Tesco
Buying Manager - Prepared Fruit - 12 month Parental Leave
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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 all 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 the 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.
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-category 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, and outperformance.
- 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.
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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.
What's 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
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The above information is a shortened summary, refer to our policies for full details.
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.
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