Packaging Buyer

Are you a Buyer with packaging experience or keen interest in packaging and materials

If so, we would love to hear from you!

You will be working at our modern head office on the Chichester Food Park in beautiful West Sussex.

We are one of the largest employers in the Chichester area, employing more than 1,200 talented individuals and we are growing!

This role is due to internal promotion, so it's an exciting time to join us, make your mark and be a proud part of our onward journey.

A day in the life of a Buyer:

We make delicious salad meals, coleslaw, potato salad, bagged salads and leafy salad bowls. Our products are stocked by leading Retail supermarkets & restaurant chains and consumed by millions of customers in the UK, so you may well have eaten something made by us!

Plastics and packaging are currently hot topics and as a core member of the Buying team you will be overseeing the packaging supply base to deliver the best value (price, quality, service and safety) for Natures Way Foods.

Packaging will include boxes, film, labels etc.

You should be good with numbers as part of the role will involve costings and cost analysis of ingredients. You'll be looking for the best prices, considering exchange rates if applicable and delivery costs.

You will visit suppliers located in the UK about twice per year to help build relationships and give you the opportunity to see where each product is manufactured.

Key responsibilities:

• Manage day to day contact with suppliers
• Negotiation and contract management with the strategic supply base
• Maintain and develop relationships with packaging supplies
• Ensure the buying plan is executed effectively by the material planning team
• Working with the packaging innovation manager and the packaging development technologist to deliver innovation, sustainability and cost effective packaging solutions for the business
• Delivery of cost effective & successful packaging supply base for the business
• Development and implementation of a packaging strategy

If you have previous experience of working in a supply chain function for example; Buying or Material Planning then this would be a great opportunity for you to build on your existing knowledge.

The team:

You will be joining our talented Procurement team. The team is passionate about what they do and excel at giving our customers the best ingredients and packaging for each of our products. They have built long standing customer relationships based on honesty, trust and always being able to deliver.

Your journey with us…

There's plenty of training opportunities and you'll be able to undertake internal and external training courses to build your skillset from soft skills to professional training in your area of expertise. This could include completing a CIPS qualification.

You'll be spoilt for choice with future career development opportunities at Natures Way Foods, whether you decide to climb the ladder in the Buying team or want to be the best in your area of knowledge, we will help make your career ambitions a reality.

Natures Way Foods is a growing company with ambition, our categories are growing fast, adapting to market trends and customer demands. This role will allow you to have personal development, giving you the chance to become a highly skilled individual in this category.

The Perks:

We want you to love working for us and what you do, so we have put together a great package of benefits:

• Competitive salary.
• Annual company performance bonus.
• Relocation packages available.
• Laptop and mobile phone.
• Company pension.
• 25 days holiday + 8 days bank holiday.
• Discounted gym membership.
• 1 day company paid volunteering day.
• Healthshield Perks healthcare package.
• Life Assurance policy.
• Plenty of development and training opportunities.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Exclusive online benefits and discounts.
• Business casual dress down policy.
• Free parking available across all sites.

About us:

We are Lovers of the Leaf, Kings of Coleslaw, Fanatic about our Fruit and proud of our Stunning Salad Meals!

As a private label food manufacturer, our products are sold in Retailers (including - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Aldi) and Foodservice businesses (including McDonald's, Pret and Itsu).

Our manufacturing sites are centres of excellence and have grown significantly since 1994. Natures Way Foods has a core foundation in the Chichester area, employing over 1,200 talented individuals that all have a part to play in our success story.

We are also a social bunch and get involved in a regular charitable and community projects such as Field to Fork and raising money for our chosen charity of the year.

If you want to grow your career with a supportive manager, talented colleagues and a company that champions equal opportunities - Lettuce know!



Key skills: Packaging Buyer, Packaging Procurement, Buyer, Trainee Buyer, Junior Buyer, Material Planner, Ingredients, Sourcing, Supplychain, Supply chain, Food Industry, Food Manufacturing, FMCG, Purchasing, Procurement, Retail, Fresh Produce, #Chichester, #NWF