Lead Buyer

Premier Placement Services; Leicester Forest East; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Premier Placement Services is recruiting a Lead Buyer for a prestigious manufacturing business in Leicester. The role focuses on delivering value by managing supplier escalations, leading KPI reporting and spend insights, and ensuring purchasing processes are effective.

The successful candidate will demonstrate strategic procurement experience, supplier relationship management, and the ability to work across functions to optimise inventory and supplier performance.

Qualifications

• Experience in supplier relationship management.
• Strong data-driven decision making with procurement data.
• Proven negotiation and cost optimisation.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems.
• Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management.
• Ability to prioritise workload and manage competing deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Support complex purchases with key suppliers and monitor performance.
• Assist PO placement from request to supplier acknowledgement.
• Negotiate delivery schedules to improve inventory levels.
• Collaborate with internal teams on supplier onboarding and quality issues.
• Collate RFQ data, compare options and provide tactical cost analysis for strategic buying decisions.
• Own and update the Supplier Matrix to support RFQ activity and supplier selection.
• Manage supplier escalations, including expediting and freight issues.
• Manage supplier KPI dashboard updates, analyse KPI performance and provide clear data insights to support supplier development.
• Review supplier spend patterns and share analysis to guide future purchasing direction.

Skills

Supplier relationship management

ERP/MRP proficiency

Data-driven decision making

Cross-functional collaboration

Effective negotiation experience

Prioritisation & workload management

Job description

Due to sustained growth, I am currently recruiting for a new role as Lead Buyer for a prestigious and well-established manufacturing business in Leicester.

The main purpose of the role is to deliver operational and strategic value by managing supplier escalations, leading KPI's and spend insight and ensuring purchasing processes and initiatives are completed effectively.

Duties for the Lead Buyer will include:

• Support complex purchases, working with key suppliers and monitoring their performance.
• Support Purchase Order Placement from PO request through to supplier acknowledgement.
• Negotiate delivery schedules that directly improve Inventory levels.
• Work with internal teams on supplier onboarding, quality concerns and deviation management.
• Collate RFQ data, compare options and provide tactical cost analysis for strategic buying decisions.
• Own and update the Supplier Matrix to support RFQ activity and supplier selection.
• Manage supplier escalations, including expediting and freight issues and close them out effectively.
• Manage supplier KPI dashboard updates, analyse KPI performance and provide clear data insights to support supplier development
• Review supplier spend patterns and share analysis to guide sustainable supplier focus and future purchasing direction.

Requirements

• Supplier relationship management
• ERP/MRP proficiency
• Data-driven decision making
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Effective negotiation experience
• Prioritisation & workload management

Most importantly, the successful candidate will have a very focused purchasing mindset, be able to demonstrate real strategic exposure towards procurement and be able to take full responsibility for all purchasing activities.

You will be commercially aware with strong communication skills and the ability to liaise effectively at all levels.

This role represents an excellent opportunity to join a global business, supporting high profile industries and organisations with state-of-the-art products.