Purchasing and Inventory Manager in St Leonards

Location: St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex
Job Type: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £38,000 to £42,000 per year, depending on experience

About Charter Controls

Charter Controls is an established specialist supplier of industrial control and automation products, with over 40 years of industry experience.

We work directly with manufacturers around the world, importing and stocking a wide range of low-voltage control and automation products for customers across the UK and Ireland.

We are a close-knit team of around 12 people and are entering an important period of growth and development. As a smaller business, individuals have real visibility of the impact they make and the opportunity to contribute ideas and improve the way we work.

We are now looking for an experienced Purchasing & Inventory Manager to take ownership of our purchasing and inventory function.

The Role

This is a hands-on role responsible for purchasing and inventory management across a growing portfolio of more than 6,000 SKUs and a stock holding of approximately £600,000.

You will report directly to the Joint Managing Director responsible for Finance and Operations.

The role does not currently have any direct reports.

You will be responsible for day-to-day purchasing, maintaining appropriate stock levels, managing relationships with international suppliers, coordinating with freight and logistics providers, and producing meaningful stock and purchasing analysis to support business decisions.

This is not simply a purchase-order processing role.

We are looking for someone who can take ownership of the function, understand the numbers behind the stock, identify potential problems early and help us continually improve our purchasing and inventory processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day purchasing of products from UK and international suppliers.
  
• Take ownership of inventory management across more than 6,000 SKUs and approximately £600,000 of stock.
  
• Raise and manage purchase orders accurately and within appropriate timescales.
  
• Monitor outstanding purchase orders, supplier lead times and expected delivery dates.
  
• Work closely with suppliers to resolve availability, delivery, pricing and supply issues.
  
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers.
  
• Liaise with courier companies, freight providers and other logistics partners.
  
• Monitor stock levels and maintain an appropriate balance between product availability and stock investment.
  
• Use Eazystock to support stock planning, forecasting and purchasing decisions.
  
• Analyse stock movements, purchasing trends, slow-moving stock, excess inventory and potential stock shortages.
  
• Produce and continually develop monthly stock management reports.
  
• Use Microsoft Excel extensively to analyse data and turn it into useful management information.
  
• Work closely with our sales team to understand changing demand, customer requirements and future stock needs.
  
• Maintain accurate purchasing, supplier and product information within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
  
• Maintain supplier price lists, pricing information and associated purchasing records.
  
• Support supplier price reviews and purchasing negotiations.
  
• Monitor supplier performance, including delivery reliability, lead times and service levels.
  
• Maintain and take ownership of established purchasing and stock management processes.
  
• Identify opportunities to improve purchasing, stock control, reporting and operational efficiency.
  
• Take ownership of purchasing-related issues and follow them through to resolution.
  

About You

Previous purchasing experience is essential.

We are looking for someone who is organised, analytical and comfortable taking responsibility for an important business function.

You should be confident working independently while also being comfortable working closely with colleagues across a small business.

You will need to be accurate and methodical, but we also want someone who will question information when something does not look right and suggest practical improvements where processes could work better.

You will ideally have:

• Previous hands-on purchasing experience.
  
• Experience using stock management, inventory planning or inventory optimisation software.
  
• Experience managing a sizeable product or SKU portfolio.
  
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including analysing large sets of data.
  
• Experience producing and interpreting management reports.
  
• Good numerical and analytical ability.
  
• Excellent organisation and attention to detail.
  
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
  
• Confidence dealing with suppliers, including international suppliers.
  
• Experience working with courier, freight or logistics providers.
  
• The ability to manage multiple priorities and follow actions through to completion.
  
• A proactive and self-motivated approach.
  
• An interest in continuous improvement and developing better ways of working.
  
• The ability to work effectively without close supervision.
  

Experience in any of the following would be advantageous, although not essential:

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
  
• Monday.com.
  
• Industrial automation, electrical products, engineering or technical distribution.
  
• Purchasing or importing products from international suppliers.
  
• Developing purchasing, inventory or stock management KPIs and reports.
  

What We Are Looking For

We want someone who will take real ownership of purchasing and inventory management within Charter Controls.

You will be interested in understanding the story behind the numbers, whether that means identifying excess stock, anticipating future requirements, monitoring supplier performance or finding ways to make an established process more effective.

This role has a direct impact on product availability, customer service, stock investment and the overall performance of the business.

Because we are a relatively small company, you will work closely with the wider team and senior management and will be able to see the direct impact of the decisions you make.

As Charter Controls continues to grow, we want this role to develop with the business.

If you have strong purchasing experience, enjoy working with data and want the opportunity to take ownership of an important function within a growing specialist business, we would like to hear from you.