Senior Buyer, Wines

John Lewis plc; Bracknell; On-site; GBP 69,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

John Lewis Partnership, on behalf of Waitrose and Partners, is seeking a Senior Wine Buyer for a 12-month fixed-term contract in Bracknell. You will curate wine selections, build strong supplier partnerships and own the annual category plan across channels.

The role requires wine expertise (WSET Level 4 Diploma or Master of Wine), strong negotiation, and cross-functional leadership. Expect a hybrid working pattern with some travel; lead a pod of Buyers to deliver profitable growth.

Qualifications

• Wine qualification (WSET Level 4 Diploma or Master of Wine) or demonstrable wine tasting experience.
• Experience as Wines Buyer or equivalent commercial role.
• Experience of cross-functional matrix working.
• Strong negotiations skills are critical to success in this role.
• Ability to translate vision into category plan.

Responsibilities

• Select a portfolio of wines within allocated regions and countries.
• Negotiate supplier terms and contracts, including price and marketing support.
• Deliver category KPIs such as Sales, Profit and Market Share.
• Lead a Category Pod and collaborate with cross-functional teams to achieve targets.
• Coach and mentor L7 Buyers to develop buying capability.
• Drive efficiencies with suppliers and supply chains.

Skills

Wine knowledge

Negotiation

Analytical

Cross-functional work

Supplier management

Influencing

Education

WSET Level 4 Diploma

Master of Wine

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking an experienced and passionate Senior Wine Buyer, to join the team here at Waitrose and Partners, on a fixed term contract for 12 months.

In this role, you will focus on cultivating strong supplier partnerships, understanding customer needs, and actively seeking exceptional products to delight our audience.

Key responsibilities include analysing category performance, monitoring market trends, and identifying growth opportunities. You will own the creation of the annual category plan and lead its execution across all channels alongside cross-functional partners.

Working closely with marketing and sales specialists will be vital to effectively defining and activating our strategy. Experience in the Wine category is essential, along with strong commercial acumen, supplier management capability and appetite to deliver.

As a Senior Buyer, you will be a strategic leader within our business, playing a key role in driving our ambition for growth and embedding the right culture. You are accountable for translating overall business visions into high-impact, category-level commercial plans. Leading a cross-functional Pod of multiple Partners, you will develop and deliver optimised range, pricing, and promotional strategies for your categories to drive profitable growth.

In doing so, you will actively encourage end-to-end thinking to inspire ownership, promote efficiency, and deliver these results in a sustainable way. You will become the authoritative expert for your categories. You will be empowered to build a clear supplier strategy for your area and to independently create and nurture strong supplier relationships which are critical to our success.

You will actively pursue cost-saving opportunities whilst maintaining quality and ethical standards. In particular, you will have an ‘always on’ approach to cost of goods management, building a strong understanding of the cost composition of the products you buy and ensuring that this is optimised at all times.

In a fast-paced supermarket retail environment, you will be both action-orientated and results-focused but, importantly, will also fully embrace the Partnership Behaviours in the way in which you operate.

You may also be a Line Manager for L7 Buyers or other Partners in the Trading Team; however, irrespective of formal reporting lines, you will actively mentor and support less experienced members of the team to build wider-ranging capability.

You will lead or contribute to wider projects, while championing new systems, processes, and ways of working to ensure that the Partnership remains a market leader with a continuous improvement mindset.

Expected salary - Salary up to £80,000 depending on experience.

Contract type - This is a 12 month Secondment/ Fixed Term Contract.

Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. Alongside this we have also signalled a clear intent for Central teams to work ‘more in person than not.’ For the Waitrose Trading Team this means 3 days a week of in-person time but it is not a hard and fast rule requiring everyone to be in the office 3 days a week. Supplier visits, time in our shops and time in the office all contribute to this requirement.

Travel including overseas travel may be required.

Location - Bracknell.

Please note there will be a 2 stage interview process. The first stage will be about exploring your skills and experience in relation to the role and will be virtual. There is no pre-work required for this interview. If you are successful following this stage you will be invited to a second stage interview which will be held in person at our Bracknell Head office on Friday 9th October and will involve a tasting exercise as part of the process.

Key responsibilities

• Responsible for selecting a portfolio of wines within allocated regions and countries.
• Accountable for the negotiation of all supplier terms and contracts, including price and marketing support
• Commercial Delivery including Buying responsibility for large or complex Category Pod and Delivering category commercial targets and direct KPIs such as Sales, Profit and Market Share
• Through Horizontal Working help ensure Category Pod (Brand Development, Technical, Space and Value and Supply Chain) delivers its Indirect Shared KPIs; consistently demonstrating and developing an in-depth knowledge of relevant demand categories, target customers and the market dynamics and translating this knowledge into business opportunities.
• Management of the Category Pod suppliers, including selection of appropriate supply base, being responsible for annual terms preparation and negotiation, agreeing and tracking performance against Supplier Joint Business Plans, and unlocking efficiencies with suppliers and supply chains.
• Working in a Category Pod, consisting of but not limited to Buyer, Merchandiser, Supply Planners, Technologist, Product Developer, deliver shared KPIs for the pod through collaborative working.
• Manage, coach and train L7 Buyers to deliver the above team purpose for their Category Pod by role modelling horizontal working, supporting negotiations and supporting escalations.
• Upskill and develop buying skills of the Buyers through peer to peer coaching and mentoring to facilitate cross pollination between Category Pods.
• Facilitate horizontal working across Category Pods.

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Wine qualification (preferably WSET Level 4 Diploma or Master of Wine) and/or demonstrable experience in wine tasting for value assessment, independently blending wines and with responsibility for quality assurance.
• Experience as a Wines Buyer or equivalent commercial role
• Experience of cross-functional matrix working
• Experiencing of engaging and influencing at multiple levels within a commercial organisation
• Clear understanding of GSCoP, Competition Law and other legislation relevant to a Buying role
• Strong negotiations skills are critical to success in this role
• Ability to translate the Business and relevant Category Proposition Group vision into an effective plan at category level
• Analytical skills
• IT literacy
• Decision making
• Influencing Supplier relationship management
• Cross-functional working

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• GAP, Scotwork or equivalent advanced negotiation training
• Relevant professional qualifications

Pay: £68,900.00 - £105,200.00 Annual Contract Type: Temporary Hours of Work: 35 hours per week Job Level: Partnership Level 5 Where You'll Be Working: Bracknell Campus, Doncastle Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YA

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose.

We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world.

As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose. As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

• It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates).
• Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.
• We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible.