Commercial Manager in Newtownabbey

At Henderson Group, we are proud to be one of Northern Ireland's leading organisations. Employing more than 5,500 colleagues across the UK and Ireland, the group encompasses Henderson Wholesale, Henderson Retail, Henderson Foodservice & Henderson Technology. Henderson Wholesale is a leading Wholesaler in Northern Ireland, supplying goods to over 450 stores across various brands including SPAR, EUROSPAR and VIVO. We source from local farmers, growers and producers and are proud to contribute to our local economy and environment. We achieved Gold accreditation against the Investors in People standard framework in 2023 in recognition of people management excellence and our commitment to investment in people.

This key role sits within our Henderson Wholesale Fresh Foods Trading/Category Management team. The role will be focused on developing butchery concessions in our independent and company-owned retail estate, including range development, central controlled models and driving bulk meat sales across the group. The successful candidate will work in partnership with retailers and butchers to add value to their business by ensuring that consumer needs are anticipated and exceeded, and that exceptional standards of service, availability and product quality are provided. This role will be very well suited to a candidate who is results driven, commercially adept and can build successful relationships with customers and other key stakeholders to deliver commercial success.

Working as Commercial Manager, you will:

• Build and manage business relationships with butchers in concessions across the SPAR/EUROSPAR/VIVO/VIVOXTRA estate (both independent retailers and company-owned stores), understanding their needs and adding value to the business.
• Advise/coach retailers/butchers to build sales in the department.
• Advise/coach retailers/butchers to manage costs and maximise profitability in the department.
• Advise/coach retailers/butchers on the maintenance of exceptional standards of butchery, food hygiene, food safety, legislative and labelling compliance, and merchandising.
• Target opportunities to drive bulk meat sales to the concessions across the entire Henderson Group estate and support the roll out of any new projects within the business.
• Complete key market research on range and commercials and clearly communicate insights, contributing to commercial plans.
• Identify trends in the butchery market and make recommendations for development of new and existing product ranges for central controlled outlets.
• Propose and manage promotional/seasonal product selection and new product launches.
• Collaborate with the trading/category management team to develop and implement innovative business development plans/activity/objectives for concession butchery across the group.

Skills for Success

Joining us as Commercial Manager, the minimum criteria you will need is:

• Good working knowledge of the butchery function within a supermarket environment, including food safety & hygiene requirements.
• Strong commercial and financial awareness to drive sales and profitability.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships, coaching others to succeed.
• Full and valid driving licence and preparedness to travel daily between stores.
• Strong influencing skills with the ability to sell concepts and ideas to all levels within the business and externally to our retail partners.
• Proficient IT skills, including Microsoft Office 365 Suite (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, SharePoint).

The essential attributes we are looking for:

• A can-do approach to business development and a strong desire to succeed.
• A good eye for detail and ability to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Ability to work independently and on own initiative.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

It is desirable if you have:

• Previous butchery experience.
• Experience in the development of butchery counters and prepack meat solutions.
• Relevant butchery/meat qualification(s).
• A good understanding of the protein supply base across the Island of Ireland.
• A strong track record of innovation in butchery.

As part of this role, it will be important that you feel aligned with the values that we live and work by:

• Ambition: We always strive to be better. We seek new challenges and look for ways to do things better.
• Customer First: We provide exceptional service. We put customers at the heart of everything and support our communities.
• Teamwork: We succeed together. We help colleagues to succeed, and we share our knowledge and skills.
• Integrity: We are fair, honest and ethical. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are inclusive and champion diversity.

The impact you can make with Henderson Group goes far beyond your day-to-day role. You will be part of a business that places our local communities at the heart of what we do and is committed to social responsibility. We are an Investors in People GOLD Accredited employer - we value employee development and heavily invest in our people, creating many opportunities for career development. Benefits include market competitive salary, company vehicle and reimbursement for company mileage, bonus incentive scheme, contributory pension scheme, healthcare, life assurance, employee assistance programme, social club, staff discount (grocery/fuel) at Henderson Group company-owned stores, and many more.

This is a full-time position working 36.5 hours per week. Working hours will be 8:45am-4:45pm Monday to Thursday and 8:45am-3:45pm Friday.

If you would like to speak with us before making your application, our Talent Acquisition Specialist would be happy to have a confidential chat with you about the role on offer.

Completed applications must be submitted online by midnight. We are an equal opportunities employer.