Regional Manager
WeBuyVintage · Guildford, United Kingdom · hybrid
About WeBuyVintage
WeBuyVintage is one of the UK’s largest buyers of jewellery, antiques and collectibles. We run more roadshows than any other UK company - over 250 valuation events every month - bringing trusted experts face-to-face with customers across the country.
In three years, we’ve grown from a pub-table idea into an eight-figure business, with a headcount thats grown from 30-100 in the last 2 years, we’re on a mission to make WeBuyVintage a brand everyone recognises.
The Role
We're looking for two experienced Regional Managers to manage our growing field-based Buying teams – one covering the North and one covering the South.
You don't need to be an antiques or jewellery expert – you need to be an excellent people manager.
You'll have overall people-management responsibility for the Buyers within your region, leading a large, geographically dispersed team working across Roadshows throughout the UK.
You'll be responsible for making sure your people are well managed, supported and performing at their best. That means being close enough to the operation to understand what's happening on the ground, while taking ownership of the people side – from regular 1:1s and probation reviews through to development, performance management and the more difficult conversations that may arise.
You'll work closely with our Regional Leads, who are experienced Buyers with strong visibility of what's happening day-to-day in the field. They'll be an important source of operational insight, feedback and support, helping you stay connected to performance and standards across your region.
You'll report to our Head Buyer and work closely with our Head of People on more complex people matters and our Head of Training & Development to identify and address training and capability needs.
Main Tasks & Responsibilities
People Management & Leadership
- Take overall people-management responsibility for all Buyers within your region.
- Build strong relationships with a large, geographically dispersed field-based team.
- Hold regular 1:1s, probation reviews, performance conversations and other key people meetings.
- Set clear expectations around performance, behaviours and standards.
- Recognise and reinforce great performance.
- Make sure people receive regular, useful feedback and understand how they're performing.
- Support the development and progression of Buyers across your region.
- Create a culture where people feel supported while also understanding what's expected of them.
- Maintain strong visibility of engagement, morale and any emerging people issues across your team.
Performance Management
- Maintain a clear understanding of individual performance across your region.
- Identify and address performance concerns early rather than allowing issues to drift.
- Confidently give constructive feedback and have difficult conversations when they're needed.
- Manage probation concerns and underperformance fairly and consistently.
- Agree clear expectations and improvement actions and follow these through.
- Work closely with the Head of People on more complex performance, conduct or employee-relations matters.
- Maintain appropriate records of key people conversations and actions.
- Balance supporting individuals with holding them accountable for delivering the standards expected.
Working With Regional Leads
- Build a close working relationship with the Regional Leads operating across your area.
- Use their day-to-day visibility and experience to understand what's happening across Roadshows and within the Buyer team.
- Maintain regular communication with Regional Leads around performance, standards, operational challenges and emerging concerns.
- Make sure feedback from the field is acted on appropriately.
- Support Regional Leads in providing day-to-day guidance and maintaining high standards on Roadshows.
- Ensure there is a clear distinction between the Regional Lead's on-the-ground senior Buyer responsibilities and your accountability for formal people management.
Training, Capability & Standards
- Recognise where individual or wider team standards, knowledge or capability may be slipping.
- Work closely with Regional Leads to understand where additional support or development may be needed.
- Partner with the Head of Training & Development to identify training needs and agree appropriate interventions.
- Reinforce learning through ongoing feedback, performance conversations and follow-up.
- Monitor whether training and development is translating into improved performance in the field.
- Help create consistent expectations and standards across the wider Buying team.
Regional Leadership
- Maintain a regular presence at Roadshows across your region, spending time with Buyers and Regional Leads in the field.
- Travel frequently to understand performance first-hand, build relationships and provide visible leadership.
- Act as a key link between the Head Buyer and the Buyer population within your region.
- Give the Head Buyer a clear view of people performance, challenges, risks and emerging themes.
- Work closely with the other Regional Manager to provide consistent management coverage across the Roadshow week, maintain effective handovers and create a consistent people-management approach across the North and South.
- Support the implementation of new processes, ways of working and operational priorities.
- Take ownership of issues within your remit and escalate appropriately where additional support or decisions are required.
Who We’re Looking For
We're much more interested in your people-management experience than whether you've worked with antiques or jewellery before.
Our Buyers bring the specialist knowledge. We're looking for someone who knows how to lead a large team of people.
You'll be comfortable managing individuals with different levels of experience and performance, building relationships with people you won't necessarily see every day and keeping a strong understanding of what's happening across a geographically dispersed workforce.
You'll be supportive and approachable, but equally comfortable setting expectations, holding people accountable and having difficult conversations when something isn't working.
Qualifications & Experience:
Essential:
- Strong experience managing a sizeable team of people.
- Experience managing field-based, multi-site or geographically dispersed teams would be particularly valuable.
- Strong experience conducting 1:1s, probation reviews and performance conversations.
- Confidence managing underperformance and having difficult or sensitive conversations.
- A track record of setting clear expectations and holding people accountable.
- Strong coaching and development skills.
- The ability to build strong relationships and maintain visibility across a dispersed workforce.
- Experience working closely with senior or lead team members to understand what's happening operationally.
- Good judgement around when to manage something independently and when additional People/HR support is required.
- The ability to recognise capability gaps and work collaboratively with Training & Development.
- Strong communication, organisation and relationship-building skills.
- A practical, proactive approach and the confidence to take ownership.
- A full UK driving licence and the ability to travel frequently across your region.
- Comfortable with regular overnight stays as part of the role.
Experience within antiques, jewellery or a professional buying environment isn't required. We'll provide the industry knowledge and technical training you need.
Working Pattern & Travel
We operate a four-day working week, and this role works 32 hours across four days.
Our Roadshows take place Monday to Saturday, so the Regional Manager roles operate on a rota across those six days rather than following a fixed Monday–Thursday working pattern.
The North and South Regional Managers will work al