Buyer

The Oval Partnership; Shepton Mallet; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading supplier of chilled food products in the United Kingdom is seeking a commercially astute Buyer to develop and implement procurement strategies. This role involves managing supplier partnerships, leading cost management activities, and ensuring compliance with food safety and ethical sourcing standards. The successful candidate will have substantial experience in food procurement, excellent negotiation skills, and a data-driven approach. Willingness to travel within the UK and Europe is required.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience buying food products/ingredients is essential.
• Ability to build a supplier management framework.
• Track record of negotiating contracts for quality and continuity.

Responsibilities

• Create and implement a procurement strategy.
• Establish formal contracts and manage supplier partnerships.
• Lead cost management and analyse commodity trends.

Skills

Proven Procurement Expertise

Negotiation Skills

Analytical Rigor

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a commercially astute Buyer to join a leading supplier of own-label chilled food products.

Reporting to the Head of Commercial and with 2 direct reports, the Buyer is a new position in their structure, responsible for the development of a defined procurement strategy and supplier management system, enabling the business to continue to grow it's offering to retail, wholesale, foodservice and industrial customers.

Buyer Responsibilities

• Strategy Development: Create and implement a formal procurement strategy, formal SLAs and KPIs are currently not in place.
• Supplier Management: Establish formal contracts and build strong supplier partnerships through structured reviews and performance tracking tools to measure quality and OTIF (On-Time In-Full) delivery.
• Collaborative Partnership: Manage supplier relationships in a collaborative, professional manner, focusing on long-term improvement plans.
• Cost & Commodity Management: Lead cost management activity, analysing spend. Closely track commodity pricing and market data to challenge suppliers effectively and deliver sustainable savings.
• Proactive Sourcing: Identifying new product and supplier opportunities to diversify the supply base in response to customer and category growth opportunities.
• Project Collaboration: Work closely with Commercial, Operations, and Technical teams to align procurement with business needs
• Compliance: Ensure compliance with food safety, sustainability and ethical sourcing standards.

What You'll Bring

• Proven Procurement Expertise: Substantial experience buying food products / food ingredients (essential)
• Strategic Mindset: The ability to build a framework for supplier management where none currently exists.
• Negotiation Skills: A track record of negotiating contracts that protect quality, value, and continuity of supply.
• Analytical Rigor: A data-driven approach with the ability to interpret commodity trends and category insights.
• Mobility: A willingness to travel within the UK and Europe to visit partners and suppliers.

Application via CV