Senior Buyer - Pet Food
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Food Commercial
Closing date: 22 August 2025
Requisition ID: 400012558
We are looking for a Senior Pet Food Buyer to join our Trading team here at Sainsbury’s. This is an exciting opportunity to lead one of the most dynamic and high-profile categories in grocery, which has seen significant growth since the pandemic. With 60% of households now owning a pet, there's a huge growth potential in this uniquely fragmented and fun market.
As a Senior Buyer, you'll be at the heart of our Household, Baby & Pet category. You'll manage a diverse range of branded and own-brand products across ambient, chilled, and frozen lines. A key part of your role will be to optimize sourcing and sales strategies while also defining the future direction of the category, with a focus on Premium Pet, Treats and Future Pet propositions.
You will report directly to the Head of Buying and work closely with a wide, cross-functional team. If you're ready to take on a challenging and rewarding role that combines strategy, creativity, and a touch of fun, this is the perfect opportunity for you.
More about you
To be successful in this role, you will need a demonstratable ability to manage complex supplier negotiations and deliver commercial results. You should be comfortable working with data to make informed decisions and have a proactive approach to problem-solving. Collaboration is key, so you’ll need to be an effective communicator and team player.
We’re looking for someone who is adaptable, resilient, and passionate about retail and product development. You should be able to work independently while also contributing to team goals and supporting wider business objectives.
Essential Criteria
- Demonstratable experience in buying or commercial roles within retail or FMCG.
- Proven ability to manage supplier relationships and negotiate contracts.
- Experience in category management and delivering strategic plans.
- Ability to analyse data and use insights to inform decisions.
- Proficiency in using commercial systems and Microsoft Office tools.
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them: Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.
Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.
Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme, you will also be eligible for private healthcare too.
Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
