Procurement Manager

Overview:

The Procurement team is responsible for ensuring that the company has a clear strategy for the acquistion of goods and services.

As Procurement Manager, you will have a passion for purchasing and want to be part of a high performing team responsible for supporting a major UK food manufacturing business.

Reporting to the Head of Purchasing, you will be responsible for managing a spend of approximately £13m per annum across a selection of food categories.

You will have a solid understanding of both the purchasing process (tender, negotiation and award ) and strategic sourcing (market data, suppy chain, cost control). You will be able to work on your own initiative as well as being an integral part of the team.

This role is based in our Trowbridge Head Office and will require some travel, primarily to UK suppliers; however this may be extended toward both European and international travel as required.

Typically 5 days a month.

Who we are:

apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings.

Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement sourcing and category plans aligned to business goals and objectives which deliver; cost leadership, innovation, service excellence and process and product improvement.
• Supplier evaluation, selection and contract management.
• Implementation of initiatives, through effective programme and project management.
• Provide regular market analysis, benchmark data and supplier evaluation, to support category planning and risk management.
• Responsible for supplier performance management and continuous improvement to ensure contracts meet and exceed business objectives of cost, quality, service and sustainability.
• Provide support and advice in the sourcing of new materials/outsourcing for product development teams.
• Provide volume and price forecasts for budget and forecasting processes. Responsible for performance reporting.
• Compliance to Procurement policies and procedures.

About you:

Essential:

• Proven strategic procurement background gained in a FMCG/material management environment
• Impactful and adaptable negotiator capable of influencing key business stakeholders and decision makers
• Sourcing and category planning/management
• Innovative thinker with ability to generate/deliver valued added procurement solutions that positively affect the performance of the business
• Highly analytical with the ability to measure and provide meaningful category management data
• Effective and adaptable communicator with strong interpersonal and relationship building skills
• Resilient and persistent with the ability to act at pace and influence decisions
• Strong personal organisation skills capable of initiating, prioritising and managing several projects simultaneously

Desirable:

• Ability to use SAP or similar ERP system
• Previous experience of purchasing, within a food environment
• Clean driving Licence
• Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) membership

Personal Qualities:

• Persuading & Influencing - Makes a strong personal impression on others; Gains clear agreement and commitment from others by persuading, convincing and negotiating; Promotes ideas on behalf of self or others.
• Planning & Organising - Sets clearly defined objectives; Plans activities and projects well in advance and takes account of possible changing circumstances; Manages time effectively; Identifies and organises resources needed to accomplish tasks; Monitors performance against deadlines- Good problem solving skills and the ability to drive for completion and delivery.
• Entrepreneurial & Commercial Thinking -Keeps up-to-date with competitor information and market trends; Identifies business opportunities for the organisation; Demonstrates financial awareness; Controls costs and thinks in terms of profit, loss and added value.
• Deciding and Initiating Action - Makes prompt and clear decisions which may involve tough choices or considered risks; Takes responsibility for actions, projects and people; Takes initiative, acts with confidence and works under own direction; Initiates and generates activity.

Company Benefits:

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
• Subsidised canteen
• Free parking
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

Our Values:

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.