Senior Buyer

Purpose of the position

Manage the procurement of all materials, goods and services for the company, ensuring optimisation of costs, cash, quality and service. Drive added value through sourcing strategically, value engineering, innovation delivery and risk management.

Principal responsibilities

• Cost Savings - identify opportunities for cost savings through negotiation, bulk purchasing, or alternative sourcing from suppliers
• Identify any risks and advise project team so risk can be mitigated
• Contract / Account Management - negotiate terms and conditions with suppliers to secure the best possible prices and contract terms
• Planning - Work closely with project managers to understand the project’s material and key project requirements
• Order Tracking - monitor the status of orders to ensure timely delivery and address any issues that arise during the procurement process
• Quality Assurance checks - procure goods and services that meet or exceed the project’s quality standards to ensure overall project success
• Project Cost Management and Savings - amount of money saved through negotiations, bulk purchasing, or strategic sourcing compared to the initial quotes or previous prices
• Procurement Cycle Time - average time taken from purchase requisition to purchase order completion.
• Lead-times - negotiate better lead time on all suppliers and have agreement with supplier they will turnaround remake in a timely fashion
• Comply with the Health, Safety and Environmental Policies
• In future, mentor and coach Assistant Buyer to enhance their career and professional development

Day-to-day operations

• Ensure that all purchases are made within the allocated budget for the project and demonstrate savings against these budgets
• Streamline procurement process to reduce the time taken from order placement to delivery - advice on key delays from project team against timely procurement
• Understand what is coming up on all project with regards to materials that need purchasing and try to organise buying them in bulk to negotiate better rates
• Continuously seek ways to improve procurement processes through best practices, and innovative solutions
• Contact suppliers to resolve price, quality, delivery or invoice issues
• Maintain clear and open communication with all stakeholders to ensure alignment and address any concerns promptly
• Feedback from internal stakeholders (project managers, team members) on the procurement process and outcomes
• Work with suppliers to improve their performance through regular feedback, performance reviews, and collaborative improvement initiatives
• Regularly monitor and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate value to the organization
• All new suppliers must have credit checks (where applicable) and proforma payments must be challenged
• Continue to develop creative and innovative procurement processes
• Attend meetings and update others on issues or concerns, in particular when there is a risk which could prevent the company meeting customer demands or where there are over capacity concerns

Qualifications

• Relevant business / commercial or manufacturing / engineering degree is preferred, HNC, City & Guilds Licentiateship, BTec Higher Professional Diploma, or equivalent NVQ Level 4 qualifications
• Membership of Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)

Experience

• Proven purchasing experience, ideally within the Facades industry or within construction and / or manufacturing environment
• Ability to add value, reduce costs and make business improvements
• Contract management and supplier experience
• Project buying management experience
• Strong technical knowledge and understanding of automotive processes and components and supply chain management
• Computer literate, to include advanced Excel skills

Specialist skills / attributes

• Highly skilled at building and maintaining effective and productive relationships with key stakeholders and suppliers
• Strong negotiation, communication, interpersonal and influencing skills
• Analytical, numerically astute with strong proven problem-solving abilities
• Results orientated with the ability to plan and deliver against project deadlines
• Able to prioritise a challenging workload of competing priorities
• Commercially and financially aware
• Keen attention to detail and accuracy

Self-management

• Embraces personal challenges
• Experience in taking ownership and resolving supplier issues
• Confident and rounded thinking
• Assertive, optimistic and open to change
• Engages interest and participation of others and has a collaborative approach to working with others
• Proactively contributes to the team
• Resilient, self-motivated and able to work well under pressure

Other

• Have a current full driving licence
• Must have full access to transport to, from and during work

Location:                   Hildersham / Mildenhall office-factory and/or working from home

Renumeration:           Competitive salary – negotiable; dependent on experience

Benefits:                     25 days holiday plus bank holidays | Flexible hours | Private healthcare | Pension

If this sounds of interest, please send through your application to include; covering letter, CV and salary expectations to careers@visionarch.co.uk