Buyer Senior Buyer (Permanent) in Hampshire

A highly respected and rapidly evolving UK food manufacturing business is seeking an exceptional Buyer to take ownership of strategically critical procurement categories across ingredients and packaging (approximately £20m portfolio) within a fast-paced FMCG manufacturing environment.

This is a significant opportunity for an experienced procurement professional who thrives within commercially complex, operationally demanding, and highly collaborative manufacturing businesses. The role offers genuine visibility, influence, and the opportunity to shape category strategy within a business that is investing heavily in operational capability, customer partnerships, innovation, and long-term growth.

The organisation operates within a dynamic food manufacturing environment supplying both retail and B2B channels, where procurement plays a central role in protecting margin, maintaining continuity of supply, driving innovation, and supporting wider commercial performance. This is not a transactional buying role.

It requires a commercially astute, strategically minded procurement professional capable of operating across supplier markets, manufacturing operations, finance, planning, technical, NPD, and commercial teams to deliver measurable business impact.

The Senior Buyer will hold end-to-end responsibility for a portfolio of strategically important procurement categories spanning raw materials, ingredients, commodities, and packaging.

• Manage supplier performance, cost control, and security of supply across critical spend areas.
• Lead commercial negotiations with both UK and international suppliers.
• Support working capital and inventory optimisation initiatives.
• Build robust procurement governance whilst maintaining pace and agility.

You will need to be equally comfortable negotiating commercial agreements, managing supply risk, influencing senior stakeholders, analysing market movements, supporting manufacturing operations, and challenging suppliers where required.

• Develop robust procurement category strategies across allocated areas of spend.
• Create short, medium, and long-term sourcing plans aligned to business growth and operational requirements.
• Identify opportunities to reduce total cost of ownership whilst protecting quality and service.
• Lead strategic sourcing activity including tendering, benchmarking, supplier rationalisation, and contract negotiations.
• Deliver procurement savings, value improvement initiatives, and margin enhancement opportunities.
• Build contingency planning and mitigation strategies for supply chain risk.
• Support procurement transformation and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Lead supplier negotiations across pricing, contracts, service levels, rebates, payment terms, and performance expectations.
• Conduct supplier performance reviews and drive accountability through structured KPI management.
• Introduce joint business planning approaches with strategically important suppliers.
• Work closely with manufacturing, planning, technical, finance, commercial, and NPD functions to support wider business objectives.
• Support service continuity and minimise operational disruption through proactive supplier and inventory management.
• Participate in business-critical operational and supply chain meetings.
• Ensure procurement decisions balance commercial objectives with operational realities.

• Assess geopolitical, agricultural, economic, and supply chain risks impacting procurement categories.
• Provide commercial insight and market intelligence to internal stakeholders.
• Support budget planning and forecasting activity with accurate procurement analysis.
• Develop proactive risk mitigation strategies across categories.

Degree educated and a minimum of CIPS Level 3 or 4 required with the desire to continue those studies. This role requires an experienced FMCG procurement professional with strong food manufacturing or FMCG exposure and a track record operating within commercially and operationally demanding environments.

Progressive procurement and category management experience within FMCG manufacturing. Experience purchasing ingredients, raw materials, commodities, and packaging. Experience operating within food manufacturing or complex manufacturing supply chains. Excellent commercial acumen and analytical capability. Strong understanding of procurement governance, supplier management, and category strategy.

The organisation is seeking an individual who combines commercial credibility with strong relationship-building capability. Driven to continuously improve processes, performance, and outcomes.

This is an opportunity to join a highly regarded food manufacturing business at an exciting stage of evolution and growth. The procurement function is highly valued within the organisation and plays a critical role in supporting operational performance, customer delivery, innovation, and commercial success.

The opportunity to influence strategic procurement direction in a collaborative and fast-paced FMCG environment with strong long-term career development potential. This opportunity would suit ambitious procurement professionals seeking a role with genuine breadth, influence, and progression potential within a complex FMCG manufacturing environment.