We're hiring! Wanted: one purchasing manager

If you fancy joining a fun, dynamic and friendly team in an innovative and busy organic food company then read on – you’re on the right tracks to getting there.

We are a small but ever growing organic food company that launched almost 14 years ago. Over the last few years we have seen some great success so are going through a period of expansion as a result. We are on the hunt for some excellent new staff members to join the team and are currently looking to fill the position of purchasing manager. This is a demanding but satisfying role that sees you dealing with clients and suppliers on a daily basis.

Job description:
Purchasing high quality products at the lowest possible cost and negotiating prices with suppliers, as well as ensuring all products are in stock and communicating stock availability to the team.

The purchasing manager is responsible for:

• Purchasing for all goods
• Stock control
• Creating and pringing labels and barcodes
• Customer service

Daily tasks will include:

• Daily stock check
• Ensuring communication with stock availability with all staff 
• Daily purchasing
• Creating labels
• Sourcing new products
• Organising transport
• Organising samples
• Liaising with the Production and Logisitcs Manager regarding ingredients, transport and deliveries
• Customer service: answering calls and taking orders
• Input customer orders
• Checking orders are correct
• Postage and Bank duties required
• Checking invoices that accounts have compiled before payment
• Liaising with staff in our Bridgwater depot regarding their products
• All Bridgwater purchasing orders
• Meeting with suppliers
• Attending trade shows and meetings for current and potential suppliers

We ideally would like the purchasing manager to have the following skills and experience:

• Top notch organisational and logistical skills
• Excellent negotiation skills
• Be numerically minded
• High level of customer service
• Experience using Microsoft programmes, especially Excel
• Experience using Sage
• Confident decision making ability
• Food trade experience

If you have skills and experience suitable for this role and believe you could be our next purchasing manager please get in touch. Send your CV and covering letter to our HR administrator Tara on tara@whatonearth.co.uk.

Due to the high volume of responses we get to job adverts we cannot promise that we will be able to get back to each and every one of you. Sorry! If you haven’t heard from us within three weeks please consider your application as unsuccessful. What on Earth Ltd is an equal opportunities employer.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Peace, love and pizza,

What On Earth

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One new, recycled kitchen coming up!

We set ourselves a challenge here at What On Earth and we’re pleased to report that it’s going well – so far anyway. We’re rather proud of ourselves in this challenge so we want you to see our progress.

The past few years have been extremely successful ones for us and as a result the business is growing rapidly. (Thank you to everyone for that by the way!) Our orders have more than doubled and our customer base has become larger, which has ultimately seen labour increase as well. To deal with this growth we are expanding the business physically and are developing a new kitchen at our London HQ. It’s not going to be just any kitchen though. Oh no. It is in fact going to be made of all recycled and re-engineered materials. We are advocates of being environmentally friendly, both in and out of work, so we think it only right that our ethos should be followed throughout all of our business developments.

Work on the kitchen got underway at the beginning of June and it is all coming along nicely. The kitchen is being developed in a unit on our Battersea based business park – just across the forecourt from our current kitchen in fact. All the materials being used to build the kitchen have had a previous life elsewhere, and now we are giving them a new lease of life by recycling them. Examples of the recycled materials include:

• Re-engineered racking bars are being used to form the skeleton of the kitchen
• The staffroom is made from recycled wood panels
• The windows, doors and door frames are recycled from an old office building
• An unused loading door hatch is being utilised
• Old baking trays are being used as vents
• An old refrigeration evaporator is being used in a fan unit to circulate air around the kitchen

By using these materials we are having a positive impact on both the environment and our budget – we are reducing waste, increasing sustainability and saving essential cash. We will ensure that all the recycled materials abide by health and safety rules too. We will clad them all in white fireproof, food safe plastic.

The recycled materials have been hunted down by our eco hero, Rolf. He has spent a lot of time traipsing around London looking for bits to use, but in all honesty he’s absolutely loved this – he’s been in his element. He loves doing his bit to save the world and all of this good work means he’s pretty much ready to don a cape, mask and a pair of tights. Perhaps not the most pretty sight (sory Rolf!) but hey, he would still wear his costume with pride.

Developing the kitchen using recycled materials means we are able to save money that can be spent elsewhere. To be more specific, we are spending the money on energy efficient equipment for the kitchen – i.e. equipment that does its bit to save the environment. By installing this machinery we are avoiding unnecessary energy waste. Reducing energy usage can translate to significant cost savings. We can reduce maintenance costs on equipment and have lower running expenses. Also, the energy efficient equipment has a longer lifespan and can help create better and consistent food quality and less food spoilage. The environmental benefits of resource conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are also substantial, reducing the company’s impact on the environment. All these savings allow us to reduce labour costs, thereby meaning we can reduce the prices of our products. See – everybody benefits from our new kitchen! Among the new equipment will be new ovens and pizza presses. As a result of this we are going to look at re-introducing chilled pizzas. Hurrah!

The new kitchen is to be completed and fully functioning by the end of June so we will post updated photos next month. Eeeek, exciting!

Peace, love and brand new kitchen cooked pizza.

What On Earth