Senior Buying Manager

Senior Buying Manager
£60,000 to £75,000 plus company car and great benefits (Work Level 5)
Manchester city centre, in this role you’ll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and coming into the office at least two to three times a week
12-month fixed-term contract

We're looking for an experienced buying professional to join us as a Senior Buying Manager. You'll take ownership of a strategically important category, using your commercial expertise to drive growth, build strong supplier partnerships and deliver great value for our customers and members.

Why this role matters

As part of our commercial transformation, you'll play a key role in shaping category strategy and driving future growth. We're investing in capability, modernising our approach, and creating opportunities for experienced buyers to make a real impact. Working in line with Co-op's values, you'll deliver commercial success in a way that's fair, sustainable and customer focused.

What you'll do

• Lead growth across your category areas, identifying emerging trends and shaping ranges that customers love
• Negotiate market-leading commercial terms and build partnerships that unlock innovation and long-term success
• Own the commercial plan, including budgets, forecasts, performance measures and strategic delivery
• Collaborate with supply chain, technical, quality, marketing and merchandising teams to create a seamless end-to-end offer
• Prioritise work and build capability within your team, ensuring strong performance and clear focus
• Represent Co-op across the supplier base and wider industry, championing high standards, strong relationships and commercial ambition
• Coach and inspire commercial analysts and assistants, helping to develop our next generation of buying talent

What you'll bring

We're committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we only ask for the minimum criteria. To thrive here, you'll need to bring:

• Significant buying, procurement, category management, or senior/national account management experience
• A proven track record of negotiation, delivering value, and building strategic, productive supplier partnerships
• Experience working with a range of commercial models and managing complex supplier relationships
• The confidence to take ownership, influence stakeholders and set clear direction in fast-moving environments
• A commercially sharp, analytical mindset, with the ability to balance customer needs, market insight and commercial delivery
• The ability to lead, motivate and develop a team to deliver against ambitious plans

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Private healthcare
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• 30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands
• Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice
• 24/7 colleague support service
• Training and support for your development and career progression
• Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion.