Business Development Manager (Butchery & Meat)

Business Development Manager- Butchery & Meat Sales

Attractive Salary, Benefits, Company Car, Bonus

36.5 Hours per week

Newtownabbey

Who are we?

At Henderson Group, we are proud to be one of Northern Ireland’s leading organisations. Employing more than 5,500 colleagues across the UK and Ireland, the group encompasses Henderson Wholesale, Henderson Retail, Henderson Foodservice & Henderson Technology.

Henderson Wholesale is a leading Wholesaler in Northern Ireland, supplying goods to over 450 stores across various brands including SPAR, EUROSPAR and VIVO. We source from local farmers, growers and producers and are proud to contribute to our local economy and environment. We achieved Gold accreditation against the Investors in People standard framework in 2023 in recognition of people management excellence and our commitment to investment in people.

A look into the role…

This key role sits within our Henderson Wholesale Fresh Foods Trading/Category Management team. The role will be focused on developing butchery concessions in our independent and company-owned retail estate, including range development of central controlled models and driving bulk meat sales across the group.

The successful candidate will work in partnership with retailers and butchers to add value to their business by ensuring that consumer needs are anticipated and exceeded, and that exceptional standards of service, availability and product quality is provided.

This role will be very well suited to a candidate with previous butchery experience, who is results driven and can build successful relationships with customers and other key stakeholders to deliver commercial success.

 Working as Business Development Manager- Butchery & Meat, you will:

• Build business relationships with Butchers in concessions across the SPAR/EUROSPAR/VIVO/VIVOXTRA estate (both independent retailers and company-owned stores), understanding their needs and adding value to the business.

• Advise/coach retailers/butchers on the maintenance of exceptional standards of butchery, food hygiene, food safety, legislative and labelling compliance, and merchandising.
• Target opportunities to drive Bulk Meat sales to the concessions across the entire Henderson Group estate and support the roll out of any new projects within the business.
• Complete key market research on range and commercials and clearly communicate insights, contributing to commercial plans.
• Identify trends in the butchery market and make recommendations for development of new and existing product ranges for central controlled outlets.
• Propose and manage Promotional / Seasonal product selection and New Product launches. 
• Collaborate with the trading/category management team to develop and implement innovative business development plans/activity/objectives for concession butchery across the group

Skills for Success

Joining us as Business Development Manager- Butchery & Meat, the minimum criteria you will need is:

• Previous Butchery Experience.
• Experience in the development of Butchery counters and prepack meat solutions.
• Good working knowledge of the Butchery function within a supermarket environment, including food safety & hygiene requirements.

• Strong commercial and financial awareness to drive sales and profitability within a butchery concession.
• Full and valid driving licence and preparedness to travel daily between stores.

The essential attributes we’re looking for:

• A “can-do” approach to business development and a strong desire to succeed.
• A good eye for detail and ability to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships, coaching others to succeed.

• Ability to work independently and on own initiative.

It is desirable if you have:

• Relevant Butchery/ Meat qualification(s).
• A good understanding of the Protein supply base across the Island of Ireland.
• A strong track record of innovation in butchery.
• Strong influencing skills with the ability to sell concepts and ideas to all levels within the business and externally to our retail partners.
• Proficient IT skills, including Microsoft Office 365 Suite (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, SharePoint).

Are we right for you?

As part of this role, it will be important that you feel aligned with the values that we live and work by.

Ambition – We always strive to be better. We seek new challenges and look for ways to do things better.

Customer First – We provide exceptional service. We put customers at the heart of everything and support our communities.

Teamwork – We succeed together. We help colleagues to succeed, and we share our knowledge and skills.

Integrity – We are fair, honest and ethical. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are inclusive and champion diversity.

The Reward

The impact you can make with Henderson Group goes far beyond your day-to-day role. You will be part of a business that places our local communities at the heart of what we do and is committed to social responsibility.

We’re an Investors in People GOLD Accredited employer- we value employee development and heavily invest in our people, creating many opportunities for career development.

Benefits include market competitive salary, company vehicle and reimbursement for company mileage, bonus incentive scheme, contributory pension scheme, healthcare, life assurance, employee assistance programme, social club, staff discount (grocery/fuel) at Henderson Group company-owned stores, and many more.

This is a full-time position working 36.5 hours per week. Working hours will be 8:45am-4:45pm Monday to Thursday and 8:45am-3:45pm Friday.

If you would like to speak with us before making your application, our Talent Acquisition Specialist - Joanne McClelland would be happy to have a confidential chat with you about the role on offer - email joanne.mcclelland@henderson-group.com to get in touch.

Completed applications must be submitted online by midnight on Monday 30th June 2025.

*Applicants should note that we reserve the right to apply the desirable criteria if required at shortlisting stage.

We are an equal opportunities employer.