Junior Buyer

Job Title: Junior Buyer – Food & Ingredients

Salary: Up to £30,000 + Benefits (dependant on experience)

Location: Leeds Head Office (with UK travel)

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and commercially driven Junior Buyer to join our Procurement team within a fast-paced, multi-site food manufacturing business.

This is a fantastic opportunity to take ownership of key ingredient categories within a £70M procurement function, supporting a high-volume operation across 7 manufacturing sites. You’ll play a critical role in ensuring continuity of supply, driving cost efficiencies, and maintaining strong supplier performance.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Managing procurement of food ingredients and raw materials across defined categories
• Negotiating pricing, contracts, and commercial terms with suppliers
• Building and maintaining strong supplier relationships, ensuring performance on cost, quality, and delivery
• Identifying and delivering cost-saving initiatives
• Monitoring market trends and managing supply risks
• Supporting New Product Development (NPD) through sourcing of new ingredients
• Ensuring compliance with food safety, regulatory, and customer standards
• Working cross-functionally with Technical, Operations, Logistics, and Commercial teams
• Managing procurement data and systems (SAGE MRP or equivalent)

What We’re Looking For

Essential:

• Proven experience in a Buyer/Procurement
• role within food manufacturing or FMCG
• Strong negotiation and commercial skills
• Experience managing significant spend and supplier portfolios
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-volume environment
• Strong organisational and stakeholder management skills
• Experience with MRP/ERP systems (SAGE or similar) and Microsoft Office
• Full UK Driving Licence
• Right to work in the UK

Desirable:

• Experience sourcing across UK and EU markets
• Knowledge of commodity-driven ingredient markets
• Understanding of food safety standards (e.g. BRC, HACCP)
• MCIPS qualification (or working towards)

What Success Looks Like

• Delivery of cost savings against targets
• Consistent continuity of supply to manufacturing sites
• Strong supplier performance (OTIF, quality compliance)
• Accurate and efficient procurement processes

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a well-established, growing food manufacturing business
• Work within a large-scale, complex supply chain environment
• Opportunity to influence supplier strategy and category performance
• Collaborative, cross-functional working culture

If you're a proactive Buyer who thrives on pace, ownership, and making a tangible commercial impact — we’d love to hear from you

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