Buying Manager - Prepared Fruit - 12 month Parental Leave

About the role As Buying Manager for Prepared Fruit, you will lead the top growing FMCG category through insight, innovation, product development, raw material sourcing, supplier capabilities and trade driving to rival not only supermarkets but on the go food outlets.
Accountable for a £190m business spanning a ll Fruit types. This is a high priority, must win role that blends fast paced commercial delivery with long-term strategic leadership. You will manage and develop a summer intern (June-Aug), shaping the future of emerging trends in healthy snacking across both category department and front of store meal deal.
Alongside always ensuring Tesco remains the customers first choice for quality, value, and innovation. A critical part of the role is the leadership of our supplier partnerships,
What is in it for you We’re all about the little helps. That’s why we make sure our Tesco colleague benefits package takes care of you – both in and out of work. Click Here to find out more!

• Annual bonus scheme of up to 20% of base salary
• Holiday starting at 25 days plus a personal day (plus Bank Holidays)
• Private medical insurance
• 26 weeks maternity and adoption leave (12 months service required at the qualifying date) at full pay, followed by 13 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay, plus 6 weeks fully paid paternity leave
• Free 24/7 virtual GP service, EAP, and mental wellbeing support

The above information is a shortened summary, refer to our policies for full details You will be responsible for

• Owning the sales, profit and outperformance. Delivery of the budget for the area.
• Understanding our competitors, physical, online and beyond retail. Develop a market winning plan for customers across the short and long term, driving customer loyalty, Quality and innovation ahead of the market.
• Use insight tools to analyse and understand performance issues and opportunities, whilst collaborating with supplier expertise.
• Develop and deliver the category strategy, executing a market winning plan.
• Work cross functionally across Product Development, Technical and Supplier Sourcing teams to ensure we have a brilliant and profitable Tesco brand.
• Build and execute joint plans with our suppliers, both via BMGs and driving cost and complexities out of the total supply chain, aligned to the PGR.
• Work with other Buying Managers and cross-categories teams to seek new opportunities and emerging trends which play a role in growing the category.
• Identifying and assessing new and current suppliers (and capabilities) to deliver market leading product innovation, quality, availability & out performance.
• Forecasting and updating models to inform teams of cost negotiations and changes to profit delivery plans.
• Adhering to all Tesco policies, storage and handover protocols and successfully completing all my training so that I have zero GSCOP breaches.
• Ensuring all agreements are recorded in writing, reporting GSCOP complaints to Legal within 48 hours of receipt, and leading a culture of compliance within my team.

You will need

• Strong negotiation, supplier management and relationship-building skills, with experience developing grower and supplier partnerships.
• Previous buying experience preferred; ideal for an experienced Buying Manager seeking broader category exposure or accelerated career development.
• Proven category management and cross-category delivery experience.
• Strong communication, leadership and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing end-to-end NPD (New Product Development), including raw material sourcing.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.

About us You might know us as a supermarket, technology company or even for our award-winning mobile network. Truth is, we’re all of those things, and much more. Our colleagues work with one goal in mind, helping to make every day a little better for our customers, colleagues and communities all over the world. No two customers are the same, neither are our colleagues. At Tesco, we champion a balance that lets you thrive both in and out of work. Spend 60% of your week collaborating with colleagues at our office locations or local sites and the rest remotely. Whether you're just kicking off your career, juggling passions, or navigating big life events, we're here to support you. We always welcome a conversation about flexible working, so talk to us throughout your application about how we can support. We're proud to be an accredited Disability Confident Leader, where everyone’s welcome. That’s why we commit to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you need support with your application, click here  for more information. And if you're interested in joining our team but don't tick every box, don't let that hold you back from applying.