Horticultural Buyer

Socium Search Ltd; Warrington; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Pension

Life assurance

Job summary

Socium Search Ltd is seeking an experienced Horticultural Buyer to manage seasonal ranges of bulbs, live plants and growing-on stock with a focus on terms, margins and availability. The role collaborates with UK and European growers, handling negotiations and product sourcing for retail, ecommerce, catalogue and wholesale channels.

You will report to the Head of Commercial, work in a hybrid setup with occasional travel to suppliers across Europe, and help modernise buying processes while driving

Qualifications

• Strong numerical and analytical skills with ability to convert data into action.
• Proven experience in supplier sourcing and commercial negotiation.
• Hands-on, collaborative working style within an established business.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage horticultural ranges across bulbs, live plants and growing-on plants.
• Lead commercial negotiations with UK and European growers and suppliers.
• Forecast demand, plan volumes, and phase deliveries with cross-functional teams.
• Own sales, margin, pricing, stock and waste performance for assigned categories.
• Provide direction to an Assistant Buyer and support process modernisation.

Skills

Numerical analysis

Negotiation

Sourcing from Europe

Collaboration

Job description

Horticultural Buyer Plants & Bulbs

Location: Manchester preferred; Lincolnshire also considered
Working pattern: Hybrid working available
Salary: £35,000£40,000
Benefits: 25 days holiday, pension and life assurance

Are you an experienced Horticultural Buyer with strong knowledge of plants, bulbs and the European supplier market?

We are recruiting for an established, family-owned horticultural business with ambitious plans for significant growth over the next five to ten years.

This is an influential buying role with responsibility for an extensive seasonal range of bulbs, live plants and growing-on plants across retail, ecommerce, catalogue and wholesale channels.

Reporting to the Head of Commercial and supported by an Assistant Buyer, you will take ownership of the day-to-day buying function. You will combine genuine horticultural knowledge with strong commercial judgement, helping to develop ranges, improve supplier terms and maximise sales and margin while managing availability, waste and terminal stock.

The role

You will be responsible for developing commercially successful, seasonally relevant horticultural ranges, ensuring the right products are sourced at the right quality, cost, volume and time.

Working with a focused supplier base across the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and wider Europe, you will lead commercial negotiations and use your product knowledge to challenge costs, specifications, volumes and delivery plans effectively.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Developing and managing ranges across bulbs, live plants and growing-on plants.
• Reviewing range structure and SKU productivity to identify opportunities for growth, innovation and rationalisation.
• Negotiating cost prices, commercial terms, volumes, specifications, delivery windows and supplier performance.
• Building productive, long-term relationships with UK and European growers and suppliers.
• Working closely with Merchandising and Supply colleagues to forecast demand, quantify ranges, plan volumes and phase deliveries.
• Owning sales, gross margin, pricing, stock, availability and waste performance across the assigned categories.
• Monitoring competitor ranging, pricing and promotional activity.
• Supporting a strong everyday-value proposition alongside selective value-added offers.
• Taking timely trading and clearance action to improve sell-through and manage terminal stock.
• Working cross-functionally with Supply Chain, Production, Marketing, Ecommerce and Wholesale teams.
• Providing day-to-day direction and development to an Assistant Buyer.
• Supporting the continued modernisation of buying processes and commercial decision-making.

About you

You will ideally bring:

• A minimum of five years buying or category-management experience within horticulture, plants, bulbs, nursery stock or a closely related live-product category.
• Strong knowledge of bulbs, plants, seasonality, quality standards and supplier capability.
• Proven experience of supplier sourcing and commercial negotiation.
• Experience of building and trading seasonal ranges with accountability for sales, margin, pricing and stock.
• Strong numerical and analytical skills, with the ability to turn performance data into commercial action.
• A practical, hands-on and collaborative working style.
• The confidence to introduce new ideas while respecting the knowledge and experience already within an established business.
• Experience of sourcing from the Netherlands, Germany or the wider European horticultural market would be particularly valuable. Dutch or German language skills would be beneficial but are not essential.

Travel

The role will involve travel between company locations and UK suppliers, together with approximately three to four European sourcing visits each year, principally to the Netherlands and Germany.

The opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity to make a visible difference within a successful, long-established horticultural business.

The company offers a friendly working environment, deep product expertise and genuine commercial headroom. For the right person, there is considerable scope to shape the range, strengthen supplier relationships, develop the buying team and help modernise the commercial approach.