About Jacksons

Jacksons is part of William Jackson Food Group, a sixth-generation family business founded by William Jackson when he opened his first shop in Hull in September 1851. Today we have a portfolio of five food businesses in distinct, yet complimentary market areas, employing over 2,000 people.

We have occupied the current site in Hull since 1907 and we now have 3 bread plants in our main bakery.   We specialise in the supply of bread and other carriers to the sandwich manufacturers, foodservice and export channels, and in 2012 we launched our consumer facing brand “Jackson’s of Yorkshire”.

We opened a brand-new site in Corby, Northamptonshire – one of the largest investments our Group has ever made – and this will allow us to realise our ambition of being the best at what we do.  

In 2024 we acquired Lottie Shaw’s our ‘sweet treats’ business based over in Brighouse which is the main business that this role will support.    2025 is an exciting time to join us – make this year a toast to you and apply now!

What’s involved?

This role is designed to support the business as our growth plans become reality. A member of our central Procurement team, the Interim Category Buyer – Lottie Shaw’s will develop and manage key categories to achieve best value and quality for our newest bakery. Bringing tenacity and professionalism to the business, you will be able to manage multiple projects at once whilst delivering targeted results.

This role in on a fixed term basis for 12 months.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Manage category spend utilising a strategic, sustainable, measured, but fast paced approach. 

• Ensure robust category strategies are developed for spend areas, utilising all available data.
• Work with internal stakeholders to maximise benefits of ERP system by ensuring accuracy of procurement related data.

• Develop strong relationships with the right suppliers to ensure the best commercial terms and conditions are agreed. 

• Ensure internal and external stakeholders understand category strategies and influence where necessary, building excellent working relationships.  

• Ensure all categories are in line with the business’ ethical procurement and sustainable sourcing policy. 

• Visit suppliers and industry conferences when required to build relationships and category knowledge. 

• Lead and support cost optimisation projects. 

• Continually push Lottie Shaw’s contractual terms compliance across the supply base. 

• Identify potential supply issues and take appropriate action to avoid their occurrence. 

• Ensure financial due diligence is carried out and relevant actions are taken. 

• Support other procurement categories as and when required. 

• Any other duties relevant to the role. 

The right candidate

We are looking for an experienced buyer who has strong procurement and negotiation skills with the ability to analyse risk and financially assess supply options. Have developed strong procurement and negotiation skills with the ability to analyse risk and financially assess supply options. 

If you are CIPS qualified that would be great, however it isn’t essential.  We would like you to ideally have a background in FMCG and to be proficient in Microsoft Office packages.

Job commitments

The main base for the role will be Lottie Shaw’s in Brighouse, near Leeds.   However, there will be travel required to our Bakery in Hull and suppliers.

Monday – Friday, 37.5 hours per week.

Why Jacksons?

In return for your commitment as Interim Category Buyer with us you will receive:

• Competitive hourly rate paid every 4 weeks.
• 6.6 weeks holiday, increasing to 7 weeks with 5 years’ continuous service.
• Stakeholder pension with generous employer contributions.
• Free bread allowance
• WJFG Wellbeing and Rewards Platform
• Online benefits portal providing exclusive discounts with over 900 retailers.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Support grants available for colleagues’ children attending University.

Thanks for reading our job advert. We do our very best to bring to life what it's like working as part of our team. Diverse teams really are the best teams. We want everyone to feel they can be themselves at work and develop their talents to the full. All colleagues are expected to take personal responsibility for keeping our workplace free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying - a place where everyone is treated fairly and respectfully. We also know that sometimes some candidates may be put off applying for a job unless they think they can tick every box. If you are really excited about working with us and think you can do much of what we are looking for but aren't sure if you are 100% there yet... go on... why not give it a whirl? Good luck!