Operational Buyer
Location: Warwick, UK
Contract Type: Contract
Contract Length: 12 Months
Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week
The Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced Operational Buyer to join a major global engineering and industrial organisation on an initial 12-month contract. This role offers the chance to work in a complex procurement environment, managing supplier relationships, procurement activities, and commercial issues across the business.
This position is ideal for a Direct Procurement professional who is highly analytical, confident working with large volumes of data, and skilled in SAP, Excel, and Power BI. The role requires ownership, problem-solving, and the ability to drive issues through to resolution with minimal supervision.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage a diverse portfolio of suppliers and oversee day-to-day procurement activity.
- Support initial part-sourcing activities and the procurement of materials and components.
- Negotiate supplier price adjustment requests and support commercial negotiations.
- Investigate and resolve supplier, invoicing, and payment discrepancies.
- Manage procurement work queues and ensure purchase orders are raised and issued within required timescales.
- Work closely with internal customers, requisitioners, and stakeholders to understand requirements and provide a high level of customer service.
- Take ownership of procurement issues and drive them through to resolution.
- Support supplier management activities, including qualification, selection, evaluation, development, and classification.
- Maintain and update supplier evaluation systems to support supplier performance and procurement quality.
- Maintain accurate procurement records, documentation, and data across relevant systems.
- Ensure compliance with procurement policies, processes, and Purchase-to-Pay requirements.
- Support the implementation and use of globally defined procurement processes, systems, and methodologies.
- Support and, where required, lead procurement business plan activities.
- Analyse procurement data to identify trends, risks, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
- Utilise Excel and Power BI to analyse and present procurement information and support data-driven decision making.
- Identify opportunities for process improvement using Lean and continuous improvement principles.
Requirements
- 5+ years' experience in Direct Procurement or Operational Buying.
- Strong experience within a complex engineering, manufacturing, or industrial environment.
- Proven experience managing suppliers and resolving commercial, purchasing, and delivery issues.
- Strong negotiation and commercial skills.
- Strong SAP transactional experience, ideally within a production environment.
- Advanced or exceptional Excel skills and confidence working with large volumes of data.
- Experience using Power BI and analysing procurement data.
- A highly analytical and solution-focused approach.
- Ability to work independently and take ownership of complex procurement issues.
- Strong knowledge of procurement processes, supplier management, and Purchase-to-Pay.
- Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities and fixed deadlines.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to operate effectively within a complex, fast-moving global organisation.
- A proactive approach, with the confidence to challenge processes and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification.
- Fluent or advanced English.
Desirable Background
- Aerospace
- Industrial manufacturing
- Engineering
- Energy
- Advanced manufacturing
- Automotive
- Complex engineered products
- Castings and forgings
- Other technically complex or highly regulated manufacturing environments
What We're Looking For
We are looking for someone who can do more than simply manage purchase orders. You should be analytical, commercially aware, and comfortable working with large volumes of information, with the confidence to investigate problems, understand the root cause, and find practical solutions. You will need to work with minimal supervision, manage competing priorities, and take ownership from initial issue through to resolution. If you have a strong Direct Procurement background, excellent SAP and Excel skills, and enjoy working in a fast-paced engineering environment where you can make a genuine impact, we would like to hear from you.