Buying Manager - Cafe

We’re looking for a Buying Manager to join our business looking after our Cafes. The Buying Manager will be responsible for buying our “front of house” ranges within the Cafe. This includes our full chilled range of drinks, snacks and sandwiches, our full ambient cake range, all hot drinks, the full impulse range and any counter top listed products. The Buying Manager will assist the Senior Buying Manager in planning, sourcing, selecting and negotiating a commercial and competitively priced product range across all channels, whilst maximising sales and margin for the department. The Buying Manger will also be responsible for negotiating and growing our branded media income.

Our commercial teams decide what we sell and at what price. We source great products for our customers and negotiate deals with suppliers. And we look for the best local produce, tracking down products around the world to meet constantly changing tastes. Own brands. Value brands. Global brands. We take great pride in them all.

You’ll help to deliver exceptional, customer-led ranges which drive sales and margin across a specific category. You will build on the capability of our Buying team by engaging with different teams across the business to translate customer buying insights into competitive customer propositions, ensuring quality and value.

Some of your responsibilities will include:

• Developing and delivering the category plan for a high spend, complex area

• Driving sales and profit through acting on our customer insight to deliver the right range and customer proposition

• Minimising waste and yield loss through buying better and developing an understanding of in store process

• Delivery of supplier income targets through building innovative brand and product campaigns and leading effective negotiations

• Working closely with the Cafe operations team to ensure that all commercial plans are operationally achievable and maximise colleague efficiency

• Delivery of margin targets through negotiation and robust supplier plans

• Delivering our supplier promises (12 point charter) through continuously improving Supplier relationships and engagement with detailed supplier knowledge and regular supplier visits

• Using your market understanding of the category, including competitor insight to develop compelling category strategies

• Actively support and promote the high performance culture of the Buying team, including the support of personal and professional growth to encourage colleagues to be the best they can be

• Helping to deliver a great customer experience – helping them to buy

• Operating in full compliance with the Grocery Suppliers Code of Practice (GSCOP)

We’ve built an incredibly diverse business, and we’re working hard to make sure we truly represent the communities we serve. One of the best things about working with so many different people is having the opportunity to listen, learn and connect with lots of different views, perspectives and beliefs. For this role, we’re looking for someone who has: 

• Track record as a Buying Manager/Senior Buyer in a similar environment

• A proven negotiator

• Proven experience of delivering category strategies in a complex, competitive market

• A strong customer centricity with a track record of putting the customer first

• Ability to work at pace, in a fast and flexible environment with drive, energy and enthusiasm

• Significant commercial understanding with an excellent analytical, problem-solving and decision making background

• Experience of building relationships at all levels to drive commercial benefits

• Experience of implementing and driving unified strategies in a complex business environment

Our modern Head Office on the edge of Bradford is home to our different support teams from tech, marketing and finance to HR, trading and supply chain.

Alive with activity, this is where decisions are made and our corporate teams make sure everything runs smoothly. Here, you’ll find comfy breakout areas, a coffee shop, newsagents and subsidised restaurant all within commuting distance of Leeds, Manchester and the Yorkshire Dales - always with free parking.

We host regular seasonal events and you’ll often find our suppliers on site sharing details of their latest product. We’re also committed to fundraising for our current charity partner.

Our business is fast paced and ever changing, as such we’ve lots of opportunities for you to play your part in our success. We’d love to meet you…

Some of the benefits you can expect as follows;

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