Buyer in Coventry

Location: Coventry / Leamington Spa

Full Time | Permanent (40 hours per week)

About Futura Design

Futura are a leading UK specialist in automotive design, engineering, recruitment, and prototype model manufacturing. We work with global OEMs and advanced automotive clients to deliver high-quality physical models, engineered components, showcars, design support, and technical recruitment solutions.

We are now looking to recruit a highly organised and commercially minded Buyer to manage procurement activities across the business. This role is critical to ensuring the smooth sourcing, onboarding, negotiation, purchasing, delivery, and quality management of suppliers, materials, services, and subcontract operations. This is not a transactional purchasing role. The successful candidate will take ownership of the full procurement lifecycle from identifying and qualifying suppliers through to ensuring successful delivery, quality control, compliance, stakeholder communication, and continuous supplier performance improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Take ownership of end-to-end procurement activities across the business, ensuring projects and operational requirements are delivered on time and to the required quality standards.
• Source, evaluate, and onboard new suppliers across manufacturing, engineering, tooling, materials, facilities, services, and specialist subcontract operations.
• Manage supplier onboarding documentation including NDAs, SLAs, supplier agreements, insurance records, ISO certifications, TISAX compliance, and other relevant accreditations.
• Ensure supplier compliance documentation remains current, organised, and auditable at all times.
• Build strong long-term supplier relationships whilst negotiating preferential commercial terms, rebates, pricing structures, lead times, and payment terms.
• Drive cost-saving initiatives without compromising quality, confidentiality, or delivery expectations.
• Work closely with internal departments including Project Management, Engineering, Model Build, Finance, Recruitment, Paint, and Operations teams to understand purchasing requirements and timelines.
• Track all procurement activities from quotation through to delivery, ensuring clear and proactive stakeholder communication throughout the process.
• Expedite orders and resolve supplier issues quickly and professionally where delays, shortages, or quality concerns arise.
• Coordinate incoming goods checks and support quality control processes to ensure purchased products and services meet required standards.
• Monitor supplier performance including quality, pricing competitiveness, reliability, responsiveness, and compliance.
• Maintain accurate purchasing records, supplier databases, and procurement tracking systems.
• Identify operational inefficiencies and contribute towards improving procurement systems, reporting, and internal processes.
• Support confidentiality and information security standards expected within a highly sensitive automotive prototype environment.
• Assist with forecasting requirements and proactively planning procurement activity to avoid project bottlenecks.

Skills & Experience

• Previous experience within a Buyer, Procurement, Supply Chain, or Purchasing role.
• Experience within automotive, engineering, manufacturing, prototype, or technical industries would be highly advantageous.
• Strong commercial awareness with excellent negotiation and supplier management skills.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail, particularly when managing supplier compliance and documentation.
• Confident communicator capable of professionally engaging with suppliers, subcontractors, and internal stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to manage multiple procurement activities simultaneously within a fast-paced project environment.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability with the ability to proactively resolve issues.
• Good understanding of supplier compliance requirements including NDAs, SLAs, ISO standards, TISAX, insurance documentation, and general procurement governance.
• Advanced competency with Microsoft Office including Excel and procurement tracking systems.
• Experience reading technical drawings or engineering documentation would be beneficial but is not essential.
• Ideally, the successful candidate will have experience working with and sourcing suppliers from overseas, specifically China and Europe.
• Understanding and competency dealing with importing, and the complexities this presents e.g. duties, carriage etc.
• Must have the right to work in the United Kingdom.

Personal Attributes

• Commercially minded and naturally proactive.
• Professional, reliable, and highly dependable.
• Comfortable taking responsibility and ownership of critical activities.
• Strong problem‑solving mindset with a calm approach under pressure.
• Process-driven whilst remaining adaptable to changing project priorities.
• Confident challenging suppliers and driving accountability where required.
• Discreet and trustworthy with confidential information.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to play a key role within a highly respected automotive prototype business.
• Exposure to high‑profile OEM and advanced engineering projects.
• Supportive, family‑run company culture with excellent facilities.
• Long‑term career development opportunities.
• A varied and fast‑paced role where no two days are the same.
• Access to our company funded wellness programme.
• 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays.