Food Trading Manager

Job Requisition ID: 174982

Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group’s entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.

By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day

• The Food Trading Manager plays a critical role in maximizing trading opportunities within the MENA region by collaborating with key stakeholders across stores and the Support Centre. The role requires a champion of retail within the Food Business Unit (BU), focusing on developing store teams to effectively trade food halls, ensuring exceptional store experiences and executing transformation projects with precision and alignment to organizational objectives.

Trading Strategy and Execution

• Develop a robust Trading Calendar and Trading Guidelines to set a clear cadence for trading the food hall.
• Lead and develop SRD capabilities to enhance trading effectiveness.
• Coach and develop retail teams to ensure right first-time implementation and resolve trading issues.
• Plan and execute food transformation projects aligning with people, product, and process plans.
• Manage multiple live projects with varying timelines, addressing issues and adjusting plans to meet objectives.
• Exploit Market Intelligence (MI) to inform and improve strategic and tactical decision making.

Retail Standards and Visual Execution

• Deliver exceptional visual standards for store product launches both on the sales floor and backstage.
• Ensure stores meet best-in-class expectations through effective communication and coaching.
• Champion retail in the Food Business Unit ensuring a customer focus.
• Engage and guide Regional and Store Managers through transformation projects from concept to post-implementation review.
• Ensure stores have clear trading guidelines and effective trading MI to deliver excellent merchandising standards.

• Strong planning and organizational skills with adaptability to business changes.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to engage across all organizational levels.
• Resilience and the ability to remain calm under pressure and ambiguity.
• Robust skills in commercial acumen, strategy development, and operational execution.

• Established leadership and store experience.
• Technical knowledge of M&S Foods principles and merchandising standards.
• Solid commercial acumen and decision-making skills to interpret and create commercial actions.
• Ability to coach and influence store teams and senior stakeholders with confidence and clarity.

About Al-Futtaim Retail

Al-Futtaim Retail has established itself as one of the leaders in Retail across the Middle East, Africa & Asia over the past 30 years. We have developed partnerships with some of the biggest and most respected Brands in the world including IKEA, ACE and Toys R Us in the Middle East and the Inditex Group of Brands (Zara, Mango, Bershka and P&B) across Asia. We are also one of the largest Global partners of Marks and Spencer’s in both regions with over 75 stores offering both fashion & food options.

Most recently we have been responsible for bringing brands to the Middle East for the first time with the exciting launches of Watsons and B&Q and we aim to continue to be agile and adaptive to our markets with new launches and further development. For this to be possible we aim to recruit the best talent from all backgrounds who will continue to challenge and develop our diverse workforce which includes over 100 nationalities across 12 countries. Join us today and make a difference…