Category Buyer

Foodbuy is a leading food procurement organisation based in the UK. With over £1bn of managed spend, we bring together the widest range of foodservice and hospitality clients on the planet to buy food, and everything associated with it. We work closely with our clients to deliver expert procurement services saving them both time and money and enabling them to focus on what really matters to their businesses. As the buyer for Fish and Seafood you will support and develop the end to end procurement process for this category. You will be responsible for planning, negotiating and executing contract renewals as well as managing supplier relationships.Commercially you will be expected to support our overarching Foodbuy strategy to drive volume growth, negotiate sustainable terms & provide value and benefit to our Compass and External clients. You will also be key to supporting our CSR commitments and engaging with our culinary teams and development chefs and support their client food strategies by providing products meeting their requirements. Key responsibilities:

• You will support the Proteins Category Manager to develop and execute a long-term category strategy to deliver sustainable improvements in terms of cost, quality, service and innovation, in collaboration with the Foodbuy procurement team & other relevant business stakeholders

• Identifying potential suppliers, visiting, and meeting existing suppliers, building, and maintaining relationships

• You will understand key cost drivers, industry trends and standard methodologies to design/implement the category strategy for all subcategories in the fish and seafood category
• Develop and maintain long term pricing mechanisms across fish species & supply base to drive sustainable competitive advantage
• You will support our supply chain team to ensure on -time direct supply and supply via distributor aligned to SLA’s
• Ensure your product range is compliant to food safety regulations & CSR requirements, assuring high quality standards always
• You will be accountable for your category spend
• Evaluating bids with the Foodbuy sourcing team and making recommendations based on commercial, technical, supply and quality requirements, using your category expertise and knowledge
• You will communicate industry trends across the business
• Regularly review supplier performance to support category growth
• Manage category related queries from internal and external stakeholders
• Support our sales and bid teams with content

Candidate Profile:

• Already operating as a buyer’s assistant or Category Buyer, looking to develop and progress your career at a more strategic level
• Results Oriented – comfortable delivering against bold and stretching targets.
• Keen to develop your category knowledge and become a subject matter expert.
• Competent with procurement systems, ideally having used these in current/previous employment ability to develop credible business relationships.
• Competent with Excel and analysing data, with an ability to interpret data to support decision making.
• Passion for sustainability and responsible procurement.
• Some experience of influencing and negotiating with suppliers.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment.
• Responds positively to changing business priorities.
• Listens to others & values their contributions, receptive to new ideas, acts in an ethical & socially responsible manner.
• Keen attention to detail, energy and resilience.
• Creative thinker with a continuous improvement mindset

We ensure you're rewarded for all your hard work, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:

• Contributory pension scheme
• Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes
• Quick access for you and your immediate family to a Digital GP, and wider healthcare benefits
• Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more
• Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and many more
• Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster
• Receive cash rewards every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands
• Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes
• You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families