About the Role
Reporting to a Buying Director and leading a team of Buying Assistants the successful candidate will help to drive sales, profitability and innovation through effective leadership, analytical skills, and passion for product.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and develop Buying Assistants, fostering a high-performance team culture, following the principles of the Aldi Management System.
- Manage supplier relationships, including selection, negotiation, performance assessment, and ongoing engagement.
- Drive category performance through strategic planning, financial analysis, and ownership of product range, innovation and quality.
- Prepare and deliver accurate forecasts, commercial recommendations, and presentations using key data insights and market intelligence.
- Support senior leadership by contributing to range planning, participating in category reviews and product sign-off, and providing cover for the Buying Director as needed.
- Responsible for the full end to end product life cycle, adhering to all key timelines and ensuring accurate product and contractual set up by the Buying Assistant team.
Benefits
- You will get 5 weeks’ paid holiday, plus bank holidays.
- Hybrid working model which will allow employees to work 2 days a week from home and 3 days a week in the office.
- Company Pension.
- Private Employee Medical Insurance.
- Long service awards and sick pay entitlement.
- Maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
- Neonatal leave (after 1 year).
Essential requirements
- Commercial FMCG supplier experience.
- Experience leading and managing a team, fostering a results-driven and market-aware working environment.
- Experience developing and presenting strategic category and business plans informed by complete product knowledge, market trends, commercial insights, and data analysis.
- Product development and negotiation experience.
Desirable requirements
- Proven people management experience with strong communication skills and the ability to produce executive-level written work.
- Demonstrates passion for the category/industry, with a strong focus on quality and attention to detail.
- Highly organized, with the ability to plan effectively, manage competing priorities, and meet tight deadlines.
- Commercially minded with strong analytical and numerical skills to support data-driven decision-making.
- Adaptable team player who has taken on cross-functional responsibilities such as mentoring or process ownership.