Job Description

Job Category: Food Commercial(Including Sustainability, Supply chain and Buying)
:
Sainsbury's Graduate Programme 2026
Salary - 34,000
What the programme offers
From day one, you'll be immersed in the heart of our business. You'll take on meaningful work, collaborate with experienced teams, and gain exposure to the tools, systems, and processes that drive our success. Whether you're analysing performance, supporting transformation, or enhancing customer experiences, you'll be challenged to think differently and grow your capability.
Throughout the programme, you'll be supported by a dedicated mentor and buddy, and take part in learning experiences focused on leadership, strategy, and essential skills. With regular feedback and a personal development plan, you'll build confidence and clarity in your career path. By the end of the programme, you'll be ready to apply for a permanent role and continue your journey with us.
Where You'll Work
You'll complete 3 rotations within our Food division. Each area offers a tailored experience designed to give you broad exposure and deep insight into how we operate. You'll build core skills, develop your leadership mindset, and gain the confidence to take on real responsibility, all while contributing to projects that make a genuine impact.
You'll support product areas including quality, safety and legality assurance, ensuring suppliers meet Sainsbury's requirements, and input into new product development.
Essential criteria:

• You are a current final year bachelors student at university or have graduated since 2024 with a bachelors degree
• Minimum 2:2 degree obtained or predicted in Food Technology or Horticulture
• You are proficient in Microsoft Office
• You think critically, logically and analytically to solve problems, and you're comfortable using all available information to draw out reliable and practical insights
• You work brilliantly with others, sharing ideas and using everyone's strengths to get the best results
• You are eager to learn - whether that's about our organisation, our customers, or how things work behind the scenes
• You are proactive and confidently make decisions. You step in to keep things moving, even when things feel uncertain

Application process
If your application is shortlisted, you'll begin with an online assessment that will help us to understand you- including how you approach challenges, adapt to evolving situations and process information. If successful, you'll move on to a digital job simulation, where you'll respond to realistic work scenarios through a range response options, including rank order, video and multiple choice. Following this, shortlisted candidates will be invited to an assessment centre where you'll take part in a series of group and individual exercises, including a final interview with our team.
Assessment centres will be held in March at our London Store Support Centre.
The programme kicks off in September 2026.
If you're ready to make a real impact and grow your career with one of the UK's most trusted brands, we'd love to hear from you.
Please note that by proceeding with this application, you are consenting for your application to be reviewed and scored by a 3rd party provider to the extent that it is necessary and relevant to the assessment process.
Our application window is scheduled to close on 23rd January 2026 however this could close sooner depending on volumes of applications.
Responsibilities:
Our FutureMaker Graduate Programme is where our leaders of tomorrow are grown. You'll spend two years at the heart of Sainsbury's or Argos, gaining the skills, capability and confidence to deliver our Next Level strategy and achieve your biggest ambitions. So, make your future with us - and be a big part of ours.
Our graduate programme is open to all final year university students, those who have graduated since 2024, or are due to graduate by summer 2026.
Qualifications:
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you'll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there's always the chance to try something new - whether that's as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we'll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:
Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 5% of salary, depending on how we perform.
Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an employee assistance programme.
Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks' pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks' pay for paternity leave.
Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).

Skills Required