Category Buyer - MAT Cover

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Job Reference charliebighams/TP/17383/567

Number of Positions:

1

Contract Type:

Fixed Term

Perm

Competitive Salary + Benefits

Working Hours:

40

Location:

Park Royal, London NW10

Closing Date:

18/11/2026

Job Category:

Procurement/Supply Chain

Region / Division:

Park Royal; London

Job Introduction

We are looking for a Category Buyer - MAT Cover for a 12 months fixed contract to support the Head of Procurement to develop excellent working relationships with internal and external groups in order to deliver the best quality and availability of ingredients and ensure that the food Bigham’s produces is the best in the market place, whilst achieving financial value for the business.

Based at either our Wells (Somerset) or West London kitchen. Travel to suppliers is expected and encouraged. Working from home on a minority of days is acceptable. Regular presence in both kitchens is required.

Main Responsibilities

Key Accountabilities:

• Manage the procurement of a group of product categories across both kitchen sites
• In liaison with the Director of Procurement, manage internal communication in relation to changes in materials, major price movements, delivery lead times and individual supply issues as necessary
• Own projects in order to improve ingredient supply and purchasing activity, in particular supporting the growth of the procurement function with the business.
• Solve sourcing challenges with both tactical and strategic solutions that work in the short term, but also deliver long term.
• Provide general support to the Director of Procurement including supplier correspondence, sourcing samples, attendance at meetings and recording supplier performance.
• Be the primary Bigham’s point of contact for their supply base and represent the interests of Bigham’s on supplier visits.
• Build and manage category plans for each supply base; being our in-house subject expert, with an eye on future market developments to keep us at the forefront of the category.

Key responsibilities:

• Ensure products are sourced in alignment with Bigham’s brand values and sourcing policy.
• Support the Procurement Team in it’s delivery of the annual savings target
• Ensure all supplier agreements have appropriate contractual governance in place.
• Work closely with Technical, NFD and Marketing teams to continuously develop our strategic sourcing
• Maintain regular presence at both sites to build strong internal working relationships and use remote working practices to support when face to face meetings are not possible.
• Manage PPV and work with Finance to remove issues to prevent reoccurrence
• Proactively manage supplier contract renewals
• Lead supplier performance reviews and proactively manage the supply base to improve performance.

The Ideal Candidate

Experience:

• More than two years previous buying experience in relevant categories
• Knowledge of food manufacturing supply chains

Qualifications

• Degree level education
• MCIPS desired but not essential
• Driving license (or ability to travel throughout the UK as required)

Skills:

• Commercially astute with financial understanding
• Effective communication skills at all levels and a confident presenter
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to influence at all levels
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to develop relationships
• A great organiser with attention to detail
• Good level of numeracy and literacy competent user of MS Office with intermediate Excel skills

Attributes:

• Strong quality focus
• Love of food
• Positive approach and personable
• Self-motivated – able to set and manage priorities

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