Senior Wine Buyer- Grocery Retail

Salary- £55-65,000

Bonus 15%

Pension, healthcare, digital GP, retail discounts, fantastic holiday entitlement, life assurance and other benefits

Hybrid role with 3 days of office work in Hertfordshire per week.

THE BUSINESS & OPPORTUNITY

Our client is a premium grocery retailer boasting an exceptional online retail presence, together with incredible retail partnerships. High-quality wine retailing is a significant focus of this business, and we are now recruiting a Senior Wine Buyer to join the team.

This business has a vibrant and collaborative team well known for its innovative and creative approach. As Senior Wine Buyer, you will lead a highly capable team responsible for curating and buying premium wines for a discerning consumer base. Day to day, making sure the supply base is optimised, proactively using data and analysis to maximise performance to drive sales, profitability, and share growth to support the growth of the overall retail strategy.

THE ROLE

• Manage the wine category P&L and deliver against KPIs
• Complete category reviews to refine range and align to the business and category strategy, and you work with our fellow Senior Buyers, collaborate with other BWS Buyers and manage Buyer for Rosé and Commercial associate in delivering their category reviews.
• Plan and deliver trade, promotions, and events
• Identify opportunities to drive customer penetration, improve all-in margin, and negotiate with suppliers to deliver savings
• Negotiate with suppliers to agree and deliver market-leading plans aligned to the customer plan and category strategy.
• Analyse and assess performance issues and opportunities using data and reporting tools, devise and implement solutions
• Identify, analyse, and source first-to-market/exclusive product innovation using customer, market, and supplier insights to guide decision making
• Ensure range changes are aligned with the category and business strategy
• Work closely with merchandise planning and the supplier base to ensure best-in-class availability
• Identify and create plans to mitigate potential issues/events that may impact supply

KEY SKILL REQUIREMENTS & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strong retail buying experience is a must. Experience of managing and developing people is also advantageous.
• Prior wine-buying experience is preferred for this opportunity, but candidates with a keen interest in wine who have experience buying alcohol products or ambient FMCG categories are also of interest.
• Candidates will demonstrate knowledge and experience of the nuances that exist in a regulated, taxed and uniquely sourced area such as alcohol. Whether it is EPR or Duty, you know the challenges this brings and know how to navigate these aspects.
• Having a passion for wine is crucial here; our client wants you to be a trendsetter in the wine retail arena.
• Good Experience in managing a team, collaborating with Suppliers, and working with stakeholders is essential.
• Proficient in Google Suite, and understand Gemini Ai, and able to demonstrate you are embracing or open to learning the use of AI in your work.
• Leadership capability/people management
• Influencing and stakeholder management
• Very strong negotiation skills and commercial acumen
• Project management capability and able to analyse complex sets of data
• Educated to degree level and WSET qualified

Please provide your CV (in Word format) and current package information. Candidates must be based in the UK or have the right to work status for the UK market.

Candidates meeting the brief and experience requirements will be contacted within 2 weeks of their application.