Buyer & Strategic Procurement & Gas and Chemicals

Winsearch; Ellenbrook; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 59,000; Full time

Job summary

A global engineering-led organization is looking for a Senior Buyer in Strategic Procurement based in Ellenbrook, Greater Manchester. This role focuses on developing and delivering strategic sourcing and category strategies. The ideal candidate will possess strong commercial acumen and proven experience in senior procurement roles. The position offers a competitive salary of £50,000 to £59,000 plus bonuses and excellent benefits, alongside real opportunities for career growth and development within an influential organization.

Benefits

Performance-related bonus

Strong pension and benefits package

Access to structured development and training

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a senior procurement or category role with strategic accountability.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to think beyond cost and into value, risk, and opportunity.
• Experience developing and delivering category or sourcing strategies aligned to business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Developing and delivering sourcing and category strategies aligned to wider commercial goals.
• Challenging established procurement models and proposing creative, commercially sound alternatives.
• Leading supplier relationship management, building collaborative partnerships that deliver long-term value.

Skills

Proven experience in a senior procurement or category role with strategic accountability

Strong commercial acumen

Strong negotiation and supplier relationship management capability

Education

Degree educated preferred, or equivalent experience

Job description

Senior Buyer – Strategic Procurement – Manchester Office – £50,000 to £59,000 + Bonus + Excellent Benefits

Are you a procurement professional with a strategic mindset rather than transactional?

Do you enjoy challenging long-standing ways of working and influencing senior stakeholders?

Can you see opportunity where others see fixed supplier relationships?

Are you commercially curious enough to rethink how markets, geographies and competitors interact?

Take your career to the next level with a global, engineering-led organisation operating at scale across industrial gases, chemicals and advanced process industries. This is a senior procurement role for someone who thinks beyond purchasing and sees supply strategy as a commercial lever.

This role is not about raising POs or maintaining the status quo. It is about challenging how things are done, reshaping supplier dynamics, and creating value through intelligent, strategic sourcing.

What you NEED

• Proven experience in a senior procurement or category role with strategic accountability
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to think beyond cost and into value, risk and opportunity
• Experience developing and delivering category or sourcing strategies aligned to business objectives
• Confidence influencing internal stakeholders who may be resistant to change
• Ability to operate effectively in complex, ambiguous environments
• Strong negotiation and supplier relationship management capability
• Degree educated preferred, or equivalent experience in a commercial or procurement environment

What you will get in return

• Salary of £50,000 to £59,000 depending on experience
• Performance-related bonus
• Strong pension and benefits package
• Excellent long-term career progression within a global organisation
• Access to structured development, training and future leadership opportunities
• A role with genuine influence and visibility at senior level

What you will be doing

• Acting as a true business partner, developing and delivering sourcing and category strategies aligned to wider commercial goals
• Identifying opportunities to reshape supplier landscapes, including where markets are traditionally insular or geographically constrained
• Challenging established procurement models and proposing creative, commercially sound alternatives
• Leading supplier relationship management, building collaborative partnerships that deliver long-term value
• Negotiating contracts, pricing and terms to secure competitive advantage while managing supply risk
• Mapping supplier markets and competitive dynamics to unlock new sourcing opportunities
• Driving continuous improvement initiatives across cost, service, resilience and total cost of ownership
• Presenting new ideas clearly and credibly to senior internal stakeholders to gain buy-in and influence change
• Staying close to market trends, regulatory requirements and emerging technologies within industrial and process-driven sectors

Nice to Haves

• Experience within industrial gases, chemicals, process engineering, energy or adjacent heavy industry sectors
• Exposure to multinational or matrix organisations
• Experience influencing cross-functional teams at senior level

Company Profile

Our client is a global, safety-critical organisation operating across industrial gases, chemicals and advanced engineering sectors. They are known for scale, technical excellence and long-term investment in their people. This is an environment where new ideas are welcomed, challenge is encouraged, and progression is driven by impact rather than tenure.

This role offers genuinely limitless progression for someone who wants to shape strategy, influence decision-making and be recognised as a commercial leader rather than a functional buyer.

Buyer Strategic Procurement Gas and Chemicals • Ellenbrook, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom