Strategic Buyer

My client is a market leading manufacturer of high quality electronics and electrical equipment. An opportunity has arisen for them to recruit an experienced Strategic Buyer into their in-house Procurement Team. Based at their impressive manufacturing facility in Kent, this is an exciting time to join the business as they are in the early stages of transformation and there is the potential to make a real impact within this well respected global company. Reporting into the Procurement Manager, the successful candidate will be supporting the manufacturing operation of the business by providing professional sourcing, tendering, negotiation and contract implementation services covering direct categories. The post holder will be required to ensure exceptional quality of service is provided by vendors and contractors whilst simultaneously delivering high value and significant year on year cost reductions. Applications are invited from Buyers, Purchasers, Supply Chain and Procurement Practitioners who have experience of strategic purchasing, ideally both direct and indirect for production. Candidates must be motivated to exceed KPI requirements (individual and team) and suggest improvements to streamline processes after conducting their own analysis. Those who have previously worked within a manufacturing and/or low-medium volume, process driven environments (i.e. automotive, aerospace, electrical, electronics, chemical, FMCG, food, agro-chemical, pharmaceutical, refining, or similar) are desirable but this is not essential. Candidates must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written, and be confident liaising with stakeholders across all levels of the business from technicians up to senior management on a daily basis. You also need to have a high level of numeracy in order to be comfortable making precise mathematical calculations to support negotiations. Key responsibilities: Purchasing of goods, materials and components in line with specified cost, quality and delivery targets Supporting the purchasing function and other relevant departments within the business Resolving supply-related issues which may impact on business operations Providing analysis on costs, new and existing, and reviewing cost reduction initiatives and activities Negotiating existing contracts to improve prices and terms of business with suppliers and review opportunities to make business savings utilising negotiation and procurement best practice tools and methods Reviewing market place to determine potential alternative products and suppliers Preparing and raising purchase orders and order schedules Preparing tender documents and managing tender process through to completion including presenting justifications to senior management Building, maintaining and managing supplier relationships Assessing and evaluating suppliers and contributing to performance reviews to ensure contract compliance Routinely monitor outstanding purchase orders and take appropriate actions to progress in order to meet deadlines set by production Applicants must have a proven track record of developing and maintaining professional working relationships with both external suppliers and internal stakeholders. Equally as important is the ability to work well in a team across a range of commodity categories. This role will mostly be office-based but may involve both domestic and overseas travel to visit suppliers for audits and meetings on occasions, so a driving licence and passport are highly desirable. There will also be career progression opportunities associated with this role, together with a very competitive salary and excellent package. More information is available upon application. When applying for this role, please indicate your current salary (plus benefits package), minimum salary required, notice period and your reasons for wishing to move from your current company. Alliance Consulting is acting as an employment agency in this respect. Alliance Consulting specialise in the placement of engineers throughout the UK. By sending us your CV you are explicitly consenting to our processing of your personal data on a computer database and/or in manual files for the purpose of evaluating your application for employment. This processing will be carried out in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 1998. By applying for this role you hereby consent to us submitting your CV to our client. If you do not wish your CV to be sent to our client then you must clearly state this to us. Equally, if there are any companies that you do not wish your CV to be sent to (for whatever reason), then please let us know of this when you apply.