our global resources and intelligence to research, source and analyse quantitative and qualitative data to produce our forecasts. Everything we do is focused on working with our customers to create a successful and positive tomorrow.

We Are Rigorous

We source, review and assess quantitative and qualitative data to produce robust, actionable forecasts. To provide credible insights and design solutions for our clients, it is essential that rigour runs through everything we do.

Our culture 

An inclusive culture is one of our key priorities. We want our people to truly be themselves and thrive. We love having a diverse team of people who bring new ideas, different strengths and perspectives & reflect the global audience we work with.

Inclusive workforce 

We are committed to supporting the environment and sustainability, including ensuring our pension plan defaults to sustainable options and striving to be net zero by 2030.  

Recognising great performance is a key part of our culture. Our Awards schemes recognise and reward the brilliant achievements of our people.  

We offer a flexible working environment with a wide range of flexible, hybrid and agile working arrangements. Conversations about flexible working have always been—and will continue to be—actively encouraged here, but we do not offer full remote working. 

We want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to perform their best when interviewing, so if you require any reasonable adjustments that would make you more comfortable during the process, please let us know so that we can do our best to support you.

A Note for Applicants

We use AI to help our team screen applications and identify candidates whose skills and experience match the role. This technology removes personal information to promote a fair and unbiased process. We believe this tool helps us find the best talent while maintaining transparency and fairness.

A Note for Recruiters 

Thank you so much for your interest in working with us at  WGSN   Our internal Talent Acquisition team takes care of all our recruitment efforts. When we need some extra help, we partner with agencies on our Preferred Supplier List (PSL) that truly understand our business, culture and ways of working together.  Since we focus on these established partnerships, we're unable to respond to unsolicited contacts or CVs from outside our PSL. But don't worry If we decide to explore new partnerships, we'll be sure to reach out.