Procurement Manager
Compass Group UK & Ireland Ltd · London, UK
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.
Foodbuy buys food at huge scale on behalf of Compass Group's catering clients, and contract caterers like this sit upstream of millions of meals served across workplaces, universities, hospitals and more. A Procurement Manager here leads sourcing strategy, supplier negotiation and tendering, which is exactly the kind of seat where a push to tighten supplier requirements or shift category mix toward higher-welfare or plant-based options could ripple through many client menus at once. The advert doesn't specify which categories you'd own, so it's not guaranteed this touches meat, dairy, egg or seafood sourcing directly, but given Foodbuy's food-service client base it's a strong possibility worth probing at interview. Even if your early portfolio is mixed, this role builds the sourcing, tendering and supplier-negotiation experience that is the standard route into category leadership roles with more direct influence over sourcing standards later.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
What you'd build
- Strategic sourcing and tendering
- Supplier negotiation at scale
- Category strategy development
- Client-facing commercial partnering
- Cross-functional collaboration with culinary teams
Where it can lead
- Category Manager
- Senior Procurement Manager
- Head of Procurement
These roles typically set category sourcing strategy and supplier standards across food contracts, giving whoever holds them direct say over whether welfare and plant-forward criteria shape what gets bought.
About the role
This Procurement Manager role sits within Foodbuy, the procurement arm of Compass Group UK & Ireland, which manages over £1 billion of spend across Food, Retail and Services categories on behalf of a portfolio of clients. The role sits within the Commercial Sales Team, operating at the intersection of procurement, sales and client strategy. Responsibilities span five areas. Under procurement strategy and delivery, the postholder leads end-to-end strategic sourcing and tendering activity, develops category and sourcing strategies using market intelligence and commercial insight, manages supplier selection, negotiation, contracting and implementation, and identifies opportunities to optimise the supplier base. Under client value and engagement, they design client-specific procurement strategies, lead insight-led client reviews, identify growth and retention opportunities, and act as a trusted commercial partner influencing client decision-making. Under supplier management, they develop joint business plans with suppliers and manufacturers, build relationships across a broad supplier base, and use commercial frameworks, promotions and product-switching initiatives to maximise value. Under commercial growth, they work with Sales and Retention teams, contribute to new business proposals, and identify revenue-generating opportunities across Food, Retail and Services. Under collaboration and insight, they work with Procurement, Finance, Marketing, Culinary and Operations teams, support client-facing materials and campaigns, and use data and analytics to inform recommendations. Requirements include strong procurement or strategic sourcing experience in a commercially focused environment, a proven record of delivering financial value or growth targets, extensive experience managing sourcing projects and competitive tenders, excellent supplier negotiation and relationship-management skills, strong commercial acumen, advanced analytical skills, experience across Food, Retail and/or Services categories, experience working with wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers, confidence engaging with clients and senior stakeholders, and a collaborative, resilient, solutions-focused approach. The role is based in Chertsey or London with hybrid working, a minimum office requirement of two days per week, and UK travel required. No salary is stated beyond "Competitive".
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.
- strategic sourcing
- competitive tendering
- supplier negotiation
- supplier relationship management
- contract negotiation
- category strategy
- commercial acumen
- market intelligence
- data analytics
- stakeholder engagement
- client relationship management
- joint business planning
- supplier performance management
- cross-functional collaboration
- commercial insight
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Position your interest around supply-chain resilience, cost optimisation and client value delivery, the advert's own language of "measurable commercial value" and "innovative commercial solutions" is the register to mirror. Ask in interview which categories you'd actually own, and if there's scope to work on meat, dairy, egg or seafood tenders, use that to build toward supplier-standards and ethical-sourcing credentials (Sedex/SMETA literacy, CIPS) that compound your case for moving into a category role with more direct influence over sourcing standards next.
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