Buying Manager, Fresh Food

Buying Manager, Fresh Food

Location: Nine Elms, London - Full-time

About Zapp

Zapp is London’s leading premium convenience retail platform. Founded in 2020, our vision is to disrupt the multi-trillion dollar convenience retail market, currently dominated by major players, by developing best-in-class customer-centric technology and fulfilment solutions. Zapp partners with some of the world’s leading brands to deliver an exclusive range of hand-picked products 24/7, delivered in minutes.

The Role

We are looking for a visionary Category Manager to lead our Fresh Food department. You will be the commercial engine behind our Fruit & Veg, Bakery and Chilled categories - transforming how Londoners shop for everything from daily essentials to luxury treats.

This isn't traditional retail. You’ll be operating at the intersection of high-end curation and hyper-growth logistics, ensuring our "virtual shelves" are always stocked with the right products, delivered in minutes.

Here’s What You’d Be Doing

• Curate a trending, innovative and relevant product range.

• Build and sustain supplier relationships, whilst driving efficiencies across our supply base

• Deliver data-driven insights and market trend analysis to spearhead category growth, providing the analytical backbone for strategic decision-making and competitive positioning.

• Own supplier negotiations across cost, delivery and payment terms to maximise profitability and minimise risk.

• Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, Merchandising, Product, and Partnerships to synthesise a cohesive customer offering.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years experience in a category management/ buying role in the Food industry

• Strong execution mindset and exceptional project management abilities: proven track record of managing multiple concurrent workstreams with competing deadlines and priorities

• Strong analytical skills: confident building business cases, and extracting insights from data to drive decisions

• Advanced proficiency in Google Workspace (Sheets, Docs, Slides) or Microsoft Excel; experience with Looker is desirable

• High-energy self-starter with exceptional attention to detail: You thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, making quick decisions with imperfect information while maintaining meticulous accuracy and spotting problems before they escalate

• Tenacious communicator who gets things done: You influence stakeholders at all levels, push back when needed, and maintain a hands-on mentality with natural prioritisation and urgency - always finding solutions rather than roadblocks.

Benefits

• Competitive salary.

• Enjoy 25 days of holiday per year (plus all bank holidays).

• Private Health Insurance.

• Extended sick pay and maternity/paternity leave pay.

• Cycle to work scheme