Express Buying Manager GM / Non Food

Asda; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Pension matching

Car allowance £5,700

15% in-store and online discount

Wellbeing services access

Inclusion networks

Parental leave policies

Job summary

Asda House in the UK is seeking an Express Buying Manager GM/Non Food to lead the development and delivery of a commercially successful product range across the Asda Express estate.

The role focuses on driving sales growth, profitability, availability, and customer satisfaction by creating compelling ranges, negotiating with suppliers, and ensuring stores have the right products at the right price and time.

Qualifications

• Proven buying, category management, or commercial experience within retail, grocery, FMCG, or convenience sectors.
• Strong negotiation and supplier management skills.
• Commercially astute with excellent analytical capability.
• Experience managing category P&L performance.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Ability to make decisions using customer, financial, and market data.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies aligned to the Asda Express trading plan.
• Identify market trends, customer needs, and emerging opportunities within convenience retail.
• Build and manage category plans that deliver sales, profit, market share, and customer objectives.
• Monitor competitor activity and respond appropriately to market changes.
• Lead commercial negotiations with suppliers to secure best pricing, promotional funding, rebates, and trading terms.
• Build strategic partnerships with key suppliers and manufacturers.
• Conduct regular supplier performance reviews focusing on sales, availability, quality, and profitability.
• Identify new suppliers and products to enhance the customer offer.
• Develop customer-focused ranges tailored to convenience shopping missions.
• Introduce new product development opportunities and manage range reviews.
• Optimise assortment, space allocation, and product lifecycle management.
• Ensure products meet legal, compliance, and quality requirements.
• Deliver impactful promotional plans that drive footfall and basket spend.
• Work with marketing teams to maximise campaign effectiveness.
• Evaluate promotional performance and implement lessons learned to improve future activity.
• Own category P&L performance.
• Deliver sales, margin, stock, waste, and cash targets.
• Manage forecasting and budget planning processes.
• Analyse trading performance and take corrective actions where required.
• Partner with Merchandising teams to optimise stock levels and availability.
• Work with Supply Chain to improve service levels and reduce wastage.
• Collaborate with Store Operations to ensure successful in-store execution.
• Influence senior stakeholders through clear data-led recommendations.
• Use customer insight and data to shape range and pricing decisions.
• Improve the overall customer experience within Asda Express stores.
• Ensure ranges meet local customer needs and changing shopping behaviours.

Skills

Buying experience

Category management

Negotiation skills

Analytical ability

Stakeholder management

P&L experience

Communication skills

Education

Degree-level qualification

Job description

Job Title

Express Buying Manager GM/Non Food

Location

Asda House

Employment Type

Full time

Contract Type

Permanent

Hours Per Week

37.5

Salary

Competitive salary plus benefits

Category

Buying

Closing Date

26 November 2026

The Buying Manager is responsible for developing and delivering a commercially successful product range across the Asda Express estate. The role drives sales growth, profitability, availability, and customer satisfaction by creating compelling ranges, negotiating with suppliers, and ensuring stores have the right products at the right price and right time.

Working closely with merchandising, supply chain, retail operations, category planning, and supplier partners, the Buying Manager ensures that Asda Express offers a competitive and convenient proposition for customers while delivering against financial targets.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy

• Develop and execute category strategies aligned to the Asda Express trading plan.
• Identify market trends, customer needs, and emerging opportunities within convenience retail.
• Build and manage category plans that deliver sales, profit, market share, and customer objectives.
• Monitor competitor activity and respond appropriately to market changes.

Supplier Management

• Lead commercial negotiations with suppliers to secure best pricing, promotional funding, rebates, and trading terms.
• Build strategic partnerships with key suppliers and manufacturers.
• Conduct regular supplier performance reviews focusing on sales, availability, quality, and profitability.
• Identify new suppliers and products to enhance the customer offer.

Range & Product Management

• Develop customer-focused ranges tailored to convenience shopping missions.
• Introduce new product development opportunities and manage range reviews.
• Optimise assortment, space allocation, and product lifecycle management.
• Ensure products meet legal, compliance, and quality requirements.

Promotional Planning

• Deliver impactful promotional plans that drive footfall and basket spend.
• Work with marketing teams to maximise campaign effectiveness.
• Evaluate promotional performance and implement lessons learned to improve future activity.

Financial Management

• Own category P&L performance.
• Deliver sales, margin, stock, waste, and cash targets.
• Manage forecasting and budget planning processes.
• Analyse trading performance and take corrective actions where required.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Merchandising teams to optimise stock levels and availability.
• Work with Supply Chain to improve service levels and reduce wastage.
• Collaborate with Store Operations to ensure successful in-store execution.
• Influence senior stakeholders through clear data-led recommendations.

Customer Focus

• Use customer insight and data to shape range and pricing decisions.
• Improve the overall customer experience within Asda Express stores.
• Ensure ranges meet local customer needs and changing shopping behaviours.

Key Skills & Experience

Essential

• Proven buying, category management, or commercial experience within retail, grocery, FMCG, or convenience sectors.
• Strong negotiation and supplier management skills.
• Commercially astute with excellent analytical capability.
• Experience managing category P&L performance.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Ability to make decisions using customer, financial, and market data.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Desirable

• Experience within convenience retail or food-to-go categories.
• Knowledge of wholesale and convenience market dynamics.
• Experience working with own-brand and branded suppliers.
• Understanding of merchandising and supply chain processes.
• Degree-level qualification or equivalent commercial experience.

Everything you'll love

To ensure we balance moments where we know we need to collaborate together and the need for flexibility, Asda has a hybrid way of working with a minimum 3 days a week in one of our Home Offices. Over and above this, each area of Asda may have additional requirements which may require spending more days in the office, visiting suppliers, stores or depots.

You will also get an excellent benefits package including:

• Discretionary company bonus
• Company pension up to 7% matched
• Company Car allowance of £5,700
• 15% colleague discount in store and online
• Free access to wellbeing services such as Stream, 24/7 virtual GP, counselling, health and dental cash plans and a 24/7 employee assistance helpline, alongside discounts across a range of services and activities, from airport parking, enhanced to theme parks and cinemas.
• Asda Allies Inclusion Networks – helping colleagues to make sure everybody is included and that our differences are recognised and celebrated
• Excellent parental leave policies, including maternity & adoption leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave, and support for those doing fertility treatments.

We want all colleagues to be able to bring their best and true selves to work, every day. Simply put, we want our colleagues to be Proud to be Asda and proud to be themselves