Senior Buyer

Senior Buyer

Location: Buckinghamshire

Copello is recruiting for a Senior Buyer to join a strategic procurement function supporting a complex engineering and manufacturing environment.

This role will be responsible for managing and optimising strategic sourcing activities across assigned commodities, developing category strategies that support business objectives, deliver value, reduce supply chain risk, and improve supplier performance.

The successful candidate will take ownership of key high-value and high-risk commodities, ensuring effective supplier management, competitive sourcing, cost optimisation, and continuous improvement across the supply chain.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement long-term commodity and category strategies to deliver cost savings, improve supplier performance, enhance quality, and reduce supply risk.
• Act as procurement lead for assigned commodities, ensuring strategies align with business requirements and stakeholder needs.
• Manage end-to-end supply activities, from sourcing through to supplier delivery performance, within an MRP environment.
• Lead supplier engagement activities including market analysis, benchmarking, supplier assessments, supplier rationalisation, and sourcing initiatives.
• Manage RFx processes (RFI, RFP, RFQ), supplier selection activities, negotiations, and contract implementation.
• Support the creation and management of long-term supplier agreements, working closely with contract specialists to ensure robust commercial arrangements.
• Drive improvements in supplier performance, including cost, quality, delivery, and supply chain resilience.
• Identify and implement productivity initiatives, cost reduction opportunities, and continuous improvement activities.
• Support new product introduction (NPI) and bid activities by engaging suppliers early in the design process to optimise solutions for manufacture.
• Work collaboratively with engineering, operations, finance, and other internal stakeholders to deliver procurement objectives.
• Monitor and manage supplier performance, ensuring appropriate actions are implemented to achieve agreed targets.
• Support negotiation activities relating to pricing, delivery commitments, and commercial terms for key components and commodities.

Key Competencies

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strategic sourcing capability with the ability to analyse markets, identify opportunities, and develop long-term category strategies.
• Strong negotiation and supplier relationship management skills.
• Experience managing complex supplier contracts and commercial agreements.
• Strong analytical and financial skills, including cost modelling, total cost of ownership analysis, and performance reporting.
• Effective project management skills with the ability to collaborate across multiple functions.
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced engineering environment.
• Strong understanding of business operations, procurement processes, and supply chain improvement.
• Experience in continuous improvement, cost reduction, and value creation initiatives.
• Knowledge of production lifecycle management and MRP-based supply environments.
• Resilience, influencing skills, and the confidence to challenge and drive improvements.

Experience and Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have:

• 5–7 years’ experience working as a Senior Buyer, Commodity Buyer, or Category Buyer with responsibility for assigned commodities.
• Proven experience contributing to procurement strategy and delivering measurable business improvements.
• Strong commercial, analytical, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Degree qualification in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, or a related discipline. Professional qualifications such as CIPS, CPM, or an MBA would be advantageous.
• Experience supporting and developing complex supply chains within an engineering or manufacturing environment.
• Experience negotiating supplier contracts and managing supplier performance against agreed commitments.
• Exposure to aerospace, defence, or other highly regulated industries would be beneficial.
• Knowledge of engineering commodities such as PCB assembly, CNC machining, moulding processes, electronics, or electro-mechanical assemblies would be advantageous.
• Good understanding of commodity management principles.
• Experience working within MRP systems.

Key Performance Measures

Success in this role will be measured against:

• Delivery of cost savings, productivity improvements, PPV improvements, and total cost of ownership reductions.
• Effective execution of category strategies aligned with business objectives.
• Improved supplier performance, reduced supply chain risk, and enhanced supplier relationships.
• Successful contract management and commercial governance.
• Delivery of continuous improvement and innovation initiatives.
• Effective cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Supplier compliance with ethical sourcing requirements, including Conflict Minerals reporting, Human Trafficking compliance, and raw material sanctions.
• Effective management of critical suppliers, including risk identification, action tracking, and resolution.
• Achievement of agreed supplier performance targets including SDPPM, SOTIF, and OTD.