Senior Food Buyer

**Responsibilities**:

- Establish and implement a category strategy in line with a food strategy to deliver targets and grow customer base
- Identify, analyse and interpret lifestyle, industry, retail and food trends to establish a category strategy and an annual operating plan
- Play a leading and co-ordinating role within the product development and food technology teams to source, produce and buy food products in support of our food strategy
- Perform end-to-end commercial activities relevant to procurement of food products
- Identify, evaluate and manage suppliers through building and maintaining strong, sustainable relationships with both new and existing suppliers, whilst drawing on experience from the industry to optimise supply and profitability
- Manage supplier and farm supply production profit to achieve all KPI's
- Establish a supplier strategy that is long-term mutually beneficial, which supports and enables the delivery of the category and food strategies
- Prepare and review proposals, contracts and supplier agreements for retail and legal correctness, trading term compliance, price, and acceptability of items to specifications and competitiveness with market position
- Drive category profit targets in line with the company's brand values
- Manage buying stock and losses in line with targets and category strategy
- Manage risk and procedures associated with food products
- Ability to actively review factors influencing trade such as economic climate, competitor activity, climatic changes, shopping habits, and customer trends, and implement tactical plans to meet demands and targets in line with the category strategy and company brand values

**Key Skills**:

- Fluent in Afrikaans and English, with excellent written and verbal communication skills,
- Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills,
- Good planning and project management skills,
- Strong financial buying and financial management skills, in particular cost make up, cost controlling, profit management and financial reporting capabilities,
- Knowledge of logistics/warehousing, delivery systems and procedures, end-to-end supply chain process, and key influencing factors,
- Entrepreneurial approach to initiating and co-ordinating innovative, viable product ranges for our customer target,
- Strong customer and retail orientation,
- Excellent computer skills in all facets of use as buying tool.

**Qualifications**:

- A relevant commercial degree/diploma
- Minimum 5-8 years’ fresh food retail buying experience
- Previous experience in a procurement management role, with demonstrable results in complex buying within a fresh food manufacturing environment, are essential.