Operations Buyer in London

Salary: £35k-£38k Plus Benefits + Growing Career

The company, a successful manufacturing business and a recent acquisition by a privately owned 11,000 employee Global Organisation, is poised to experience huge growth over the next few years due to significant investment. This will provide opportunities for employees to grow a worthwhile career, with full support and development.

Due to the expansion and investment in new systems and procedures, they are now expanding their team and see this as an exciting opportunity to join the purchasing department, reporting into the Supply Chain Manager.

Person and Role: Are you an organised and proactive procurement professional looking to make a real impact? We're looking for an Operations Buyer to join our growing Procurement team and play a vital role in keeping our supply chain running smoothly. In this role, you'll be responsible for ensuring the timely purchase of raw materials, components, and consumables that keep our production operations moving. Working closely with suppliers and internal teams, you'll help maintain material availability, optimise inventory, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across the business. If you thrive in a fast-paced manufacturing environment, enjoy building supplier relationships, and have a keen eye for detail, we'd love to hear from you.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Procurement & Purchasing: Raise and manage purchase orders for raw materials, components, and indirect goods. Monitor supplier performance and expedite deliveries to meet production requirements. Ensure materials are delivered on time, in full, and to the required quality standards.
• Material Planning: Review daily and weekly MRP recommendations to ensure timely procurement. Work closely with Production Planning to align purchasing with manufacturing schedules. Monitor supplier lead times and proactively manage potential supply risks.
• Supplier Management: Develop and maintain strong working relationships with suppliers. Monitor supplier performance against key KPIs including quality, delivery, and responsiveness. Resolve supply or quality issues collaboratively with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Inventory Management: Support effective inventory control by maintaining appropriate stock levels. Help minimise excess stock while preventing shortages. Participate in inventory reviews and cycle count investigations as required.
• ERP & Data Management: Maintain accurate purchasing information within the ERP/MRP system. Update supplier records, pricing, lead times, and item master data. Ensure procurement documentation is accurate and up to date.
• Cost Control & Continuous Improvement: Obtain competitive quotations for materials and services. Support supplier negotiations and cost-saving initiatives. Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes and operational efficiency.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Production, Planning, Engineering, Quality, and Finance teams. Support new product introductions by ensuring material availability. Assist with sourcing alternative suppliers and materials when required.
• Compliance: Ensure purchasing activities comply with company policies and ethical sourcing standards. Maintain accurate purchasing records and supplier documentation.

About You: You'll be an organised and commercially aware Buyer who enjoys working in a collaborative manufacturing environment and can confidently manage multiple priorities.

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Previous experience in a Buyer, Purchasing, or Procurement role, ideally within manufacturing or engineering.
• Experience using ERP/MRP systems (Sage and/or SAP experience is advantageous).
• Excellent planning, organisation, and time management skills.
• Strong supplier relationship management and communication skills.
• Good commercial awareness with negotiation experience.
• High attention to detail and the ability to prioritise a busy workload.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office.
• Willingness to travel occasionally when required.

Desirable: Experience working with international suppliers and import processes. Understanding of inventory control and production planning principles.

Why Join Us? This is a fantastic opportunity to become part of a collaborative, supportive, and fast-paced business where your contribution will have a direct impact on our operational success. The planned company growth will also give individual opportunities for career development. You'll have the opportunity to:

• Be a key member of a growing Procurement and Supply Chain team.
• Work closely with colleagues across the business.
• Contribute to continuous improvement and cost-saving initiatives.
• Develop your procurement career in a supportive environment.
• Take ownership of your role and make a genuine difference to business performance.