Do you have buying and supplier negotiation experience? Enjoy working within a fast paced retail trading environment? Do you enjoy the benefits of working together in person as a team blended with the flexibility of remote working?
We have ambitious plans... transformational plans, creating an opportunity for a Procurement / Buying Manager to identify and deliver projects that improve profitability of the products we buy and sell across the Wickes business.
Being right at the heart of our ambitious commercial strategy, working closely with the Wickes Trading team and Category Managers, this is a broad role across all categories where you will have a unique opportunity to provide commercial analysis to support commercial tenders, ensure procurement governance, and that ultimately we are driving the best value from our suppliers.
Activities in the role are varied but you will have the opportunity and autonomy to identify and deliver projects improving profitability, including our annual global buying improvements programme.
Don’t worry if you do not have specific experience within our sector, you may be in a similar procurement manager role (including GNFR), or potentially looking for a move from a buying manager, category manager, commercial project manager, or perhaps a commercial finance analyst role - it is the blend of a commercial and analytical mindset and project management skills that we are looking to bring to the team.
Role Purpose:
The Buying/Procurement Project Manager role will have overall accountability within Strategic Procurement for managing the financial reporting of our supplier income and cost of goods programmes as well as delivering their part of the annual globally supplied buying improvements plan.
The Buying/Procurement Project Manager will originate, define, plan and manage a variety of Projects to help the Category Management Team buy at the best possible price to maximise profit, managing cross-functional teams, project dependencies, risks and issues, and have a clear and co-ordinated strategy to communicate to all key stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
Key Accountabilities:
Buying Project Management:
Deliver the financial targets set out in the annual buying improvements plan, as measured in a reduction in the cost of goods sold
Analyse and report the financial performance of each project to key stakeholders; compile post implementation reviews to understand learnings for future projects
Initiate, design and plan future initiatives that feed into a continually evolving pipeline of efficiency projects
Manage buying projects that vary in complexity from single product tenders to those covering hundreds of products and entire categories
Financial & Analytical Skills:
Provide financial insights into COGs savings initiatives and suppliers terms improvement and review profitability through analysis and commentary
Review and evaluate the information provided by the business and suppliers through terms negotiations clearly highlighting associated benefits and risks
Ability to dive deep into data, existing processes, and technology challenges in order to identify issues and opportunities.
Data and Technical skills:
Data management: data cleansing to improve data quality, interrogating high volume of data with a view to offering commercial insights
Undertake various reconciliations to ensure the integrity of analytical data
Developing processes to realise efficiencies
What are we looking for:
Bringing a proven track record of commercial success, you will be highly motivated, innovative, tenacious and able to work in a fast paced environment. You will be able to manage projects efficiently and get the best out of people - you will be adept at holding stakeholders to account and escalating challenges as appropriate.
You will have strong analytical skills and have a keen eye for detail as well as being able to look across categories to pick out company-wide trends and opportunities. You will be inquisitive by nature, always looking out for new ways of delivering incremental profit.
What can we offer you?
You’ll be supported with fantastic learning and development and have the opportunity to grow and develop your career with us
We’ll also equip you with a benefits package that includes
Competitive bonus
Save-as-you-earn scheme
Private Medical and Life Assurance
Contributory pension scheme
Colleague discount
Discount platform including savings and cash back at numerous retailers, savings on gym membership, cycle to work scheme
Our widely recognised wellbeing strategy is something we’re proud of at Wickes. As part of this, we offer a range of health and wellbeing benefits and support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, financial education & loans, and access to parental, menopause and fertility support.
We have recently re-opened our Support Centre in Watford, where our Commercial team are based, along with our other support functions. We recognise the value of bringing our teams together to collaborate, support each other and build on our amazing culture. We are also encouraging our teams to work flexibly, with a blend of remote / office working.
About Us:
Wickes is a multi-channel retailer operating in the home improvement market. With 40 years in industry, Wickes now generates revenue in excess of £1.3Bn across 230 stores delivered by 8,000+ colleagues.
But it is the Wickes’ culture that is considered its best kept secret; it’s a collaborative, down to earth, fun and inclusive environment where people feel part of a winning team. All our colleagues come from different backgrounds, but what we all have in common is a determination to succeed and a passion for being the best we can be. If that sounds like you, we’ll make you feel right at home.
Please note: All offers of employment are subject to DBS / background checks.
"Please contact us if you require any adjustments within the application process, wickesrecruit@wickes.co.uk If you require any reasonable adjustments at the interview stage you will have an opportunity to inform us when we invite you to interview.”
