Head of Category - Fresh, Chilled & Frozen

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 us

Our mission is to deliver joy in every shop, through unbeatable choice, unrivalled service, and reassuringly good value. We’re also on a mission to empower our business with smart technology; we've recently launched our AI Academy, providing a tailored AI learning journey for every colleague.

We’re Ocado Retail, a market-leading joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, and the world’s largest dedicated online supermarket, ocado.com. Not only is Ocado the only place to shop a full range of M&S food online, but it’s also the home to the widest online supermarket range in the UK and champion of small, independent brands. We’re also the brains behind Zoom by Ocado, our same-day grocery delivery service.

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. Alongside your teams, you will work closely with Supply Chain, Visual/E-commerce Merchandising, Insight, and Finance to achieve business objectives, cross-functional change, and a best-in-class customer proposition.

You will report to the Fresh Buying Director and, together with them, take a broad leadership role, setting strategy, defining culture, and leading specific projects and workstreams across the buying function. This role sits within the Ocado Retail Senior Leadership Group (SLG) and the Commercial Leadership Team.

What you’ll do

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, eaches (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 the 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 cost-of-goods (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 (including Trading Managers and Senior Buyers). Lead succession planning, regular performance reviews, and development sessions.

• Wider Team Role Model: Act as an exemplary role model for growth across the wider commercial department (not just your direct team) through coaching, training, and talent sponsorship.

Negotiation & Supplier Excellence

• Complex Negotiations: Lead high-stakes supplier negotiations to deliver improved profitability for the business, with a specific focus on resetting commercial term structures (back and front margins).

• Strategic Supplier Networks: Build collaborative, leading supplier relationships that enable Ocado to offer unrivalled value. Support your direct reports with tailored negotiation strategies for their respective categories.

• Relationship Management: Role model relationship management with M&S and its wider supplier base.

• Industry Visibility: Build clear 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.
  

Who you are

• Proven Commercial Leader: Deep subject knowledge and advanced commercial skills within retail buying, backed by a proven track record of breakthrough results and credibility within the supply base.

• Change & Project Management Expert: Highly experienced in leading large, strategic, cross-functional projects and managing teams through significant organisational change and operating model transformations.

• Holistic Solution Finder: Ability to create solutions and manage complex challenges for the benefit of the whole Commercial team, rather than just optimising for one specific department or pod.

• Advanced Communicator: An accomplished, highly articulate communicator and presenter (both verbal and written) who requires minimal guidance to influence senior internal and external stakeholders.

• Strategic Resilience: Demonstrates immense positive resilience, maintaining big-picture thinking and strategic clarity when navigating ambiguity or complex intra-departmental issues.

• Values & Ambassadorship: A dedicated ambassador who embodies ORL values, actively managing, recognising, rewarding, and coaching teams toward those exact behaviours.

• Analytical & Data-Driven: Expert in complex data analysis, balancing data insights (Excel, Tableau) and emerging AI tools with seasoned professional judgment, stakeholders, and customers alike.
  

Training and Development

Joining our Buying team provides access to our Commercial Academy, a comprehensive development program structured around three pillars: Buyer Induction, Specific Skills (Buying & Selling), and General Skills. You'll gain access to external, advanced training such as Negotiation, as well as courses on Understanding Suppliers and Optimising JBPs. This whole program is designed to deliver a foundational and advanced skillset across essential commercial competencies.

What’s in it for you

By joining Ocado Retail, you’ll have the chance to experience life at the world’s largest online retailer, work with an amazing bunch of people who challenge what’s possible each day, and grow your skills and career in online retail. You'll also be part of our AI Academy, a dedicated learning journey designed to empower every colleague with the smart technology skills of the future.

If that’s not enough to tempt you, you’ll also get access to loads of great benefits to sweeten the deal. Here’s a taste of what we offer:

Health & Wellbeing: Private medical insurance with option to add your family, Digital GP appointments, market-leading family policies, mental health support, discounted gym memberships, dental insurance, and more.

Spend & Save: Annual bonus scheme split between personal and business objectives, recognition with reward platform, up to 7% matched pension contributions, 15% Ocado discount, 20% M&S discount, free breakfast every day in the office, electric vehicle leasing scheme, and free shuttle bus from Hatfield station to the office.

Never miss the moments that matter: Hybrid working, 26 days holiday plus 8 flexible bank holidays, options to buy extra holiday, 2 weeks work from anywhere, and lifestyle break opportunities.

Our Hiring Process

Lucky for us, we receive a high volume of applications and genuinely appreciate the time and effort invested by every candidate. To ensure a fair and thorough process, every application is reviewed by a member of our team. If your skills and experience are a strong match, a Talent Partner will contact you to discuss the role and guide you through the next steps of our hiring process.

Your Application and AI

In the spirit of innovation, we welcome you to use AI tools in your application, just as we use them in our own business at Ocado Retail. However, as you leverage this technology, please don't lose sight of the most important element: your unique self. Your experiences, passions, and personality are what truly set you apart. Ensure that your application still authentically conveys who you are and why you're a great fit for us.

Everyone’s welcome

We’re an equal opportunities employer, which means that we make sure all potential colleagues are treated fairly and equally. We want to ensure everyone has a fair chance to apply; if you need this job description in an alternative format (e.g., larger print, different document type, etc.), please reach out to us at careers@ocadoretail.com and we'll be happy to assist you, and if you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know on the application form.