Commercial food leadership

Are you passionate about food and drink? Do you want to develop your experience and gain the commercial skills to turn your interest into a career? If so, then this brand-new grad role could be for you.

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Job overview

We are excited to bring this new role to the Musgrave Graduate Programme. At Musgrave we are passionate about food. Today we are focused on meeting the changing needs of today’s consumers through our food expertise, focus on commercial viability and deep understanding of the retail, wholesale and foodservice markets. The Commercial Food Leadership role is at the heart of all this, and this three-year programme is a fantastic opportunity for grads to immerse themselves in all aspects of the business and across many departments. This is an excellent opportunity for grads with a keen interest in food and beverage and the retail/wholesale industry and who are results-driven, commercially-focused and with a desire to drive business performance.

Key facts

  • Duration of programme 3 years
  • Location Dublin and Cork
  • Rotations Rotations across specific teams to build food and commercial skills and expertise
  • Essential qualifications Honours Degree (Level 8). Or Level 7 degree in Culinary Arts/Culinary Entrepreneurship will also be accepted
  • Desirable qualifications Practical internship or experience in food focused role is an advantage (eg chef, food production experience)

What will you be doing?

Our brands are successful because they meet the changing needs of today’s shoppers and are developed in collaboration with outstanding local entrepreneurs based in the communities they serve. Our Buying and Foodservice Specialist sales teams work closely with teams in Marketing, Sales, Own Brand Development and Supply Chain to ensure the right product range is available, delivering competitive promotions to drive sales and innovating to meet the needs of our customers and to stay ahead of upcoming trends. They also work with our retail partners, foodservice customers, and suppliers, using customer insights data to provide the best solutions.

We are looking for emerging talent, preferably with a background in food or culinary entrepreneurship, to join our Commercial Food Leadership Programme. This is an innovative three-year Programme designed around an immersive food retail and foodservice experience in addition to developing your commercial, negotiating and influencing skills through our Buying and Foodservice Specialist Sales teams. At the end of the Programme, you will have the skills and knowledge to support the development and implementation of future-proofed, differentiating, market-beating strategies in specialised areas.

We have two pathways for the successful candidates: one focused on developing knowledge and skills in our Produce Buying teams to become an expert in this category; the other pathway will focus on developing a specialism in meat or produce for our Foodservice Specialist Sales Team. Both pathways will provide experience in buying, project management, negotiation, product development and will develop the ability to design and deliver compelling shopper propositions that are operationally efficient, commercially successful, and deliver optimum profitability for Musgrave, our retail partners and foodservice customers.

Download job spec
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Other Opportunities

Insight & Innovation

Innovation is at the heart of our business and brands, so if you are passionate about digital channels and customer experiences, like we are, then this could be the role for you.

Commercial food leadership

Are you passionate about food and drink? Do you want to develop your experience and gain the commercial skills to turn your interest into a career? If so, then this brand-new grad role could be for you.

Buying (Trading)

Ready to develop your negotiating skills? Excited by the prospect of working in a fast-paced department with purchases worth millions of euros to be made every day?
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Find your answer in our frequently asked questions.
APPLICATION PROCESS
What do I need to consider before I apply?
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What do I need to consider before I apply?

Add musgravegraduates.support@aon.com to your email contacts to make sure you receive our application updates

– Make sure your CV is saved in PDF or Word format as other formats may not be supported on our recruitment system

– Are there specific academic criteria for your preferred role? If we are looking for specific qualifications, we will apply these criteria for shortlisting candidates. You may be considered for your second preference if you do not meet specific criteria for your preferred role.

I've submitted my application, what happens next?
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I've submitted my application, what happens next?

We’ll email you within 24 hours of submitting your application inviting you to complete our online assessments. This email will come from musgravegraduates.support@aon.com so make sure you mark this email as safe. Depending on your email filters, it may be directed to your spam folder. Keep an eye on the inbox and spam of the email you used for your application. If you have not received this email within 48 hours, contact us on earlycareers@musgrave.ie requesting this to be resent. This will be resent where applicable within the time-constraints of the application process.

I haven't received details of the online assessments after submitting my application.
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I haven't received details of the online assessments after submitting my application.

This email will come from musgravegraduates.support@aon.com so make sure you mark this email as safe. Depending on your email filters, it may be directed to your spam folder. Some spam folder settings will automatically delete all emails after 30 days. If you have not received this email within

48 hours of submitting your application, or believe that it may have been deleted from your spam folder, contact us on earlycareers@musgrave.ie requesting this to be resent. This will be resent where applicable within the time-constraints of the application process.

When will I find out if I have been successful?
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When will I find out if I have been successful?

We’ll contact you as soon as possible after each stage of the recruitment process. Correspondence up to the assessment centre stage is through email so please check your email regularly. Depending on your email filters sometimes our email may end up in your spam folder, check this out if you haven’t heard from us and ensure you have marked our email musgravegraduates.support@aon.com as safe.

How many graduates do you hire each year?
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How many graduates do you hire each year?

We’re a fast-moving business and our opportunities change from year to year to meet our business requirements. We typically hire between 10-20 graduates each year.

Can I reapply next year if I don’t get onto the programme this year?
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Can I reapply next year if I don’t get onto the programme this year?

Yes, you can apply the next year if unsuccessful in your application.

GRADUATE REQUIREMENTS
Do I need a specific degree to be considered for Musgrave?
Return to questions
Do I need a specific degree to be considered for Musgrave?

Many of our opportunities are open to graduates from all degree backgrounds. Where we do look for a specific qualification, we’ll specify it in the role description so check out Our Opportunities page. If we are looking for specific qualifications, we will apply these criteria for shortlisting candidates.

How recently should I have graduated?
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How recently should I have graduated?

Our roles are aimed at grads who are looking for their first or second job. However, if you are interested in a career with Musgrave and have more experience you can apply directly for any of our vacancies.

What is the minimum requirement to be eligible for the graduate programme?
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What is the minimum requirement to be eligible for the graduate programme?

Successful applicants must have graduated, or be on track to graduate, with an Honours Primary Degree (Level 8 NFQ). For roles where a specific degree or discipline is specified, we will apply these criteria for shortlisting candidates.

I need a work permit. Are you able to organise that for me?
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I need a work permit. Are you able to organise that for me?

It is a requirement that you are eligible to work in the Republic of Ireland. If you do not hold an appropriate work permit, regretfully we cannot take your application further. If you are successful in your application with us, we will support the required documentation for future permit application. We do not provide financial sponsorship for permits.

Why do I have two role choices on the application form?
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Why do I have two role choices on the application form?

We ask for your two preferred graduate roles to understand how you want to develop your career. We’ll consider your application based on your first preference as much possible. We may consider

you for your second choice if we feel this would be more suited to your profile or if your academic qualifications do not meet criteria for specific role if required e.g. if you apply for an IT role and you do not hold a relevant IT/technical degree or masters.

THE PROGRAMME
Do I need to know what area I want to work in?
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Do I need to know what area I want to work in?

Our graduate roles are designed to provide you with the skills and knowledge to progress to business roles in specific areas e.g. if you join our buying programme, you will work in buying teams for the two years of the programme to gain the experience needed to become a buyer for our leading retail and wholesale brands. We recommend you go through our Opportunities carefully and make an informed decision on which area appeals most to your career ambition.

What is the duration of the graduate programme?
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What is the duration of the graduate programme?

The Programme runs for two years, apart from the finance and commercial food leadership programmes, which run for three years. We hire on a fixed-term contract initially and will work with high performing graduates to provide you with suitable career moves in our business post-Programme.

Will I change locations during the programme?
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Will I change locations during the programme?

Depending on your graduate role, you will work in at least two of our divisional headquarters throughout the programme. These may be located in Dublin, Cork or Belfast. Check out our Opportunities to see where the roles are based and whether the role has a geographical rotation. If such a rotation is required, it forms part of your contract.

What's involved in the IMI development programme?
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What's involved in the IMI development programme?

The IMI programme is a bespoke development programme developed by the IMI and Musgrave to support the professional and personal development of our graduates. It comprises 6 modules over 2 years focused on areas such as personal growth, strategy, financial acumen, project management. You will also receive individual coaching as part of the IMI development Programme and will work on a business project in Year 2 which you will present to our CEO and senior leaders. Some modules will be facilitated in person at the IMI campus in Dublin and others will be delivered virtually.

Can I work remotely?
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Can I work remotely?

All Musgrave colleagues in office-based roles have the option to work in a hybrid role, with time spent in the office to collaborate and engage, and time working remotely. We calling this Work Smart @ Musgrave and details will be shared with successful applicants. Typically colleagues will spend 1-2 days in the office per week however it can vary by team.

OTHER
Will I work with specific brands or across the whole business?
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Will I work with specific brands or across the whole business?

Depending on the role, you may work across several brands while on the Programme to give you wide exposure of our business. Details of the brands involved in each opportunity are included in the role descriptions on Our Opportunities

I want to study for a professional accountancy qualification, will you support this?
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I want to study for a professional accountancy qualification, will you support this?

We support our Finance graduates in studying for the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) qualification via the CGMA Finance Leadership Program provided by CIMA. This is an online learning program, similar in scope and rigour to a master’s degree, that teaches the finance, business, people, and leadership skills needed to succeed in the finance team of the future. All learning, assessments and Case Study exam preparation takes place within the comprehensive FLP platform. Musgrave provides financial support and study leave for our Finance graduates to undertake this study pathway. We do not currently support other accountancy study pathways.

Where can I get more information?
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Where can I get more information?

Connect with us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter for regular updates, you can also visit our corporate website to find out more about Musgrave

Are there opportunities to work abroad?
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Are there opportunities to work abroad?

Currently all our graduate roles are based on the Island of Ireland.