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An excellent opportunity for someone looking for a great launch into their buying career, ideally with some buying, retail or commercial admin experience.

Working under the supervision of an experienced Food To Go Buyer and Food Buying Manager, you will have training, support and mentorship to both take ownership of your own category and to learn take on areas within Food To Go to further support your development.

Job Purpose

At WHSmith our people are at the heart of everything we do. They are the ones that go the extra mile for our customers. The ones that enable our growth. That’s why our Commercial team is passionate about creating an environment where people can be creative, innovative in order to do their best work.

As a Junior Buyer, you will drive the commercial performance of your category across all our formats. You will be the key decision maker with the autonomy to deliver your category strategy.

Over the last 12 months we've been scaling up our Food team, bringing in experience from across the supermarkets, convenience and food service retailers in a high profile priority growth area for WHSmith Travel. During that time we've made huge strides in our product offer and supplier relationships and we're now looking for someone to join us on that journey.

Who we are

Celebrating 230 years, we’re proud to have grown and evolved into a globally recognised brand present in over 30 countries around the world, and we’re proud to be that air of familiarity people love and trust on their journey, both in life and through life. As a diverse group of over 11,000 colleagues, we are all on the same journey to a better business through our commitments to our planet, people and the communities we serve.

For UK Travel our mission is simple - to create value for our stakeholders by providing a platform for global brands responsible for essentials and technology in airports (including our InMotion stores), hospitals, rail stations and other markets. Our office is based in a buzzing part of central London close to Liverpool Street Station. We are an ambitious team that thrives on pace, collaboration and innovation resulting in a real entrepreneurial culture at all levels. It’s perfect for people who are happy to use their initiative and embrace life outside their comfort zone.

• Learn to report on and track against your category performance vs KPIs
• Develop your skills to analyse data and insights to make decisions and recommendations
• Be supported in sourcing products and suppliers to build the assortment for your area to help achieve your KPIs
• Learn on the job about how to continue create value in a buying environment, collaborating internally and with suppliers
• Develop under supervision the trade plan for your category
• Learn how to build and implement the pricing and promotional strategy for the category
• Lead on negotiations for pricing, contracts, terms and joint business plans with mentorship in the preparation and support throughout the process
• Work within a framework to manage your supplier base through Weekly/Monthly/Quarterly supplier review meetings
• Deliver small projects and trials within your area, collaborating cross functionally

• Previous buying/commercial experience at admin level
• Computer literate - experience using Microsoft Office (Excel and PowerPoint)
• Great at relationships
• Excited by the idea of negotiating
• Enjoys a fast paced environment
• Good with numbers and understanding customers
• Ability to demonstrate problem solving skills
• Proactive and resourceful Great team player