Assistant Buyer

Balfour Beatty plc; Basildon; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Smart working with up to 40% remote

25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)

Pension and share incentive plan

Wellbeing and development programs

Job summary

Balfour Beatty plc is seeking an Assistant Buyer to join the LTC Procurement team in the UK. You will support tendering, market analysis and supplier selection, manage RFQs/ITT processes, and help ensure procurement governance and value delivery across projects.

You will work with estimating, commercial and project teams, handling supplier negotiations and providing regular supplier performance insights while contributing to the broader procurement strategy.

Qualifications

• Experience in material procurement and subcontract procurement in construction
• Experience delivering procurement processes in a construction environment
• Experience negotiating with suppliers and ensuring process compliance
• Strong analytical skills and commercial awareness
• Stakeholder management and team collaboration
• Proficiency in MS Office and data reporting tools
• Experience with procurement ERP/e-tendering systems (e.g. Oracle, Jaggaer)

Responsibilities

• Support tendering, market analysis, supplier selection, risk assessments
• Prepare and issue ITT documentation and requests for proposals
• Evaluate supplier responses and conduct commercial checks
• Shortlist suppliers and conduct negotiations for contracts/orders
• Provide regular procurement/supplier performance reports
• Monitor market trends and identify potential new suppliers
• Support graduate buyers and ensure governance compliance
• Deliver value-driven procurement aligned with project goals

Skills

Procurement and tendering

Supplier relationship management

Data analysis

Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerP)

Education

CIPS qualification (desirable)

Tools

Oracle

Jaggaer

Job description

About The Role

As Assistant Buyer, you will be a part of the wider Procurement Function and will be expected to work with other members of the LTC Project team to ensure the delivery of the LTC Procurement Strategy as well as delivering Procurement activity which is conducted in line with the Main Contract requirements, business’s objectives, strategy and processes.

You will be accountable for managing the LTC early procurement to conduct tenders and obtain quotations, analyse data, report on key metrics and ensure compliance to internal policies and procedures.

What you'll be doing

• Supporting the procurement, estimating and commercial teams with tendering, market analysis, supplier selection, risk and opportunity assessments, forecasting requirements
• Carrying out the procurement process for packages in accordance with LTC procurement & supply chain management strategy in relation to the following:
• Preparation of request for proposals and quotations
• Preparation and Issuing of ITT Documentation
• Evaluation and analysis of supplier responses (both quantative and qualitative)
• Assessing value (using Most Economically Advantageous Tender or Social Value evaluation techniques)
• Carrying out commercial checks for suppliers and past performance
• Conducting negotiations to enable the shortlisting of suppliers
• Make shortlist recommendations to the Procurement Manager and project team, highlighting distinguishing factors between suppliers and the rationale behind recommendations
• Conducting final negotiations with selected suppliers in order to enable the preparation of contracts/orders and compliance with BB procurement governance
• Provide supervision to graduate buyers in relation to procurement process activities assigned to them (as per stages detailed above)
• Provide regular reports on procurement and supplier performance
• Monitor the supply market to identify potential new suppliers and products and meet with suppliers to understand their products
• Understand the supplier market, keeping abreast of market developments, demand trends and risks
• Focus on exceeding minimum service expectations by delivering an agile, value adding service with a deep understanding of customer requirements, technical competence, functional knowledge and process efficiency

Who we're looking for

The Following Experience/qualifications Are Essential

• Experience in material procurement and desire to develop subcontract procurement capability
• Experience delivering procurement processes within a construction related environment
• Experience in managing supplier relationships, negotiation and process compliance
• Excellent analytical skills, strong commercial awareness, a measured approach to decision making and the ability to ensure best value procurement
• The ability to adopt a pragmatic, yet disciplined approach to process compliance
• Confident stakeholder manager and collaborative team player
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills
• Experience of procurement ERP and e-tendering systems (e.g. Oracle, Jaggaer or similar)
• Supply Chain Management Experience
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

The Following Qualities/experience Are Desirable

• An understanding of legal frameworks and contract law (NEC)
• Experience of supporting a team
• Working towards CIPS qualification

Why work for us

Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

Why join us?

Benefits

As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions wasn’t rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. You’ll have the freedom to shape the package that’s right for you and your life. Here are some of our key benefits:

• Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
• 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
• Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave
• Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more...

About Us

Balfour Beatty’s Highways business delivers major schemes including motorway upgrade programmes, complex national infrastructure projects and regional investment programme works for National Highways. We have a strong orderbook and a positive pipeline of opportunities, we put the road user, at the heart of everything we do. We work safely, reduce carbon emissions and added social value to the communities within which we work.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background.

To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion

To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, enei, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence 'Employer Recognition Scheme' and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long-term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit: https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/

We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at: [e-mail]