Head Of Group Purchasing

Romans Recruitment Group Ltd; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car Allowance

Company Benefits Package

Pension Scheme

Annual Leave Entitlement

Ongoing Training and Development

Career Progression Opportunities

Job summary

Romans Recruitment Group Ltd is seeking an experienced Head of Group Purchasing to lead procurement across multiple projects. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, you will manage supplier relationships, drive value engineering and ensure supply continuity.

You will oversee the buying team, set strategy, report to the Chief Commercial Officer and align with the group board on procurement changes. The role requires strong Excel and Outlook skills and a precise, detail‑oriented approach.

Qualifications

• Excel knowledge and ability to extract information from site teams.
• Experience with Outlook and rapid processing of enquiries.
• Good analytical and numerical skills.
• Attention to detail to minimise errors.
• Degree-level education and strong computer literacy.
• Procurement qualifications would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Purchase goods, materials and services to meet operational needs.
• Manage the Buyer, delegate tasks and provide guidance.
• Report to group board on procurement changes.
• Build and manage supplier relationships; ensure communication.
• Work with pre-construction team on tender information and value engineering.
• Assess suppliers and perform performance reviews.
• Support product changes and assess impact on capacity plans.
• Stay current on supply/demand changes and advise teams.
• Attend meetings to update on risks.
• Process requisitions, issue enquiry packages and quotation evaluation.
• Place orders for group companies; coordinate deliveries.
• Invoice checking and resolve queries.
• Maintain cost comparison spreadsheets.

Skills

Excel basics

Extraction from site teams

Outlook

Analytical skills

Numerical skills

Attention to detail

Spend control

Education

Degree level education

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Head of Group Purchasing

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Salary: £50,000 - £55,000 per annum (subject to experience)

Package: Car Allowance + Benefits
Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Job Description

As Head of Group Purchasing you will be responsible for the various procurement processes which are an integral part of the delivery side of the business, across all departments.

In this role you will be responsible to the Chief Commercial Officer

Key Responsibilities

This will include, but not be limited to, the following duties:

• Purchase goods, materials and services to ensure the company operational needs are met, taking into account price, quality and delivery and to ensure continuity of supply.
• Manage the performance of the Buyer, delegate tasks and provide guidance and training.
• Reporting to group board on changes and updates on all aspects of group purchasing.
• Build, maintain and manage supplier relationships and ensure good communications.
• Working closely with the pre-construction team on tender information and value engineering.
• Assess and evaluate suppliers and undertake performance reviews to ensure contract compliance and manage performance improvement activities.
• Support product change requests and review the impact on capacity plans.
• Stay current and up to date on any changes that may affect the supply or demand of needed products and materials and advise others of the impact.
• Attend meetings and update others on concerns, in particular when there is a risk which could prevent the organisation meeting programmes.
• Receiving requisitions from group companies.
• Sending out enquiry packages for building and civil engineering materials.
• Quotation evaluation.
• Placing orders for group companies, including liaising with site teams to programme deliveries and expedite orders. This will include maintaining order logs (Excel documents).
• Invoice checking, including resolving queries.
• Maintaining various spreadsheets (Excel documents), which record cost comparisons and set out site order information.

Continuous Improvement

You will contribute to the overall running and continuous improvement of the business, along with development of the Procurement Department, by ensuring that the highest professional standards are maintained to continually improve the service given to clients. This includes:

• Identifying problems and offering solutions.
• Ensuring company procedures are followed as they relate to the Procurement Department, and offering suggestions as to their development and improvement.
• Encouraging and developing teamwork both within your team and between teams, internally and externally.
• Having an excellent understanding of internal management systems and compliance procedures.

General Requirements

You will be expected to maintain the highest levels of confidentiality at all times regarding the company and its clients. You must also work efficiently and safely at all times in accordance with appropriate training, company safety policies and HSE guidelines.

Your ability to relate well with clients and staff and to maintain high professional standards is very important, alongside your ability to communicate in a clear, concise manner both in writing and verbally. In doing so you must also ensure an appropriate standard of dress and personal appearance is maintained at all times.

You should demonstrate and use initiative to carry out work with minimal supervision, including the skills to prioritise and work to strict deadlines whilst being thorough and paying close attention to detail. This will be reinforced by demonstrating an enthusiastic, flexible and conscientious approach to work.

Once inducted, you should demonstrate a clear understanding of the company's structure, values and procedures. In relation to this, you must advise your line manager immediately of any visits to site by external agencies such as the Health & Safety Executive, Environmental Health Officers, etc.

The main duties listed above are not intended to be exhaustive and may be revised in accordance with the requirements of the department and the company.

Person Specification

Experience / Skills

Essential

• Basic knowledge of Excel.
• Ability to extract relevant information from site teams to produce accurate enquiries (a questioning attitude may be required).
• Experience with Outlook is essential (rapid processing of emailed enquiries and other correspondence is required).
• Good analytical and numerical skills.
• Attention to detail to minimise errors.
• Common sense approach to keep a tight rein on spend.

Desirable

• Previous experience within the construction industry.

Knowledge and Other Relevant Factors

Essential

• Multiple product category knowledge.
• Ideally educated to degree level and preferably within a relevant subject area.
• Able to demonstrate a high degree of computer literacy and proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.

Desirable

• Professional procurement qualifications would be advantageous.

Benefits

• Car Allowance
• Company Benefits Package
• Pension Scheme
• Annual Leave Entitlement
• Ongoing Training and Development
• Career Progression Opportunities

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced purchasing professional to join a well-established construction business and take responsibility for group-wide procurement activities, supplier management and purchasing strategy across multiple projects and departments.