Junior Buyer

Co-op; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job description

Junior Buyer
£32,640 - £40,000 plus excellent benefits (Work Level 6A)
Manchester city centre, in this role you’ll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home, coming into our Manchester office at least twice a week and visiting our suppliers (find out more about our hybrid working policy at colleagues.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).

We’re looking for Junior Buyers to join our brilliant Commercial team.

In Commercial, we’re all about buying the products our customers love. We’re passionate about sourcing amazing products at the best possible price. That’s what it means to us to do right by our member-owners.

But because we’re Co-op, we do things a bit differently. Getting the best value for customers can’t come at the expense of other businesses in our supply chain. We work fairly and co-operatively with all our suppliers (the clue’s in the name).

Most of all, we’re committed to doing right by you – our colleagues. You’ll work hard here, but we’ll give you balance. And we promise to protect your wellbeing through flexible working arrangements, supportive leadership and a wide range of forward-thinking people policies and services.

What you’ll do

• Take responsibility for managing and developing your section within one of our trading categories
• Source products from suppliers and leading brands, and work closely with our internal teams to deliver ranges in line with business timelines
• Drive sales and profit in line with targets, using your commercial initiative to find new opportunities for growth
• Develop a competitive range and promotional offer with a sharp eye for detail and accuracy
• Lead supplier negotiations and represent the business in supplier meetings and visits
• Work in accordance with GSCOP regulations
• Be innovative and creative with new ideas to develop your category

This role would suit people who have

• Experience of working in a commercial function
• Strong numerical and analytical skills
• Good communication and negotiation skills
• An ability to build relationships with suppliers and internal colleagues at all levels of the business
• A resilient attitude with the ability to manage multiple priorities

Why Co-op?

If you’ve got the skills and experience we’re looking for, we can offer you a competitive salary and great benefits package which includes 30% off Co-op branded products in our food stores (as well as other discounts on Co-op products and services). You’ll also get:

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• Coaching and training to support your career development
• Wagestream – a money management app that gives you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it

Building an inclusive work environment

At Co-op, we’re proud to do things a different way. As one of the world’s largest co-operatives, owned by millions of members, community is at the heart of what we do. Since our Co-op was founded in 1844, we’ve had a clear social purpose, and everything we do as a business helps to build a fairer world for our members, customers, colleagues, and communities.

We’re actively building diverse teams and we welcome applications from everyone. If you have a disability, we can make reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process according to your needs. We're also part of the Disability Confident scheme, meaning we'll always offer an interview to disabled candidates who apply through the scheme if they meet the minimum criteria for a job.

If we invite you to take part in the recruitment process for any of our jobs, we’ll ask you if you need any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate.

You can find out more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process.

You can find out more about the Disability Confident scheme and all our commitments to diversity and inclusion at colleagues.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion-and-wellbeing.

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes between 45-60 minutes.

Please note that we may close applications for this role early.