Engineering & Facilities Buyer in Exeter

Engineering & Facilities Buyer

Exeter, Devon
Salary: Up to £53,000 + Yearly Bonus + Excellent Benefits
Full-Time | Site-Based | Monday to Friday

Yolk Recruitment are supporting a global aerospace manufacturer with the recruitment of an experienced Buyer to join their Facilities team in Exeter.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with a background in engineering, technical facilities, contract management or procurement who enjoys negotiating with suppliers, managing contractor relationships and identifying opportunities to improve service delivery and reduce costs.

You’ll take ownership of approximately 50 external service contracts supporting a busy manufacturing site, covering everything from HVAC, refrigeration and fire protection systems through to cleaning, catering, water services and general site maintenance.

This is what you’ll be doing

As an Engineering & Facilities Buyer, you’ll be responsible for managing external service contracts, ensuring contractors deliver against agreed specifications, service standards and commercial terms.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Managing approximately 50 external service contracts covering technical building services, facilities maintenance and general site operations.
• Negotiating contract pricing, renewals and service agreements, ensuring competitive rates and value for money.
• Reviewing contractor quotations, challenging costs and agreeing appropriate specifications and scopes of work.
• Identifying cost-saving opportunities through supplier negotiations, contract reviews and improvements to service arrangements.
• Managing contractor relationships and monitoring performance against agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs), KPIs and contract requirements.
• Working with engineering and facilities teams to understand technical maintenance requirements across HVAC, refrigeration, fire protection, water systems and other building services.
• Sourcing suppliers, obtaining competitive quotations and supporting tendering and procurement activities.
• Holding regular contract review meetings, addressing performance concerns and ensuring agreed corrective actions are completed.
• Coordinating contractor attendance, site access and planned maintenance activities to minimise disruption to manufacturing operations.
• Ensuring contractors maintain the necessary compliance documentation, including RAMS, insurance certificates and relevant Health & Safety requirements.
• Supporting purchase orders, invoices and associated contract administration, ensuring commercial and financial information is accurate.
• Supporting the coordination of import/export documentation and maintenance arrangements for company vehicles where required.

The experience you’ll bring

• Previous experience in contract management, facilities management, technical services, engineering procurement or a similar commercially focused position.
• Demonstrable experience negotiating directly with contractors and suppliers, including contract pricing, renewals and service agreements.
• A good practical understanding of engineering maintenance, mechanical and electrical services, HVAC, refrigeration or other technical building systems.
• Confidence reviewing technical service quotations and specifications, challenging costs and discussing appropriate maintenance requirements with contractors.
• Experience managing external suppliers, monitoring service delivery and addressing performance issues.
• A commercially minded approach, with experience identifying cost savings and improving supplier value.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to independently manage multiple contracts, contractors and competing priorities.
• Good knowledge of contractor Health & Safety requirements, including RAMS, insurance documentation and safe working procedures.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the confidence to work with technical teams, operational managers and external suppliers.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• An HNC, degree or equivalent qualification in an engineering or related discipline would be advantageous, although candidates with relevant practical experience will also be considered.

And this is what you’ll get in return

• Salary up to £53,000
• Annual site performance bonus of approximately 5%.
• Annual salary reviews.
• Employer pension contributions of up to 10%.
• 25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Additional Christmas shutdown, which is not deducted from annual leave.
• Involvement in a manufacturing site undergoing significant investment in buildings, machinery and infrastructure
• Long-term development opportunities within a global organisation

Are you interested?

If you have a technical engineering or facilities background combined with strong commercial, supplier negotiation and contract management experience, we’d love to hear from you.

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