Senior Strategic Buyer - Direct Materials

About the Role

The Senior Strategic Buyer – Direct Materials will support the Operations team in achieving key objectives such as customer satisfaction, on‑time delivery and optimised inventory levels. Working closely with Engineering, R&D, HSQE, Parts and Logistics, Production and Programmes, the role ensures a reliable flow of direct materials to meet customer demand. The role is responsible for leading strategic sourcing activities from proposal through to contract signature, including market analysis, cost modelling and business case development. It also involves negotiating and managing supplier contracts, mitigating commercial risks and driving continuous‑improvement and cost‑optimization programmes. Supplier relationship management is a core part of the job, encompassing performance evaluation, issue resolution and implementation of improvement plans. The buyer will coordinate responses to procurement disruptions, support global sourcing initiatives and work closely with engineering, production and quality teams to ensure material specifications are met. • Lead end‑to‑end strategic sourcing for direct materials, from proposal to contract signing. • Conduct market analysis, develop cost models, and build business cases to select high‑performing suppliers. • Negotiate, draft and manage supplier contracts ensuring compliance, cost, quality, delivery and sustainability targets. • Identify, assess and mitigate commercial risks to maintain supply‑chain resilience. • Drive continuous improvement and cost‑optimization programmes with key suppliers. • Manage supplier performance, resolve commercial issues and implement improvement plans. • Coordinate responses to procurement disruptions such as delivery delays or market shortages. • Support global sourcing initiatives and align procurement strategy with internal stakeholders. • Maintain quality standards and assist HSQE/third‑party auditors during supplier audits.

Key Responsibilities

• ▸strategic sourcing
• ▸cost modeling
• ▸contract negotiation
• ▸risk mitigation
• ▸supplier management
• ▸continuous improvement

What You Bring

Candidates must hold a degree in Business Administration, Industrial or Mechanical Engineering or a comparable qualification, and possess at least five years of senior strategic buying experience in a regulated or complex environment. A certification such as CPSM or CIPS, strong negotiation and financial analysis skills, and proficiency with SAP, MRP and Microsoft Office are required. Preferred attributes include excellent communication, influencing and analytical abilities, the capacity to work independently under pressure, and a passion for driving change. • Hold a relevant degree and at least 5 years senior strategic buying experience in a regulated/complex industry. • Proven negotiation skills with strong commercial, financial and total cost of acquisition expertise. • Proficient in SAP, MRP, Microsoft Office and supply‑chain management tools. • Excellent communication, influencing and relationship‑management abilities. • Ability to work independently under pressure, prioritize tasks and drive change. • Full clean driving licence, passport and willingness to travel frequently to sites and suppliers.

Requirements

• ▸strategic buying
• ▸negotiation
• ▸sap
• ▸mrp
• ▸cpsm
• ▸cips

Work Environment

Hybrid