Al-Futtaim Hiring for Food Buyer Job at Dubai Full Time

Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United A”rab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world’s most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group’s entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organisation to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.

By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day.

About the Role

The role of the food buyer is to purchase external brands / local sourcing products (Ambient, Frozen, Grocery & Chilled, non-food) to be sold in the stores and used as materials for cafes across MENA region.

The job holder is responsible for the following:

• Sourcing and developing new brands and categories.
• Launching new projects commercially.
• Planning/achieving agreed net margins, wastage & markdown as per food strategy
• Tracking and reporting key functional metrics to maximized profits, grow market share and sales, and create joined business plans for growth with regional suppliers in line with the food strategy and with M&S Plan A sustainability plan.
• Liaising with UK, planning, ordering and forecasting M&S product for all markets in MENA and manage stocks to ensure full availability across all MENA stores. (M&S nonfood, Café ingredients)
• On-boarding suppliers and sourcing strategies.
• Signing commercial agreements with suppliers and implementing in store activities related to local suppliers
• Category management and store layout.

Key Role Specific Accountabilities

Food Operation

• Planning, forecasting, and ordering for all the relevant product categories.
• Build and develop relationships with new regional suppliers for various branded categories.
• Build, manage and develop joined business plans and commercial agreements with suppliers negotiating beneficial terms for the company, optimal cost prices, BDI’s etc.
• Maintaining and storing supplier database, contract records, product specification sheets and related documentation.
• Ensuring all the sourced products meet the required quality standards and specifications as per M&S and/or country requirements

Delivery Management

• To research market trends, market prices and continued competitor analysis reviews to identify potential price reviews opportunities with suppliers.
• Creates an annual category plan in terms of promotions, events and new product range to grow sales, profitability, and increase market share in a customer-focused manner.
• Plan and leads yearly product category reviews and benchmark.
• Support the delivery of shared targets across the wider team

Vendor Management

• Successfully source and manage supplier relationships to deliver performance in line with the food strategy.
• Build and send category tender out to current and new supplier identify any potential cost savings.
• Liaise with Logistics and the compliance team to ensure product is registered and RTM stablished before ordering.
• Work cross-functionally and communicate weekly with Operations, Marketing, M&S UK team, Stores and Supply Chain.
• Continuously searching for opportunities to maximize sales and cash margin.
• Plan and implement long-term development strategies for product categories Handling recipe and menu management system for M&S Cafes within MENA region

Product Management

• Working closely with Digital team to build/update the online platform catalogue and maintain stock availability
• Supervising Food Category Assistants Duties Liaise with the UK team to monitor the incoming shipments to avoid unexpected delays and take immediate action in case of any impact on the stock availability
• Coordinating with Marketing, Food operation team and stores team for launching new ranges/events
• Working closely with Logistics team to improve supply chain, reduce delivery lead time to save cost and improve stock availability especially in non- UAE markets

Stakeholder Management

• Build good Relationships with colleagues within M&S MENA
• Build good relationships with UK M&S team, AFG Operations Team, VM Team, Marketing Team, Digital and Store Team

People Development

• Provides regular feedback to team members and recognizes individuals who perform well in their role
• Communicates effectively and engages team through regular updates and team briefs
• Manages, develops, and defines objectives and KPI’s for his/hers Category Assistant.
• Builds a strong training, recruitment, succession and engagement plan for the Hospitality team- Operation Napkin revised.
• Understands Employee Engagement Survey scores and makes commitments to drive improvements across the team/department/store
• Recognizes individuals and team to celebrate success
• Takes an active role in ensuring all new and existing employees develop the skills and experience to perform well in their roles
• Implements company HR policies fairly and consistently

About You

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree in business administration or related field

Minimum Experience and Knowledge:

• 5 Years of experience in Food Buying in FMCG companies.
• Food technical and supply chain experience would be ideal.

Job-Specific/Technical Skills required to complete the tasks:

• Able to analyze financial, market and customer data to identify opportunities.
• Able to spot issues and effectively plan to mitigate risk
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
• Computer literacy, knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint & SAP
• Contract negotiation skills
• Outgoing, positive, willing to take challenges and work under pressure
• A results-driven personality who values teamwork as an integral part of getting great results

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Before you click “apply”: Please read the job description carefully to ensure you can confidently demonstrate why this opportunity is right for you and take the time to put together a well-crafted and personalised CV to further boost your visibility. Our global Talent Acquisition team members are all assigned to specific businesses to ensure that we make the best matches between talent and opportunities. We not only consider the requisite compatibility of skills and behaviours, but also how candidates align with our Values of Respect, Integrity, Collaboration, and Excellence.

As part of our candidate experience promise, we also want to make ourselves available to you throughout the application process. We make every effort to review and respond to every application.