Commercial Buyer

Farmer J Limited; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Bonus

Daily food and drink allowance

50% discount across all restaurants

Birthday paid

31 days holiday

Medicash

EAP

Green commute

Growth opportunity

Job summary

Farmer J Limited is seeking a Commercial Buyer who will lead day-to-day buying of food, drink and packaging for multiple sites and channels. You’ll work closely with the Commercial Director, marketing, operations and the food team to source and cost ingredients, set up suppliers, protect gross margins and support a fast-moving menu schedule.

You will negotiate terms, forecast costs, and manage supplier performance while ensuring on-time menu launches and accurate costings.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years' experience in buying or category roles in food service, restaurant groups, retail or food manufacturing.
• Strong grasp of COGS, gross margin, recipe costing and impact of cost/price changes on profit.
• Experience negotiating with data, securing cost reductions and price holds.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate prices, pack sizes, minimum order quantities, shelf life and delivery terms.
• Run regular forecast and price reviews with suppliers and challenge increases with evidence.
• Check invoices against agreed prices and resolve discrepancies with suppliers and Finance.
• Identify savings through range rationalisation and volume consolidation.
• Analyse waste, pack sizes and ordering schedules and their impact on P&L.
• Model profit impact of cost increases and price moves and report to Commercial Director.
• Prepare negotiation cases and commercial reports for senior leaders.
• Track supply chain risks and implement contingency plans.
• Own supplier set-up end-to-end in ordering and ERP systems.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Power BI

ERP systems

Cost modelling

Education

Degree or CIPS qualification desirable

Tools

Syrve

CrunchTime

Job description

Farmer J – Commercial Buyer

Do you “give a fork” about what you do? Do you love great food? Then this is for you!

We’re looking for a commercially astute and forward-thinking Commercial Buyer to join the Farmer J FARM-ily!

Our Commercial Buyer leads the day-to-day buying of food, drink and packaging for Farmer J, ensuring that every menu launches on time, and at the agreed cost. Working closely with the Commercial Director, marketing, operations and the food team, the role sources and negotiates ingredients and packaging, confirms raw material costs for each menu, sets up and manages suppliers, and protects gross margin as the estate grows. It is a hands‑on role in a fast‑moving, multi‑site, multi‑channel business, equally at home in a supplier’s site, a store kitchen or a costing spreadsheet.

What You’ll Be Doing As Our Commercial Buyer

• Negotiate prices, pack sizes, minimum order quantities, shelf life and delivery terms.
• Run regular forecast and price reviews with key suppliers, and challenge proposed increases with evidence.
• Check invoices against agreed prices and resolve discrepancies quickly with suppliers and Finance.
• Identify savings through range rationalisation, alternative specs and volume consolidation.
• Analyse waste, pack sizes and ordering schedules, and their impact on the P&L.
• Work closely with Operations on ease of menu implementation, recommending how best to optimise the total P&L.
• Track cost of goods and gross margin against the menu P&L, and explain variances each period.
• Model the profit impact of cost increases, spec changes and price moves, and recommend actions to the Commercial Director.
• Prepare clear negotiation cases and commercial reports for senior leaders.
• Track supply chain risks such as single-source lines, supplier exits and price volatility, and put contingency plans in place.
• Manage new supplier set‑up end-to-end: trading details, ordering method, delivery windows, and system set‑up in our ordering and ERP systems.
• Own the buying workstream on the seasonal menu critical path – new lines, delists, last and first order dates, and recommended first orders for stores.
• Source and cost new ingredients with the Food team, and confirm raw material costs before menu sign‑off.
• Trial and benchmark alternative products and suppliers where cost, quality or availability is at risk.
• Visit stores regularly to understand ordering, storage and waste, and turn store feedback into supplier and range actions.
• Support Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging data collection and reporting, and work with our compliance scheme provider.

Our New Commercial Buyer Will Have

• 3-5 years' experience in buying or category roles in food service, restaurant groups, retail or food manufacturing
• Experience reading and building P&Ls, with a strong grasp of COGS, gross margin, recipe costing and the effect of cost and price changes on profit
• A proven track record of negotiating with data, holding firm on price, terms and service, and securing cost reductions and price holds
• Experience setting up and managing suppliers, tracking performance and resolving disputes
• Understanding of fresh produce, ambient and chilled categories, shelf life and seasonality, and why accurate supplier specifications and product data matter
• Desirable: multi-site hospitality or fast-casual experience, including menu launch cycles; owning a category or menu P&L; running supplier tenders and annual price negotiations; working with wholesalers and consolidated distribution; EPR packaging reporting or food packaging sourcing; culinary or NPD background
• Qualifications: degree or CIPS qualification desirable
• Advanced Excel (lookups, pivots, scenario and cost models) and accuracy with large data sets
• Desirable: EPOS, ordering, inventory or ERP systems (for example Syrve or CrunchTime); Power BI or similar; menu engineering, price elasticity and waste/variance analysis

What's in it for our Commercial Buyer?

• Salary between £45,00 - £55,000, depending on experience.
• Annual Support Office bonus
• Daily food and drink allowance during shifts.
• 50% discount across all our restaurants when off duty.
• You will never work on your birthday, and you will be paid for it!
• 31 days holiday per year, including bank holidays, and increasing with length of service
• Medicash – subsidised healthcare cash plan
• Employee Assistance Programme by Hospitality Action
• Green commute – cycle scheme.
• A great opportunity to grow as we continue to grow!

Why Farmer J

We make good food that’s good for you, and is never boring. Whatever we do, we do it boldly. Working to achieve greatness but always maintaining humility. We’re a growing brand with big ambitions – if you want to be part of this,