Project Manager

Foodbuy is a leading food procurement organisation based in the UK. With over £1bn of managed spend, we bring together the widest range of foodservice and hospitality clients on the planet to buy food, and everything associated with it. We work closely with our clients to deliver expert procurement services saving them both time and money and enabling them to focus on what really matters to their businesses.

We are now looking to hire a Project Manager to support the entire end-to-end design and procurement process for minor and major refurbs and new builds. You will be responsible for utilising the existing supply base as well as identifying new suppliers to ensure the design and build process operates to agreed timelines and delivers great quality at optimal cost. You will manage multiple projects across multiple sectors and support strategy, tenders / contract renewals, supplier discussions and pricing mechanisms whilst ensuring key stakeholder management.

Responsibilities:

• You will support the Commercial Director and Head of Category Development Retail & SES to develop and execute a long-term category strategy to deliver sustainable improvements in terms of cost, quality, service and innovation, in collaboration with the Foodbuy procurement team & other relevant business stakeholders.
• Identifying potential suppliers, visiting, and meeting existing suppliers, building, and maintaining relationships
• You will understand key cost drivers, industry trends and standard methodologies to design / implement the category strategy for all subcategories within your remit.
• Develop and maintain long term pricing mechanisms across the category and supply base to drive sustainable competitive advantage.
• You will be accountable for your category spend and ensure it is optimised to develop maximum value for Foodbuy and the Sectors.
• Evaluating bids with the Foodbuy sourcing team and Sectors and making recommendations based on commercial, technical, supply and quality requirements, using your category expertise and knowledge
• Support Sector queries relating to service, cost, quality, and innovation and make recommendations based on category expertise and knowledge.
• You will communicate industry trends across the business.
• Regularly review supplier KPI’s to support category growth.
• Manage category related queries from internal and external stakeholders.
• Support our sales and bid teams with content.

Key skills, knowledge and experience required:

• Strong decision maker, with good commercial acumen who is comfortable working under pressure with challenging timelines.
• Proven Project Manager capable of managing multiple builds / refurbs within agreed timelines.
• Effective interpersonal skills – excellent negotiator and strong communication.
• Ability to influence - not afraid to challenge across all levels of seniority (both internally and externally).
• Strong communication skills – able to communicate concisely and steer conversation towards decisions needed.
• Strong analytical skills with advanced knowledge of Excel.
• Proven ability to reduce cost against tough market conditions.
• Problem solving – ability to work independently to solve challenging problems.
• Confident presenter.
• Evidence of an ability to work cross-functionally.
• Ambitious high performer with excess enthusiasm, energy, passion, and resilience.
• High sensitivity to deadlines and providing information in a timely manner.

Candidate profile:

• Results Oriented – comfortable delivering against stretching targets from both a timeline and financial perspective.
• Understanding and experience of building and back of house design.
• Experience in non-food procurement / sourcing.
• Experience in delivering multiple build / design projects on time and to budget.
• Comfortable with senior stakeholder management.
• Demonstrates the required technical skills combined with enough gravitas to become recognised as a subject matter expert.
• Demonstrates the ability to develop credible business relationships within Foodbuy, Sectors and externally.

We ensure you're rewarded for all your hard work, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:

• Contributory pension scheme
• Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes
• Quick access for you and your immediate family to a Digital GP, and wider healthcare benefits
• Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more
• Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and many more
• Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster
• Receive cash rewards every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands
• Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes
• You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families