Head of Trading (Ambient)

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Location: Willenhall (West Midlands) or Talbot Green (South Wales), with remote working</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Salary: Competitive plus Company Car (or Car Allowance) plus excellent benefits</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Hours: 40 Hours Per Week</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Contract: Permanent</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Department: Group Trading</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">We have an exciting opportunity for a Head of Trading covering BWS, C&T and Soft Drinks to join our AFB team; leading a team of 4 direct reports, ensuring that they lead and drive the commercial growth, procurement excellence, and net profit development of Ambient goods across the SPAR retail and wholesale business.</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Reporting to the Trading Director, this high-impact role is key to driving commercial performance through insight led decision making, precision execution, and strategic leadership. You'll play a pivotal role in shaping a market leading product portfolio for SPAR stores and customers while leading a team of Trading specialists and working cross functionally across the business.</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">About Us</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd is a dynamic, family-owned business with a proud heritage dating back to 1917. As one of the UK's largest privately owned companies, we employ over 7,000 people and generate a turnover of £1.1 billion. Ranked among the UK's top 100 private businesses, we're passionate about food, innovation, and service. Our operations span retail, wholesale distribution, foodservice, fresh meat and logistics.</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">What You'll Be Doing</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Maximise Net Profit: Own the P&L performance across key Ambient categories, implementing advanced pricing models and margin management strategies to protect the bottom line</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Advanced Supplier Negotiations: Secure market leading corporate terms, volume rebates, and long term supply agreements with suppliers to benefit SPAR retailers</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Cost Mitigation: Continuously analyse commodity markets and inflation trends to proactively mitigate cost price increases (CPIs) and protect business viability</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Compliance & Safety Assurance: Ensure all sourced vendors and products comply with strict food safety standards, allergen tracking, and technical specifications</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Capability Building: Lead, mentor, and upskill a high-performing team, fostering a culture of sharp commercial accountability</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Distribution Centre (DC) Efficiency: Drive range rationalisation and supplier delivery alignment to minimise SKU complexity, improve warehouse space utilisation, and maximise operational throughput in the RDCs and DCs</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Cross-Functional Alignment: Champion cross-functional collaboration on range architecture and retailer offers, ensuring procurement decisions balance commercial profitability with operations, logistics, and retailer and shopper needs</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Retailer & Customer Requirement Execution: Secure and validate that all sourced ranges directly reflect and fulfil strict retailer and customer</p>

<h5 class="fw-bold text-success mt-4 mb-3">requirements, bespoke specifications, and service-level agreements</h5>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Team Leadership & Development</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Lead, coach and develop a team of specialists</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Establish clear objectives, development plans and performance metrics</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Build succession pipelines and identify future talent needs</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">What's In It For You</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">You will play a key role in our organisation and make a significant contribution to our ongoing success. In return, we offer comprehensive training, ongoing support, and continuous development opportunities — along with a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package.</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">34 days holiday per year including public holidays (increasing after 3, 5 and 10 years)</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Cycle to work scheme</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Develop your skills and capability in a highly supportive and multi-diverse culture</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Outstanding training & development opportunities</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Gain hands-on experience in a high volume, fast paced environment</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Enhanced maternity & paternity pay packages</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Flexible working hours opportunity</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Early access to your pay through 'EarlyPay'</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">24/7 access to your payslips via HR/Payroll portal</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">12.5% staff discount on fresh items & 10% staff discount on ambient products in our SPAR stores (excluding alcohol & cigarettes)</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Wellbeing support – access to emotional support, counselling, legal and financial advice</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Company pension scheme</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Company life insurance worth 1 x annual salary and 6 x annual salary with company pension scheme</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">NEST pension scheme</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Extra holiday purchase scheme</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Long service awards</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">As a Disability Confident Committed employer, we are dedicated to creating a fair, inclusive workplace for all. We offer a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the role.</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">Job Description available for download.</p>

<p class="text-muted mb-3">You may have experience in the following: Trading Manager, Category Trading Manager, Head of Procurement, Head of Category Management, Commercial Trading Manager, Group Trading Manager, Buying Director, Head of Buying, Ambient Category Manager, Senior Procurement Manager, Commercial Director, etc</p>