Commercial Manager

ABOUT THE ROLE

Waitrose & Partners prides itself on being different. Our intention is to combine the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist food shop. Add this to our unswerving dedication to our customers and the highest respect for our suppliers (the provenance and traceability of our food is vital) and, of course, the environment and you can start to see we’re a bit more than ‘just’ a supermarket.

We are recruiting for a Commercial Manager, to join the Commercial Optimisation team.

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At a Glance

• Salary - £65,000-£98,000 

• Contract type - This is a permanent position. 

• Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The team aim for around 2-3 days a week in the office to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings. 

• Location - This role is based at our Bracknell Head Office, with occasional UK based travel to suppliers.

• Interviews will be held w/c 10th March. 

What will you be doing?

As a Commercial Manager, you will be a key member of the Commercial Optimisation team, you will define and deliver the supplier strategy framework and tools for Category Proposition Groups (CPGs). You will support the Waitrose strategy on supplier tenders and product category negotiations with linkage to range reviews and provide expert support on managing commodity and other inflationary pressures.

You will business partner the CPG Leadership team and provide senior negotiation support for the key strategic suppliers where relationships are complex due to size and exposure and importance of the supplier. You will continually upskill the capability of Waitrose Commercial through developing new and enhanced negotiation approaches and processes, tools and techniques.

Internally this is known as a Commercial Manager, however externally it may be better understood as focussed on supplier strategy and cost optimisation. 

Some of your key responsibilities will include:

• Develop complex and cross category negotiations (e.g. LTA suppliers, dedicated suppliers, cross category suppliers) in your area of business partnering

• Business partner the CPG Leadership teams

• Work closely Trading Managers, VCA team, and Category Managers in order to leverage significant efficiency opportunities

• Working with Heads of CPG to develop of long term supplier strategies and optimise ways of working with key suppliers

 

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