Assistant Buyer - Engineering/Manufacturing

The Skills You'll Need: Procurement, Manufacturing, SAP, Order Processing, Engineering

Location: Central London, hybrid four days in office, one day at home (five days in the office during probation)

Job status: Permanent

Working hours: Monday to Friday 9‑5pm

Who You'll Be Working for: Global raw materials trader.

What You'll Be Doing Each Day:

• The Assistant Buyer role sits within the Engineering Department of a diversified international group operating across more than seven countries worldwide.
• Based at the London office, the role forms part of an international engineering procurement team responsible for sourcing spare parts and assemblies for manufacturing industries, primarily serving the Middle East market.
• The role offers exposure to sourcing products from Europe and the Far East, providing valuable insight into international supply chains and global procurement practices.
• There is clear scope for career progression within the department.
• Understanding internal stakeholder requirements and preparing Requests for Quotation (RFQs) accurately and efficiently.
• Receiving, analysing, comparing, and evaluating supplier quotations.
• Preparing cost comparison sheets and calculating margins.
• Preparing customer and internal offers using the company’s bespoke SAP system.
• Negotiating pricing, lead times, and commercial terms with vendors.
• Raising and processing purchase orders.
• Preparing procurement and management reports.
• Selection and development of vendors to best meet the specifications, quality and logistical requirements.
• Ensuring accurate and timely data entry within the in‑house SAP system.
• Typing, proof reading and production of correspondence and documents using in‑house style compliant templates.
• Monitoring and responding to telephone and email enquiries on behalf of the engineering team.
• Updating product brochures, catalogues, and marketing materials as required.
• Database management.

Skills You'll Need to Succeed:

• Buying experience in engineering or manufacturing.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of procurement principles.
• Familiarity with INCO terms & Forex / Exchange rates as this is an international trading environment.
• Ability to evaluate suppliers and negotiate favourable terms of business.
• Hands on ability to manage and enter enquiries, quotations and contracts onto computer systems.
• Strong numerical skills and high level of computer literacy.
• Good communication skills both verbal and written.
• Demonstrated experience with ERP systems is highly desirable, particularly SAP Business One.
• Fluency in English. Knowledge of European languages would be an added advantage.
• High attention to detail, with a methodical and organised approach to work.
• A proactive, flexible, and “can‑do” attitude.
• Have a flexible approach to working hours when necessary.
• Have the ability to prioritise work effectively.
• Be a confident user of MS Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Have ability and enthusiasm for learning new systems and IT packages. Training will be given on SAP Business One.

We would be grateful if you could send your CV as a Word document. If your application is successful, you will be contacted within 7 days. We regret that due to the high volume of applications we receive we cannot provide feedback on individual CVs. Please note that we can only consider candidates who are eligible to work in the UK and are able to provide relevant supporting documentation.

People First is committed to increasing diversity, and maintaining an inclusive workplace culture. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, year of birth, relationship status or whether or not they have a disability.

People First (Recruitment) Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent and fixed term contract recruitment and as an employment business for the supply of temporary workers.

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