About this role
Job Requirements
Job Summary:
Strategic Buyer required to support new contract mobilisation and establish compliant, commercially competitive supplier arrangements.
The role will lead supplier identification, sourcing, RFQ/RFP activities, supplier qualification and onboarding, commercial negotiations, framework agreement development, supplier risk assessment and supply-chain readiness.
The successful candidate will work closely with Procurement, Commercial, Programme Management, Engineering, Quality, Operations, Finance and Legal teams to ensure sourcing activities and supplier agreements are delivered in line with programme milestones. Experience within engineering, manufacturing or another regulated environment is highly desirable
Objectives:
- Develop and execute the procurement mobilisation plan for the new customer contract.
- Establish an effective supplier sourcing strategy aligned with programme requirements and milestones.
- Identify, assess, qualify and onboard suitable suppliers.
- Complete RFQ/RFP and tendering activities within agreed project timescales.
- Establish signed supplier contracts and framework agreements before programme delivery.
- Ensure relevant customer, contractual, regulatory and quality requirements are flowed down to suppliers.
- Deliver commercially competitive arrangements through negotiation, benchmarking and cost analysis.
- Identify supplier and supply-chain risks and implement appropriate mitigation plans.
- Ensure suppliers are operationally ready to support programme launch and initial deliveries.
- Monitor supplier readiness, quality, delivery and performance.
- Deliver procurement savings and value-improvement opportunities.
- Maintain compliance with procurement governance, ethical sourcing, ESG, sustainability, intellectual-property, export-control and security requirements.
- Provide accurate and timely reporting on sourcing progress, supplier readiness, risks and corrective actions.
Work Experience
Key Skills & Experience
- Demonstrable experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, purchasing or supply-chain management .
- Strong experience in supplier sourcing, assessment, selection and onboarding.
- Proven experience leading RFQ/RFP and competitive tendering processes .
- Strong supplier contract and commercial negotiation experience.
- Experience negotiating framework agreements or long-term supplier agreements.
- Good understanding of commercial terms, contract law, contractual risk and supplier management.
- Experience supporting programme, project or contract mobilisation.
- Strong commercial awareness and understanding of supplier cost drivers.
- Experience conducting supplier risk assessments and developing mitigation actions.
- Strong supplier relationship, stakeholder-management and influencing skills.
- Ability to coordinate technical and commercial inputs across cross-functional teams.
- Strong negotiation, analytical and problem-solving capability.
- Ability to manage multiple sourcing packages and competing priorities.
- Experience using ERP, SRM or procurement systems such as SAP, Oracle, Coupa or Ariba .
- in engineering, manufacturing, aerospace, defence, energy or another regulated industrial environment .
- Experience supporting supplier compliance audits and quality inspections.
- Knowledge of supply-chain risk-management tools and techniques.
- Knowledge of category-management methodologies.
- Experience with commercial benchmarking and single-source justification.
- Understanding of intellectual-property, security and export-control considerations within supply chains.
- CIPS qualification or equivalent procurement accreditation.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Key Competencies
- Commercial acumen
- Strategic sourcing
- Contract management
- Negotiation excellence
- Supplier relationship management
- Stakeholder management
- Supply-chain risk management
- Delivery focus
- Analytical problem solving