Buying Manager (Food/FMCG)

This role is based at our Head Office in Finsbury Park with some flexibility to work from home for one day per week after a successful probation period. Come and join us as our Procurement Manager and play a pivotal role in helping us deliver safe, high-quality homes and services for our residents. This is an exciting opportunity for a commercially minded procurement professional to lead a strategic function, shape organisational best practice, and secure real value through compliant, effective and forward-thinking procurement.

Reporting to the Head of Partnerships, Procurement and Energy, you will lead the organisation's procurement activity across goods, works and services. You will work closely with colleagues across the business to manage tendering, strengthen governance, oversee supplier performance and drive value for money, while ensuring full compliance with relevant legislation and internal standards.

• Lead and deliver the organisation's procurement strategy, ensuring it supports corporate priorities, asset management plans and building safety requirements.
• Manage compliant, transparent and value-driven procurement processes from market engagement through to tendering, negotiation and contract award.
• Strengthen procurement governance by maintaining robust documentation, evaluation frameworks, risk controls and audit-ready processes.
• Work with operational teams to embed effective contract and supplier management, including performance monitoring, KPIs and review activity.
• Drive commercial value by identifying cost savings, supporting budget holders, analysing spend and leading negotiations to secure favourable terms.
• Provide insight, guidance and continuous improvement across the organisation by using data, reporting to senior stakeholders and promoting procurement best practice.

Confident and collaborative procurement professional with substantial experience across the full procurement lifecycle and a strong track record of delivering complex tenders and high-value contracts. You will bring excellent commercial judgement, analytical ability and negotiation skills, alongside a strong understanding of procurement in a regulated environment and the legislation that underpins it. Just as importantly, you will be someone who can build strong relationships across teams, influence stakeholders at all levels and communicate complex information clearly.

At ISHA, community and neighbourhood mean everything to us, and our roots run deep in the areas of North London that we serve. Founded over 90 years ago, we provide around 2,500 homes for over 5,000 people across Islington, Hackney and Waltham Forest. We are proud to remain a community-based housing association with a strong social purpose and an ambitious future. Our values are at the heart of who we are and everything we do, inspiring our thinking and guiding our actions. We strive to build a more diverse organisation, where everyone feels empowered to bring, and be, their best self to work. We are ambitious about the future while remaining grounded in our communities and values.

• A genuinely community-based and values-led organisation.
• Strong social purpose and commitment to affordable housing.
• New corporate strategy and clear organisational ambition with a commitment to growth in our heartlands.
• Flexible and supportive working culture.
• Competitive pension and benefits package.

We can't be a brilliant landlord if we don't partner with brilliant colleagues. Could you be one of them? If this sounds exciting, we want you on our team. Please do complete an application.

We want ISHA to be a great place to work and to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and those of Other Ethnicities, LGBTQ+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents.

When you submit your final application with your CV and a covering letter tell us: (a) Why you feel you're a strong fit for this role, with reference to the job description and person specification. (b) One work-related challenge you've managed, what you did, and what you learned. (c) Your biggest success in terms of procurement. (d) What motivates you most about working in procurement. (e) Anything else you feel is relevant to share with us. Maximum of 250 words per answer, please.

Please note: We can only be able to accept applications from candidates with eligibility to currently work in the UK. We do not offer a visa sponsorship programme. Applications sent without a covering letter will not be accepted.

ISHA is committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions. If you would like us to do anything differently during the application, interview, or assessment process, including providing information in an alternative format, you will be able to contact us.

No agencies please.