Buyer - Ingredients

We are seeking a dynamic and strategic Ingredients Buyer to join our prestigious Food & Restaurants division here at Harrods.

As we celebrate this momentous anniversary year, now more than ever, it’s an exciting time to join the Harrods Team. Whether you’re a recent school, college or university leaver, or you’re looking to restart your career in an exciting new field, at Harrods we firmly believe in offering exciting career opportunities.

About the Role

In this role, you will be responsible for sourcing the highest quality ingredients at the best possible prices, ensuring that our restaurants and kitchens are supplied with top-notch products. Your expertise in building strong supplier relationships, collaborating with culinary teams, and developing a deep understanding of the food industry will be key to your success.

You will also be responsible for:

Leadership -

• Devise and execute a comprehensive ingredients strategy for all categories, ensuring alignment with business needs and financial targets.
• Build and nurture key relationships within our brand, as well as with external suppliers and partners.
• Collaborate with retail buyers, product developers, and chefs to develop sourcing arrangements and supply chains that align with our Food Halls & Restaurants strategy.
• Continuously deepen your understanding of food products and supply chains, identifying innovative solutions where appropriate.

Commercial -

• Exhibit exceptional procurement skills, including supplier management, cost management, quality assurance, and safety management.
• Lead all supplier negotiations to secure products at the lowest cost while maintaining the highest quality.
• Support the Buying Manager throughout the buying cycle, ensuring financial KPIs such as availability and wastage are met.
• Develop and refine processes for continuous improvement in ingredient sourcing.

Operations -

• Influence and contribute to the Restaurant development roadmap, supporting menu changes and new openings.
• Establish and improve SLAs with key suppliers, driving performance in key metrics.
• Act as a service provider to kitchens and restaurants, ensuring operational continuity in collaboration with Warehouse & Distribution teams.

About You

You will have a strong proficiency in PC literacy, particularly in Word, Excel, and preferably SAP, and can leverage these tools to enhance operational efficiency. You’ll also have a strong customer service focus, demonstrating excellent interpersonal and communication skills to build and maintain effective relationships with both internal and external stakeholders. Outstanding time-management skills and the ability to multitask are essential, as is the flexibility and adaptability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.

You will also have:

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong work ethic with a commitment to Harrods
•  values.
• Strength in working independently with minimal supervision.

About Us

Our 175th anniversary will see the Knightsbridge store become a stage for our legacy of firsts, our house of world-leading brands and our reputation for exceptional. We want you to come and be a part of all this - and help us deliver exceptional service that represents our authority as a long-standing icon, industry-leader and innovator. Inspired by our past, celebrating our present and focusing on our future, you’ll be joining a team with the belief that anything is possible. What makes you different makes us exceptional.

Our Promise to You

Help us make the impossible possible for our customers and we’ll do something remarkable for you. As well as offering a friendly environment to inspire your best work, we provide abundant opportunities and support to build an exceptional career across the varied specialisms of our business. 

In return you’ll receive an excellent benefits package, including a company pension, flexible working, 25 days’ holiday, and your birthday off, up to 33% in-store discount (including across our food hall and restaurants) and a season ticket loan.

Uniquely You

At Harrods we believe the personality and authenticity of our people sets us apart. We celebrate and invite applications from all cultures, backgrounds, tastes, and experiences and are proud of our culture where people from all walks of life can grow and thrive. What makes you unique makes us exceptional.

While our job adverts outline the ideal qualities, skills, and prior experience for the role, we believe in the potential for growth and value individual strengths. If you do not meet every desired criteria but feel you have the skills and experience to thrive in this role as well as a genuine interest in working for Harrods and you can demonstrate an alignment with our values, we would encourage you to apply.

If you want to know more about our people and our culture, search #TogetherHarrods on LinkedIn, Facebook or follow us on Instagram @togetherharrods