Food Buyer

this role of the food buyer is to purchase external brands / local sourcing products (Ambient, Frozen, Grocery & Chilled, non-food) to be sold in the stores and used as materials for cafes across MENA region.
Liaising with UK, planning, ordering, listing and forecasting M&S product for all markets in MENA and manage stocks to ensure full availability across all
MENA stores. (M&S nonfood, Café ingredients)
On-boarding suppliers and sourcing strategies.
Signing commercial agreements with suppliers and implementing in store activities related to local supplier.
Category management and store layout.
Sourcing and developing new brands and categories by analyzing the gaps opportunities vs M&S range and the markets trends
Launching new projects commercially.
Planning/achieving agreed net margins, wastage & markdown as per food strategy
Tracking and reporting key functional metrics to maximized profits, grow market share and sales, and create joined business plans for growth with regional suppliers in line with the food strategy and with M&S Plan A sustainability plan.
Maintaining and storing supplier database, contract records, product specification sheets and related documentation.
Ensuring all the sourced products meet the required quality standards and specifications as per M&S and/or country requirements
Planning, forecasting, and ordering for all the relevant product categories.
Build and develop relationships with new regional suppliers for various branded categories.
Build, manage and develop joined business plans and commercial agreements with suppliers negotiating beneficial terms for the company, optimal cost prices, BDI’s etc.
Plan and leads yearly product category reviews and benchmark.
Support the delivery of shared targets across the wider team
To research market trends, market prices and continued competitor analysis reviews to identify potential price reviews opportunities with suppliers.
Creates an annual category plan in terms of promotions, events and new product range to grow sales, profitability, and increase market share in a customer-focused manner.
Work cross-functionally and communicate weekly with Operations, Marketing, M&S UK team, Stores and Supply Chain.
Continuously searching for opportunities to maximize sales and cash margin.
Plan and implement long-term development strategies for product categories Handling recipe and menu management system for M&S Cafes within MENA region
Successfully source and manage supplier relationships to deliver performance in line with the food strategy.
Build and send category tender out to current and new supplier identify any potential cost savings.
Liaise with Logistics and the compliance team to ensure product is registered and RTM stablished before ordering.
Working closely with Digital team to build/update the online platform catalogue and maintain stock availability
Supervising Food Category Assistants Duties Liaise with the UK team to monitor the incoming shipments to avoid unexpected delays and take immediate action in case of any impact on the stock availability
Coordinating with Marketing, Food operation team and stores team for launching new ranges/events
Working closely with Logistics team to improve supply chain, reduce delivery lead time to save cost and improve stock availability especially in non- UAE markets
Build good Relationships with colleagues within M&S MENA
Build good relationships with UK M&S team, AFG Operations Team, VM Team, Marketing Team, Digital and Store Team
Provides regular feedback to team members and recognizes individuals who perform well in their role
Communicates effectively and engages team through regular updates and team briefs
Manages, develops, and defines objectives and KPI’s for his/hers Category Assistant.
Builds a strong training, recruitment, succession and engagement plan for the Hospitality team- Operation Napkin revised.
Understands Employee Engagement Survey scores and makes commitments to drive improvements across the team/department/store
Recognizes individuals and team to celebrate success
Takes an active role in ensuring all new and existing employees develop the skills and experience to perform well in their role
Implements company HR policies fairly and consistently
Able to analyze financial, market and customer data to identify opportunities.
Able to spot issues and effectively plan to mitigate risk
Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
Computer literacy, knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint & SAP
Contract negotiation skills
Outgoing, positive, willing to take challenges and work under pressure
A results-driven personality who values teamwork as an integral part of getting great results
Bachelor Degree
5+ years of experience in Food Buying in FMCG companies.
Food technical and supply chain experience would be ideal.
Understanding of buying merchandising.
Very organized, structured
Very good communication skills
Very curious and outgoing