Senior Buyer - Civils in Cheshire, Warrington

Location: Hybrid, based from Derby, Manchester or Warrington

Salary: £44,600 – £55,125 dependent on experience + bonus + excellent benefits

Our mission is to deliver clean, affordable energy for all. Rolls‐Royce SMR provides a British solution to a global energy challenge, leading the way in Small Modular Reactor technology and shaping the UK’s premier green export opportunity.

Our Procurement function is central to building the commercial and supply chain foundations required to deliver our first SMR and future fleet deployment. As part of this, Civils procurement is critical — supporting major construction activity, groundworks, enabling works, heavy civils, site infrastructure, and the development of future manufacturing and project delivery sites.

To support this growth, we’re looking for a Senior Buyer – Civils to lead sourcing activity, develop category strategies and manage complex supplier relationships across a diverse range of civil engineering and construction packages. Reporting to the Procurement Manager, you’ll shape strategy, influence design and programme decisions, and help build a scalable and resilient Civils supply chain for one of the UK’s most innovative engineering programmes.

What you’ll be doing:

• Develop and implement category and sourcing strategies for Civils packages, ensuring alignment with programme cost, quality and schedule requirements.
• Manage end‐to‐end procurement activity including PQQs, RFQs, RFPs, tender evaluations, negotiation, contract drafting and award recommendations.
• Build and mature the Civils supply base—identifying risks, opportunities, cost levers and future capability needs across groundworks, infrastructure, enabling works and major construction.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders across Engineering, Construction, Programme Delivery, Project Controls, Finance, Legal and Operations to influence early decision‐making.
• Translate technical, commercial and market insights into clear recommendations for senior stakeholders.
• Ensure strong governance, compliance and documentation throughout the procurement lifecycle, including contract and supplier performance management.
• Drive continuous improvement across processes, templates, reporting and supplier engagement.

This is a pivotal role in supporting our project delivery and long‐term infrastructure roadmap. You’ll bring strong commercial judgement, a collaborative mindset and the ability to operate effectively in a fast‐paced, evolving and highly innovative environment.

What you’ll bring:

• Proven experience in Civils procurement — ideally groundworks, infrastructure, large‐scale construction, enabling works, or major project delivery.
• Strong commercial acumen with hands‐on experience running competitive tenders and negotiating complex supplier agreements.
• Confidence working with cost models, programme interfaces, market analysis and supply chain capability assessments.
• Experience in regulated, complex or safety‐critical programmes (energy, nuclear, infrastructure, aerospace, defence or similar).
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence technical and non‐technical teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to present complex information clearly.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Word.
• MCIPS (or working towards) is desirable but not essential.

Location & Ways of Working:

This role can be based from our Derby, Manchester or Warrington office. We operate hybrid working, with regular weekly office attendance expected. Some travel may be required depending on project and supplier needs.

Salary: £44,600 – £55,125 depending on experience.

Benefits include:

• Bonus – up to 12.5% performance‐related
• Benefits Allowance – £2,200 for a bespoke package
• Pension – 12% employer, 6% employee
• Holidays – 28 days + public holidays (option to buy/sell 4 days)
• Private Medical Insurance – BUPA
• Life Assurance – 6× pensionable pay
• £250 one‐off payment for home office setup

You’ll join a forward‐thinking organisation that values transparency, fairness and innovation, offering:

• A flexible, inclusive and supportive environment
• Opportunities for growth in a rapidly scaling business
• A culture centred on diversity, innovation and continuous learning

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds. Inclusivity is important to us, and as a Disability Confident organisation, we are committed to fair, supportive, and continually improving recruitment practices that ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Confidence can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job. But we'll let you in on a secret: there's no such thing as a 'perfect' candidate. If you feel you meet 75% of the requirements for this role, we would love to hear from you. Also, if you are considering a career move or a sector-jump, please get in touch – we welcome applications from people with transferable skills.

Our Application Process:

Due to the safety regulations within the nuclear industry, applicants will be required to participate in additional screening. These are:

• Obtaining Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance
• Satisfactory completion of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• Satisfactory completion of a basic financial probity check

We are Rolls-Royce SMR. A career with Rolls-Royce SMR offers a unique opportunity to contribute to an exciting organisation delivering a transformational mission. Rolls-Royce SMR is a radically different approach to proven nuclear technology. Each Rolls-Royce SMR power station will generate 470MW of low-carbon energy - equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines and enough to power a million homes for over 60 years. With its Rolls-Royce SMRs will play a vital role in supporting renewable energy by helping to overcome intermittency and ensure a stable, sustainable energy future.

We’re proud to be one of the few employers that can genuinely say we’re a strengths-based organisation. Our people are here because of what makes them exceptional - and our role is to help them make the most meaningful contribution of their careers, doing work they love. We offer opportunities that go beyond traditional career paths. At Rolls-Royce SMR you can develop your career by exploring roles and challenges that align with your unique talents.

At Rolls-Royce SMR, we are committed to ensuring that our teams reflect the communities we serve and that everyone can be themselves at work. We know that diverse teams are more innovative and get better results, and that our people can thrive and be more successful in truly inclusive cultures. Join us and help shape our culture.