Job Description

Love chocolate? Make it your business.

Christmas. Valentine’s Day. Mother’s Day. The moments when the nation reaches for a gift in a box, and you could be the one making sure it’s on our shelves, at the right price and better than anyone else’s. If you’re a commercially sharp buyer who thrives on pace, negotiation and big seasonal moments, this is the role for you.

The role

As Buyer for Boxed Confectionery, you will own, deliver and optimise the buying and selling strategy for the category. Your goal is to sustainably grow market share and cash profit through a value-competitive and distinctive customer offer, in line with our vision to help everyone eat better. You will plan and trade some of our most important seasons and manage several of our largest branded confectionery suppliers.

You will have full responsibility for the commercial performance of the range across supermarket, convenience and online channels. Working with cross-functional teams, you will review the range and uncover opportunities for product improvement, new product development and cost savings through consolidation, tenders and efficiencies.

What you’ll be doing

• Getting under the skin of the market and category performance, and spotting where the next opportunity lies
• Developing and delivering a customer-focused category plan in line with Sainsbury’s corporate strategy
• Influencing key stakeholders to gain commitment to your plan
• Leading cross-functional projects through to delivery
• Working with your range analyst to build a product range that delivers a market-leading commercial advantage
• Implementing pricing and promotional strategies in line with product hierarchy guidelines
• Negotiating the best possible product cost through a thorough understanding of the end-to-end supply chain
• Supporting the Own Brand team to drive commercially favourable new product development

What success looks like

• Hitting key KPI targets for market share, profit and value competitiveness
• Supporting the delivery of shared targets across the wider team
• Building strong supplier relationships that deliver performance in line with objectives
• Driving your own personal development plan and raising your profile within the wider team

What you’ll bring (essential skills)

• Buying pedigree: demonstrable buying experience (ideally with branded products), with a track record of delivering results and being accountable for them in a fast-paced environment
• Negotiation skills: proven ability to use commercial terms, an understanding of cost drivers and the end-to-end supply chain to drive value in supplier agreements, plus knowledge of the key drivers of product cost and how to influence them
• Commercial and financial acumen: a strong commercial background and understanding of finance, with the ability to analyse financial, market and customer data to spot opportunities and understand the impact of market trends on decisions, supported by strong information management and analytical thinking
• Influence and communication: the ability to influence and manage complex stakeholder interactions, communicating clearly and showing resilience and confidence in challenging conversations, and flexing your style to inspire and engage
• Collaboration: proven cross-functional collaboration with internal teams and external suppliers, including managing supplier relationships, backed by strong team-work and effective networking
• Planning and prioritisation: strong planning and prioritisation skills, with the ability to identify issues, mitigate risk and manage your workload effectively and efficiently
• Systems and processes: knowledge of buying systems and processes

Where you’ll work

You will be based at our London Store Support Centre and from home, with regular travel to visit stores and suppliers. You will report to the Buying Manager in our Food Commercial team.

We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. Here, everything in our stores starts in Sainsbury’s Commercial. From product, proposition, packaging and price, to whether it meets our sustainability commitments or simply tastes great, our team is responsible for, all food, non- food and Clothing items available in Sainsbury’s stores, online and on demand. It’s an incredibly fast-paced environment. People here are in it together and aren’t afraid to take risks. The knowledge and experience you gain here could set you up for career moves anywhere else in the business. So, if you’re passionate about your products and just as hungry to learn, you’ll fit in perfectly.

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.

Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme, you will also be eligible for private healthcare too.

Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.

Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).