Buying Manager - Chilled Food

Buying Manager – Chilled Food

This diverse retail and wholesale business is looking to recruit a Buying specialist who will manage all aspects of Category Management for one of their Chilled Food categories, including sourcing and managing suppliers, ranging, pricing, promotional planning, and driving commercial performance across both retail and wholesale channels.

About the Role

You will be responsible for managing the trading performance of your categories, driving sales growth and maximising profitability. This includes developing strong supplier relationships, leading negotiations, and ensuring a competitive, high‑quality product offer.

Key responsibilities include:

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• Managing pricing files and ensuring accurate, competitive pricing across your categories.
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• Driving cost reductions while maintaining product quality and customer value.
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• Developing and implementing promotional and seasonal plans.
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• Maximising sales revenue, profit margins and supplier income.
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• Supporting service level targets and ensuring product availability.
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• Leading supplier negotiations to secure the best pricing, terms and promotional opportunities.
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• Staying informed on retail trends, competitor activity and market demands.
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• Selecting and sourcing products, including implementing exit strategies where required.
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• Forecasting promotional and seasonal activity in collaboration with suppliers and stock teams.
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• Conducting regular store visits to ensure a relevant and competitive product offering.
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• Ensuring compliance with relevant commercial and product legislation.
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• Benchmarking products to maintain a competitive edge.
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About the Person

This role would suit someone with a retail or wholesale Buying background, ideally with experience in fresh or chilled food categories. You will be a confident negotiator with a proven track record of delivering commercial results and managing supplier relationships.

You will also bring:

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• Minimum 3 years’ experience in Buying or relevant commercial roles.
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• Strong negotiation and influencing skills.
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• Proven ability to deliver financial targets and category performance.
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• Strong analytical and decision‑making capability.
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• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence at all levels.
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• The ability to work under pressure and manage tight deadlines.
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• A collaborative approach, building strong internal and external relationships.
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What You’ll Get in Return

The role offers a competitive salary package, dependent on experience, along with a supportive, collaborative working culture where you can make a genuine impact. You’ll benefit from strong opportunities for professional development, wellbeing support, and additional employee benefits.

Due to the collaborative nature of the role, this is predominantly office‑based, working within a modern, well‑equipped environment, with occasional travel to stores and supplier sites.