Supply Chain Manager

REQUIREMENTS
Minimum education (essential):

• Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Commerce, Business, or a related field

• MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification

• Minimum 10 years' experience in supply chain, procurement, logistics, category management, or inventory management within an FMCG or retail environment

• Procurement and strategic sourcing
• Supplier relationship management
• Inventory planning and optimisation
• Category management and merchandising
• Distribution operations
• Demand planning
• Commercial negotiations
• Retail supply chain management

• Strategic sourcing and procurement
• Advanced negotiation skills
• Category management and merchandising
• Commercial and financial acumen
• Data-driven decision making
• Supplier relationship management
• Leadership and people management
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and reporting skills

• Develop and implement procurement strategies that support business growth and profitability
• Negotiate supplier agreements, trading terms, rebates, settlement discounts, and promotional support
• Manage and review annual supplier agreements across a diverse supplier base
• Identify opportunities for supplier consolidation and strategic sourcing
• Build and maintain strong supplier partnerships to improve service levels, product availability, and commercial performance
• Ensure supplier compliance with contractual, quality, and service requirements
  
  

• Lead category planning and product range development across multiple retail categories
• Drive strategic product selection based on customer demand, market trends, and profitability
• Develop category growth plans, pricing strategies, and promotional initiatives
• Monitor category performance, sales trends, margins, and stock turns
• Identify opportunities to improve category profitability and market share
• Analyse competitor activity and market trends to ensure a competitive product offering
  
  

• Manage supplier rebate programmes and maximise rebate recovery opportunities
• Drive gross profit growth through effective pricing, negotiations, and category optimisation
• Monitor category budgets and purchasing expenditure
• Analyse sales, margin, and inventory data to support commercial decision-making
• Ensure inventory levels are optimised to minimise stock-outs and excess stock holdings
  
  

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Category Managers/Specialists and Category Clerks
• Establish clear performance objectives and accountability measures
• Foster a high-performance culture focused on customer satisfaction, profitability, and continuous improvement
• Support succession planning and talent development within the procurement team
  
  

• Collaborate with Marketing to deliver successful national promotions and campaigns
• Support Distribution Centre operations to ensure product availability and efficient stock flow
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across procurement and category management processes