Category Buyer

Anne Corder Recruitment; Boston; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary up to £50k

Company pension scheme

Life assurance

29 days holiday including bank holiday

Job summary

Anne Corder Recruitment Ltd is working with a successful wholesale business to recruit an ambitious Category Buyer to join their procurement team in the UK. You will own a product category, negotiate supplier contracts, manage relationships, and drive sales and margin through informed buying decisions.

The role is fast-paced and focused on delivering the very best value, quality and service for customers. You will influence commercial outcomes, with opportunities for growth and professional

Qualifications

• Experience as Category Buyer, Buyer, Purchasing or Procurement.
• Proven negotiation skills with the ability to secure beneficial supplier agreements.
• Strong commercial awareness within food with the confidence to make informed buying decisions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver category and procurement plans to meet sales, margin and profitability targets.
• Negotiate supplier contracts, pricing, payment terms and service agreements.
• Build, develop and manage strong supplier relationships through regular performance reviews and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Analyse market trends, pricing, inflation risks and supplier performance to identify cost savings and category growth.
• Manage end-to-end procurement processes with accurate product and supplier data in systems.
• Source, evaluate and onboard new suppliers to strengthen the supply base and support growth.

Skills

Negotiation

Supplier relationships

Analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Commercial awareness

Category management

FMCG knowledge

Job description

Are you a commercially driven Category Buyer with experience within the food industry looking for your next challenge? Do you thrive on negotiating the best deals, building strong supplier relationships and making a real impact on business performance?

ACR are pleased to be working exclusively with a successful wholesale business to recruit an ambitious Category Buyer to join their procurement team. This is an exciting opportunity to take ownership of a product category, influence commercial decisions and work with suppliers to deliver the very best value, quality and service for our customers. If you're passionate about procurement, enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and have a talent for identifying opportunities that drive sales and margin, we'd love to hear from you.

Category Buyer's Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and deliver category and procurement plans that achieve sales, margin and profitability targets.
• Negotiate supplier contracts, pricing, payment terms and service agreements to secure the best commercial outcomes.
• Build, develop and manage strong supplier relationships through regular performance reviews and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Analyse market trends, pricing, inflation risks and supplier performance to identify opportunities for cost savings and category growth.
• Manage the end-to-end procurement process, ensuring accurate product and supplier information is maintained across business systems.
• Source, evaluate and onboard new suppliers to strengthen the supply base and support growth.

Skills & Experience Required as a Category Buyer:

• Previous experience in a Category Buyer, Buyer, Purchasing or Procurement role.
• Proven negotiation skills with the ability to secure commercially beneficial supplier agreements.
• Strong commercial awareness within food with the confidence to make informed buying decisions.
• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical skills with experience interpreting data, market trends and supplier performance.
• Knowledge of supply chain, inventory management or FMCG environments.

Benefits Package:

• Salary of up to £50k (depending on experience).
• Company pension scheme.
• Life assurance.
• 29 days holiday including bank holidays.

Anne Corder Recruitment Ltd acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and as an employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying you will be registered as a candidate with Anne Corder Recruitment Ltd, your personal data may be added to our database as part of the application process. Our privacy policy is available on our website and explains how we will use your data.

Your details will be reviewed by one of our Recruitment Partners and we will contact you again within 5 working days if your application is to be progressed further.

Please note that we are not able to provide support with visa sponsorships and all applicants must be based in the UK and hold the valid right to work in the UK