Junior Sourcing Specialist - Food
Dnata · Cranford, Hounslow
Our estimate of how close this job is to decisions about what protein a business sources, specifies, buys and serves. How we score
Why this role matters
How close this job is to real sourcing and menu decisions.
Inflight catering menus carry meat, dairy, egg and seafood dishes across major and regional UK airports, and category sourcing specialists like this one help decide which suppliers and products make the cut and on what commercial terms. If your accountable categories include animal-derived proteins, the category strategies and supplier performance standards you set determine what a supplier has to deliver to keep the contract, real leverage over specification and sourcing criteria at scale. Even if your initial categories are not meat or dairy, this role builds direct experience of category management, supplier negotiation and menu development processes inside a large-scale food buyer, which is exactly the credibility base needed to move into a category role with explicit scope over animal-derived products. The airline catering sector serves enormous volumes of meals, so a category lead here who pushes on supplier welfare standards or sourcing criteria is working at a scale most food system roles never reach.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
What you'd build
- Category management strategy development
- Supplier performance management and KPI oversight
- Commercial contract negotiation
- ESourcing platform experience (Scanmarket)
- Cross-functional menu development collaboration
Where it can lead
- Category Manager
- Senior Sourcing Specialist
- Procurement Manager
Category and procurement manager roles typically set the supplier standards and specifications that determine what animal-derived products a business buys and on what welfare terms.
About the role
Dnata Catering, part of the Dnata group providing inflight catering, onboard retail and supply chain services across major and regional UK airports, is hiring a Junior Sourcing Specialist - Food to work alongside its procurement specialists team. The role carries direct accountability for specific procurement categories, with responsibility for developing category management strategies that balance commercial, quality and service objectives rather than pursuing the lowest price. Key responsibilities include supporting delivery of the overall procurement business strategy for accountable categories; developing strategic category plans; implementing Supplier Performance Management including continuous improvement initiatives, forecasting and relationship development; negotiating and managing commercial terms and drafting contracts for suppliers within scope; consolidating expenditure and suppliers to maximise volumes and reduce complexity; using technology including electronic tendering and auctions to drive procurement best practice; ensuring suppliers report against contracted SLAs and KPIs and putting recovery measures in place for failures; implementing the Scanmarket eSourcing platform across tenders, contracts and supplier information; engaging internal stakeholders on supply chain optimisation opportunities; resolving delivery queries and shortages with suppliers; and supporting the menu development process for accountable airlines in collaboration with Sales, compliance, costings, culinary and Commercial teams through new product/service sourcing and pricing. The role also requires adherence to company compliance procedures and involvement in developing functional processes, guidelines and policies for accountable categories. Essential requirements include ideally sourcing and category management experience within food production, market knowledge and procurement best practice, good negotiation skills and ability to influence key decision-makers, a track record of commercial acumen, strong communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, a highly analytical and methodical approach, and the ability to structure workload and multi-task. Desirable requirements are competence with eProcurement platforms and IT solutions, CIPS qualification or relevant industry experience, and project management qualification such as Prince2. Benefits include free breakfast, lunch and dinner on site, free tea and coffee, a Simply Health Plan, refer-a-friend scheme, discounted gym membership, Cycle to Work scheme, and an in-house apprenticeship programme. The advert does not state salary, contract type or work arrangement.
This is an extract. Read the full advert on the employer's site.
Key terms to include in your CV and cover letter
What this employer is asking for, in their words. Applications are often screened by software looking for exact phrases, so if these describe your experience, use their wording.
- category management
- strategic sourcing
- supplier performance management
- commercial negotiation
- contract negotiation
- supplier relationship management
- eSourcing
- Scanmarket
- electronic tendering
- SLA and KPI management
- stakeholder engagement
- menu development
- procurement best practice
- CIPS
- Prince2
- commercial acumen
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Position your interest in supplier standards and category strategy as driving total cost of ownership, supply chain resilience and consistent product quality rather than simple price - this is exactly the "total cost solutions" framing the advert itself uses. Build CIPS qualification or eSourcing platform experience (the advert names Scanmarket) and be ready to talk about supplier performance management and SLA/KPI frameworks as your entry point into category work with genuine commercial stakes.
You apply directly with the employer. We just link you to their advert, and we don't see anything you send them.