Category Buyer Administrator

Chartwells Independent; Chertsey; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

Foodbuy is seeking a Category Administrator for a maternity cover contract with hybrid working options in Chertsey or London. The role focuses on providing essential administrative support to the category development team, handling supplier and client queries, contracts, prices, and reporting, while coordinating communications and meetings.

The successful candidate will be highly organized, proactive, and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment, with strong IT skills and a

Qualifications

• Experience in business administration or team support.
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills.
• Strong attention to detail and high accuracy.
• Confident written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong IT capabilities and ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Flexible, team-focused approach with a can-do attitude.
• Ability to use initiative and work independently.
• Confidence managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to the wider category team.
• Respond to supplier, client, category inbox and helpdesk queries.
• Gather information from different data sources and present it clearly.
• Support contract and price change administration.
• Upload relevant documents to the Scanmarket e-platform.
• Coordinate client communications and product sampling sessions.
• Prepare meeting agendas and supporting content.
• Capture actions, maintain minutes and follow up with colleagues.
• Support ad hoc projects and ensure actions are completed.
• Build strong working relationships with internal teams.
• Provide an initial contact for supplier invoice queries.

Skills

Organisational skills

Time management

Attention to detail

Written & verbal communication

IT proficiency

MS Office (Excel/PowerPoint)

Initiative & independence

Multi-priority handling

Team collaboration

Tools

MS Office Suite

Job description

Maternity Cover, Fixed-Term Contract
Hybrid working: Chertsey or London, minimum two office days per week

About Us:

Foodbuy is a leading UK food procurement organisation, managing more than £2.5 billion of spend across a diverse range of foodservice and hospitality clients.

Proudly part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, we combine unrivalled purchasing scale, specialist procurement expertise and outstanding data analysis to deliver genuine value for our clients. Our team works with leading manufacturers, growers, recognised brands and regional suppliers to help organisations save time and money while focusing on what matters most to their businesses.

The Role:

We are looking for an organised, proactive and detail-focused Category Administrator to join our Category Development Team on a maternity cover contract.

You will provide essential administrative support across the category function, helping the team manage supplier and client queries, contract and price changes, reporting, communications, meetings and day-to-day category activity.

This is a varied and fast-paced role where you will work closely with internal teams, suppliers and clients. It would suit someone who enjoys taking ownership, managing multiple priorities and keeping people and processes organised.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to the wider category team
• Respond to supplier, client, category inbox and helpdesk queries
• Gather information from different data sources and present it in a clear, accessible format
• Support contract and price change administration
• Upload relevant documents to the Scanmarket e-platform
• Coordinate client communications and product sampling sessions
• Prepare meeting agendas and supporting content
• Capture actions, maintain accurate minutes and follow up with colleagues
• Support ad hoc projects and ensure agreed actions are completed
• Build strong working relationships with relevant internal teams
• Provide an initial point of contact for supplier invoice queries

What We’re Looking For

• Previous business administration or team support experience
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills
• Strong attention to detail and a high level of accuracy
• Confident written and verbal communication skills
• Strong IT capabilities and the ability to learn new systems quickly
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint
• A flexible, team-focused approach with a positive, can-do attitude
• The ability to use initiative and work independently
• Confidence managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment

Why Join Foodbuy?

This is an excellent opportunity to join a collaborative and commercially focused procurement business where your contribution will support the smooth running of a busy category team.

You will gain exposure to procurement processes, supplier and client relationships, category data and commercial administration while working within one of the UK’s leading food procurement organisations.

If you are highly organised, confident with data and systems, and enjoy providing dependable support to a busy team, we would love to hear from you.