Sourcing Manager

We are seeking a passionate and experienced sourcing professional with demonstrable line/team management competencies who is looking for their next opportunity and ready to make a tangible impact in a fast‑paced, customer‑focused environment. As a Sourcing Manager, you will play a pivotal role in driving operational excellence, optimising inventory, and building strong inter‑company and third‑party supplier and stakeholder relationships to ensure successful procurement of biospecimens to customer and business specification.

BioIVT is a leading global provider of research models and value‑added research services for drug discovery and development. We specialise in control and disease‑state biospecimens, including human and animal tissues, cell products, blood and other biofluids. Our unmatched portfolio of clinical specimens directly supports precision medicine research, aiming to improve patient outcomes by coupling comprehensive clinical data with donor samples. By combining our technical expertise, exceptional customer service and unparalleled access to biological specimens, BioIVT serves the research community as a trusted partner in elevating science.

The role offers hybrid working with a requirement to attend our site in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, UK, 3 days a week on average. We offer a competitive salary, 25 days of holiday (plus bank holidays), private medical insurance, EAP, free on‑site parking, company funded social events. The role is eligible to participate in the company's discretionary bonus plan.

Summary

The Sourcing Manager’s responsibility is to lead the Sourcing team in the procurement of biospecimens to customer specifications. This individual will report directly to the Senior Manager, EU Distribution Operations and their primary goals are to manage the intercompany & external sourcing of biospecimens, alongside managing inventory levels within the Distribution centres. They will serve as an escalation point to resolve any queries or need for clarification on more complex projects by discussion with the customer directly and by using internal resources and expertise. They will be responsible for working directly with the leadership team to provide insight, monitor metrics, analyse data and offer strategic solutions for improvements within the team. They will provide supervision, training and coaching to Sourcing team members ensuring that quality, health & safety and productivity performance goals are met.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible for overseeing and managing the procurement of biospecimens to customer specifications.
• Lead the sourcing team, ensuring performance targets are met, with responsibility for the team’s daily planning, workload and performance management.
• Ensure continuous development of team members and self, and create adequate plans for progression, succession and knowledge sharing.
• Develop and implement improvement strategies aligned with organisational goals and market conditions and communicating sourcing performance, challenges, and improvement initiatives to the leadership team.
• Oversee sourcing and inventory optimisation, forecast inventory needs, report on inventory status and issues, and communicate inventory spending and stock levels to management.
• Manage supplier relationships and monitor ongoing supplier performance to mitigate supply chain risk.
• Accountable for ensuring all supplier information is up to date and work with Quality Assurance to ensure all suppliers are approved.
• Manage cost pricing for biospecimen products and negotiate contracts, pricing, service levels, and delivery terms with suppliers in line with global requirements ensuring optimum outcome for the organisation.
• Ensure effective working relationships and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders (including operations, sales and customer services) to accurately and efficiently fulfil customer requirements.
• Provide insight & report metrics to senior management team. Develop actions plans to recover gaps to plans / budgets.
• Escalation point for all sourcing‑related quality events, complex enquiries and resolutions.
• Assist in the management and planning of large long‑term projects and other ad‑hoc duties as assigned to role, or as reasonable for seniority of role.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor’s degree (B.S./B.A.) or equivalent qualification or experience.
• Proven experience with sourcing, procurement or similar roles.
• Experience analysing supply chain data to support cost, performance, and risk decisions.
• Relevant life science qualification and/or experience (e.g. technical background and technical understanding, laboratory and/or medical experience etc.) a plus.
• Salesforce and X3 ERP experience a plus.

Other Skills and Abilities

• The ability to coach and mentor team members to enable high performance.
• Excellent attention to detail and strong customer service and communication skills – both written and verbal.
• Exceptional problem‑solving, analytical, and critical thinking skills, with a proactive approach and the ability to adapt to new challenges.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment including scheduling, planning, prioritisation, and time‑management skills.
• Proficiency in a variety of computer software programmes including MS Office.
• Familiarity with ERP systems, shipping/receiving, customer order fulfilment and OSHA/DOT regulations.