Contract type: Permanent
Location: Hatfield (Hybrid working – 3 days in the office)
Working hours per week: 40 hours
Level: Head of Department
Application Closing Date: Wednesday 10th June
About The Team And The Role
As Head of Category for Fresh, Chilled and Frozen, you will lead the Chilled Prepared Foods Team, Bakery, Dairy & Frozen teams, responsible for the performance and strategic direction of these categories. You will manage a Trading Manager and the Senior Buyers within Frozen, Bakery & Dairy, as well as their respective teams. Together with supply chain and other stakeholders you will deliver business objectives, cross‑functional change and a best‑in‑class customer proposition. You report to the Fresh Buying Director and sit within the Ocado Retail Senior Leadership Group (SLG) and the Commercial Leadership Team.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial Accountability & Strategic Leadership
* P&L & KPI Ownership: Hold total accountability for the Chilled Prepared Foods Team, Bakery, Dairy & Frozen team P&L. Manage key business KPIs, including sales, units, margin, profitability, pricing and promotional strategies.
* Unit Economic Focus: Drive commercial performance with a strong focus on unit economics.
* Transformation & Innovation: Land and support wide‑scale category and operating model transformations across Ocado.
* Cross‑Functional & Department Workload: Partner with other Heads of Departments to agree on trade prioritisation, budget allocation and delivery of large‑scale change projects. Deputise for the Buying Director when required.
Strategy, Sourcing & Value Chain Optimisation
* Category Strategy: Own the end‑to‑end development and implementation of the category strategy.
* Sourcing & Digital Commercialisation: Lead the execution of advanced sourcing strategies, media selling strategies, category management and e‑commerce shopper funnel optimisation.
* Value Chain Efficiency: Drive COGs reductions and total value chain optimisation.
People Management, Talent & Culture
* Talent Development Leadership: Own and drive the overall Commercial Talent Development and Engagement plans in collaboration with the People Team and other Heads of Departments.
* Coaching & Succession: Proactively drive progress of development and training plans through managers at all levels, lead succession planning, performance reviews and development sessions.
* Wider Team Role Model: Act as an exemplary role model for growth across the wider commercial department through coaching, training and talent sponsorship.
Negotiation & Supplier Excellence
* Complex Negotiations: Lead high‑stakes supplier negotiations to improve profitability, focusing on resetting commercial terms.
* Strategic Supplier Networks: Build collaborative, leading supplier relationships to enable unrivalled value and support direct reports with tailored negotiation strategies.
* Relationship Management: Role model relationship management with M&S and its wider supplier base.
* Industry Visibility: Build visibility and leadership within the wider retail industry and supplier base, representing the buying team at key industry events.
* Compliance: Ensure all commercial agreements and category practices strictly adhere to Ocado policies and GSCOP guidelines.
Qualifications & Traits
* Proven Commercial Leader: Deep subject knowledge and advanced commercial skills within retail buying, backed by a track record of breakthrough results.
* Change & Project Management Expert: Experienced in leading large, strategic, cross‑functional projects and managing teams through significant organisational change.
* Holistic Solution Finder: Ability to create solutions and manage complex challenges for the whole Commercial team.
* Advanced Communicator: Highly articulate communicator and presenter who can influence senior internal and external stakeholders with minimal guidance.
* Strategic Resilience: Demonstrates positive resilience, maintaining big‑picture thinking and strategic clarity when navigating ambiguity.
* Values & Ambassadorship: Dedicated ambassador embodying ORL values, actively managing, recognising, rewarding and coaching teams toward those behaviours.
* Analytical & Data‑Driven: Expert in complex data analysis, balancing data insights (Excel, Tableau) and AI tools with professional judgment.
Training and Development
Joining the Buying team provides access to the Commercial Academy, a comprehensive development program structured around Buyer Induction, Specific Skills (Buying & Selling) and General Skills. You’ll gain access to external training such as Negotiation, Understanding Suppliers and Optimising JBPs.
Benefits
Health & Wellbeing: Private medical insurance with option to add family, digital GP appointments, market‑leading family policies, mental health support, discounted gym memberships, dental insurance and more.
Spend & Save: Annual bonus scheme, reward platform, up to 7% matched pension contributions, 15% Ocado discount, 20% M&S discount, free breakfast every day in office, electric vehicle leasing scheme, free shuttle bus from Hatfield station to office.
Time Off: Hybrid working, 26 days holiday plus 8 flexible bank holidays, optional extra holiday, 2 weeks work from anywhere, lifestyle break opportunities.
We’re an equal opportunities employer. If you need this job description in an alternative format or require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.
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