Buyer

Salary Competititve

Location St Albans

Published

Not Published

Closing

in X days

This is a Temporary, Full Time vacancy that will close in {x} days at {xx:xx} BST.

The Vacancy

JOB PURPOSE

The buyer is accountable for the commercial management of a number of small and medium size store merchandise and/or services categories. Developing category management strategies together with the Senior Buyers and Head of Trading, the buyer is accountable to drive the store sales, margins and supplier income for their portfolio. Additionally, the buyer works closely with suppliers and through deep consumer and data insights will identify ways to differentiate the offer in their areas from the competition in order to contribute to the development of distinctive market leading propositions.

Working very closely with the pricebook team, the range and space team, the 3rd party retail team and store operations management, the buyer is the decision maker for Price, Promotions, Range and Space for their areas of responsibility.

Negotiating new and existing contracts, rebates and promotional calendars with third party wholesalers, manufacturers and retail suppliers.

The Buyer will receive coaching and development from the Senior buyers and Head of Trading in taking on wider accountabilities across the team as part of your career progression.

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Managing the Category Management strategy for a series of product and services categories
Identifying the lowest cost route to market for the products and services
Working together with category supplier partners, create annual trading terms to include activations and range, space, price and promotional campaigns to drive sales, margins and central income.
Driving down net delivered cost of products, resisting cost price inflation, constantly seeking ways to reduce the overall cost of product at each stage of the value chain (manufacturer, wholesaler, direct supply, pack sizes, payment terms)
Securing supplier investment in selling secondary space: online, on forecourt and instore to drive commercial income and to drive footfall into store to drive sales and margins.
Working within the Commercial team to manage range reviews and implementation of planograms tailored to reflect the differing needs of stores by region, demographic, size and format.
Using MFG sales data, BRP supply data, IRI/Nielsen Market data to drive insights into business performance and to generate tactics to drive sales and margin and identify new development opportunities to differentiate from the competition
Take a leading role in the development of the 3rd party retail sales channel (UberEats/JustEat/Deliveroo) by engaging suppliers in emerging opportunities, ensuring commercial funding is in place to drive returns. Innovate solutions for MFG and suppliers to maximise the use of the MFG estate for B2C, B2B and Direct to consumer opportunities.
Effectively liaise with MFG’s Operations Team to ensure all set trading agreement terms and conditions are achieved in full.

WORK CONTEXT

This post is head office based with additional time spent in the field or with Trading suppliers. The amount of time spent in the field will vary according to the needs of the business. Additional hours will be required to be worked from time to time over the contracted working hours to ensure that needs of the business are met. This includes occasional weekend and bank holiday cover as required across the Commercial team.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIRED

Minimum 3 years in buying, category management roles in retail
Ideal experience within the convenience/forecourt sector
Experience of working in wholesale and 3rd party logistics business models preferred
Experience in basic category management techniques and in developing category sales and margins
Credible business to business account development skills.
Strong negotiating skills
Industry and competitive landscape awareness and industry contacts
Capable in financial planning of budgets, tracking of income streams and generating accurate and timely forecasts
Highly effective communication skills at all levels; verbal, electronic and written
Data Analytical skills, Excel and Powerpoint proficiency and insight development capability
Ability to develop positive working relationships with colleagues and external contacts

The Company

MFG is committed to being a great place to work. We are very proud of what we do and are continually striving to be better. At MFG, we encourage our people to take responsibility, embrace change and challenge the norms.

We have a culture of striving to deliver the best service to our customers while also bringing out the best in our people. We recognise the strength of teamwork and we celebrate our successes together. Our people are rewarded well for their efforts, recognising the valuable contribution that everyone makes to our business.

The Benefits

Private Healthcare

Life Insurance

Enhanced Pension Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Training & Development

Employee Recognition Scheme

Volunteer Days

Online Discounts

Our People

Nevinda Sanka Silva,
Regional Manager

"Joining MFG has provided me with an exceptional opportunity to contribute to our company’s ambitious expansion plans, as we continue to manage existing MFG sites and integrate new Morrisons fuel stations into our network. At MFG, we are dedicated to delivering exceptional service and a dual-fuel strategy for the future of mobility across the nation."

Vicki Pitcher,
HSE Manager

"MFG has provided me with the opportunity and training to develop in the direction of my chosen career path. I now support the infrastructure team and am working in a more Health and Safety focused role. I have completed the IOSH Managing Safely Course and MFG supported me in completing my NEBOSH qualification."

Maria Eaton,
Finance Director – Finance Operations

"MFG always identifies and rewards great performance. Employees are passionate about the business and the role that they each play in making it a great success."

Nick Perduno,
EV Programme Manager

"MFG has given me a fantastic opportunity to help our ambitious plan of rolling out ‘EV Hubs’ across the country. The company’s successful growth whilst remaining relatively small, in respect of staff numbers, creates a feeling of working for a ‘family business’ and being part of that family."