About the team

At Sainsbury’s, our Food Commercial team is at the heart of delivering our vision to help everyone eat better. We work collaboratively across supermarket, convenience, and online channels to create a distinctive and value-competitive customer offer. Innovation, strategic thinking, and cross-functional teamwork drive our success in a fast-paced retail environment.

This job advert is part of our proactive interview scheme across Food Buying at Sainsbury’s, where we interview talented individuals to benchmark and build a talent pool for future vacancies.

More about the role

As a Buyer, you will own, deliver, and optimise the buying and selling strategy for your category. You will be responsible for the commercial performance of the range, working across all channels to grow market share and cash profit. Your day-to-day will involve developing customer-focused category plans, negotiating product costs, implementing pricing and promotional strategies, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to drive product improvement and new product development.

You will lead key projects, including range reviews and supplier tenders. Your decisions will shape the buying and selling strategy, and you’ll have access to a dedicated support team and industry-leading resources to help you succeed.

More about you

You are a commercially-minded individual with a proven ability to analyse financial, market, and customer data to identify opportunities. You demonstrate accountability for results and have a track record of delivering against key performance indicators. Your negotiation skills and understanding of product cost drivers enable you to influence outcomes effectively.

You communicate clearly and work well in cross-functional teams, inspiring and engaging stakeholders to gain commitment to plans. You are proactive in managing your personal development and thrive in a dynamic environment where prioritisation and strategic thinking are key.

Essential criteria

Proven experience in developing and executing customer-focused category plans. Demonstratable ability to analyse financial, market, and customer data to identify opportunities. Experience in negotiating product costs and managing supplier relationships. Ability to lead cross-functional projects through to delivery. Knowledge of buying systems and processes, and ability to prioritise workload effectively.

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