Group Buyer

CFM is an established building services and facilities management contractor operating across Northern Ireland, with a growing footprint. With a team of over 350 dedicated staff and access to all major public sector procurement frameworks including Fusion21, PFH, NHMF and M3NHF, CFM group delivers reactive maintenance, planned works, M&E, decarbonisation, fit out, manufacturing and property development services to housing associations, local authorities, healthcare trusts and education bodies.

As CFM scales towards its next phase of growth, the creation of this role reflects a strategic commitment to building a procurement function that matches the ambition of the business, protects margin, manages risk, and builds a supply chain that is a genuine competitive advantage.

THE ROLE

This is a standalone role and a significant opportunity for an experienced Buying professional to take ownership of buying across the CFM group. You will be responsible for leading and evolving buying strategy and controls across subcontract, labour-only, materials, depot buying, and group supply requirements, ensuring consistency, commercial rigour and scalability across all business activities. You will work closely with finance, operational, projects, commercial and SHEQ teams. The role combines strategic leadership with hands-on delivery, ensuring that procurement and buying is both well-governed and commercially effective.

A key element of the role remains oversight of all buying activity across CFM's four depots at Mallusk, Omagh, Derry and Castledawson, which operate as internal trade counters supporting operational teams. Supplier on-boarding, performance management and regional supply chain development will also form a key element of this role.

You will work closely with teams ensuring commercial and contractual requirements are embedded in their processes and that performance data informs your procurement decisions. We are seeking applications from those currently in a similar role as well as those seeking to step-up to a new challenge from Senior QS, Senior Estimators and similar construction roles.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supply Chain Strategy & Structure
  • Conduct a full audit of current supply chain spend, relationships and risk exposure across all categories.
  • Segment the supply chain into strategic partners, preferred suppliers, approved suppliers and conditional or one-off relationships.
  • Define category structure across subcontractors, labour-only and materials and products.
  • Build and maintain a live approved supplier register with compliance status, tier classification and performance data.
  • Develop and manage a named supplier and approved product list, embedded into all subcontract packages.
• Agreements & Commercial Controls
  • Develop and implement standardised subcontract agreements, labour-only agreements and supply chain framework agreements, back-to-back with main contract and framework obligations.
  • Manage and enhance the subcontractor buying discount programme, negotiating group pricing with named suppliers.
  • Ensure all agreements include CIS and IR35 compliance obligations, H&S requirements, performance KPIs, named product compliance and variation and final account mechanisms.
  • Implement a back-to-back order and contract process ensuring all obligations flow down from client to subcontractor to named supplier.
  • Maintain a central contract repository with version control and automated expiry alerts.
• Stores & Depot Buying
  • Develop and manage supplier agreements and pricing frameworks for all depot stock categories including consumables, materials, small plant and tools.
  • Work with the procurement team to negotiate volume-based pricing with key suppliers, ensuring consistent pricing is applied across all four depot locations.
  • Work with depot and operational managers to understand stock requirements, usage patterns and seasonal demand.
  • Rationalise the supplier base across depots to reduce duplication, increase volume leverage and improve commercial terms.
  • Ensure all depot suppliers are on the approved register and trading under agreed terms.
  • Monitor spend across depots by category and supplier, reporting quarterly and identifying further savings opportunities.
  • Work with the procurement team to implement minimum stock levels, reorder triggers and Vendor Management Inventory arrangements with key suppliers where appropriate.
• SHEQ Interface
  • Ensure all subcontract and supply agreements reflect the compliance standards and obligations set by SHEQ.
  • Use supplier performance data produced to inform commercial decisions including award, renewal and exit.
  • Ensure the named supplier and approved product list is maintained in line with SHEQ-approved accreditation requirements.
• Governance & Reporting
  • Report to the board monthly on spend by category, depot buying activity, supplier commercial performance and progress against commercial targets.
  • Manage the approval process for all subcontract packages above the agreed threshold.
  • Provide input & support to the tender and bid processes to ensure supply chain commitments are deliverable and commercially sound & responses are strong.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Experience

• Proven experience in buying, procurement, supply chain management or commercial management within construction, building services, M&E or facilities management.
• Demonstrable experience managing subcontractors and specialist suppliers across multiple trades and regions.
• Working knowledge of CIS, IR35 and right to work obligations in a construction or FM environment.
• Experience drafting, negotiating and managing subcontract and supply agreements, including back-to-back contract structures.
• Track record of delivering cost savings and commercial improvements through structured supplier engagement.
• Experience implementing or operating a supplier performance management or scorecard framework.
• Ability to work independently, set up new processes and drive change in an organisation without an existing procurement function.

Desirable Experience

• Experience managing depot, stores or internal trade counter buying, including supplier agreements, stock frameworks and pricing consistency across multiple sites.
• Experience with named supplier and approved product list management in a principal contractor environment.
• Familiarity with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 44001 procurement obligations.
• Experience with supplier management platforms such as Causeway, Tradex, Achilles or similar.
• CIPS qualified or working towards qualification.
• Experience in a business scaling from SME to mid-tier contractor (turnover growth phase).
• Knowledge of public sector procurement frameworks including Fusion21, PFH, NHMF and DPS routes.

Skills and Attributes

• Commercially sharp with strong negotiation skills and the confidence to hold suppliers to account.
• Organised and process-driven, able to build structure and consistency across a busy operational environment.
• Strong communicator, able to build trust with supply chain, project managers and board-level stakeholders.
• Data literate, able to use spend analytics and scorecard data to drive decisions.
• Collaborative by nature with a performance-driven mindset.
• Practical and pragmatic, able to get things done without bureaucracy slowing progress.