Pharmaceutical Buyer

Uniphar Group; Uxbridge; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Uniphar Group is seeking a Buyer to support the IS team, sourcing products within the UK and globally to extend the client base. You will quote customers, negotiate with suppliers, and collaborate with sales, operations, quality, regulatory and finance to align procurement with business goals.

Based in Stockley Park with hybrid working, you will build strong supplier relationships, monitor performance, and ensure compliance with trade laws while driving cost efficiency and product availability

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Buyer or Procurement professional (3–5+ years).
• Knowledge of trade regulations, import/export procedures and customs laws is advantageous.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and data analysis for supplier performance.

Responsibilities

• Source products in the UK and worldwide; expand client base.
• Quote customers and negotiate prices with suppliers.
• Collaborate with internal teams (sales, operations, quality, regulatory, finance).
• Maintain supplier relationships to ensure product availability and best pricing.
• Monitor supplier performance and lead times to improve efficiency.

Skills

Negotiation

Communication

Analytical mindset

Procurement software

ERP systems

Excel

Tools

Exact

SAP

Oracle

Job description

The Role

Support the IS team to source products within the UK and worldwide to enable them to expand their client base. Ensure compliance with importation and work with manufacturers to negotiate on prices to expand our portfolio. The Buyer is responsible for quoting customers, building relationships with suppliers, working with internal stakeholders within the business to include sales, operations, quality, regulatory and finance.

Full-time, Permanent

Stockley Park

The Role

Support the IS team to source products within the UK and worldwide to enable them to expand their client base. Ensure compliance with importation and work with manufacturers to negotiate on prices to expand our portfolio. The Buyer is responsible for quoting customers, building relationships with suppliers, working with internal stakeholders within the business to include sales, operations, quality, regulatory and finance.

Key Outcomes And Responsibilities

Sourcing & Procurement

• Research and identify potential new products and new suppliers
• Quoting products for the IS and PS team
• Looking for alternatives for difficult to source products
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers to ensure product availability and best pricing.
• Maximise Inter group purchases
• Monitor and evaluate supplier performance to ensure consistency in volumes, competitive pricing and improve leadtimes
• Also working to support the PS team for unlicensed demand within the UK market

Inventory & Stock Management

• Monitor stock levels to ensure there are no supply chain disruptions and excess stock accumulation
• On going review of expiry dates for the portfolio to mitigate any write offs

Supplier/Customer Relationship Management

• Act as the main point of contact for Suppliers, developing the relationship and expanding the range of either import or export lines.
• Collaborate with internal teams (sales, marketing, finance) to ensure purchasing aligns with company objectives.

Compliance & Reporting

• Ensure all procurement activities comply with European and international regulations, including trade and customs laws.
• Maintain accurate purchasing & sales records and create reports on procurement activities, supplier & customer performance and monitoring market trends for products.
• Work alongside the quality team to ensure compliance within our QMS system and maintain training records alongside supplier & customer qualifications.

Administrative

• Item creations, updating internal working documents, chasing outstanding orders with suppliers
• Running transaction reports
• Raising purchase orders
• Running reports for shortage lines and products on the export ban list

Key Skills & Experience

• Proven experience as a Buyer, Procurement Specialist, or similar role (minimum 3-5 years).
• Knowledge and experience of trade regulations, import/export procedures, and customs laws would be an advantage
• Strong work ethic, resilient and driven
• Enjoy working in an entrepreneurial culture that moves quickly and requires rapid response and the ability to make quick, sound decisions
• Strong negotiation and communication skills.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to work with large sets of data and make informed decisions.
• Familiarity with procurement software and ERP systems (e.g. Exact, SAP, Oracle).
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).

Languages

• Fluency in English is essential. Additional European languages (e.g., French, German, Spanish, Italian) are a strong plus.

Personal Attributes

• Detail-oriented and highly organised.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to changing market conditions.
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team.
• A proactive approach to sourcing, managing relationships, and driving process improvements.

Additional Information

• This role may require occasional travel to meet with suppliers & customers and attend trade fairs.
• The position offers an opportunity for growth and advancement within a dynamic, international environment.

Uniphar – Who We Are

With a workforce of more than 3000 employees spread across Ireland, United Kingdom, Mainland Europe, MENA, and the USA, Uniphar is a trusted global partner to pharma and MedTech manufacturers, working to improve patient access to medicines around the world. Uniphar provides outsourced and specialised services to its clients, leveraging the strong relationships with 200+ of the world’s best known pharmaco-medical manufacturers across multiple geographies, enabled by our cutting-edge digital technology and our highly expert teams. Uniphar is organised into three key divisions: Supply Chain Retail, Uniphar Med Tech and Uniphar Pharma.

Supply Chain & Retail

Supply Chain Services provides both pre-wholesale and wholesale distribution of pharmaceutical, healthcare and animal health products to pharmacies and hospital nationwide. The business supports a diverse customer base through the provision of strong service levels coupled with innovative commercial initiatives. In addition, the business provides services and supports that help independent community pharmacy to compete more effectively in an increasingly difficult environment and runs a network of Uniphar-owned pharmacies under the Life, Allcare, McCauleys and Hickeys symbol brands.

Pharma – Global Sourcing

The Global Sourcing business is a specialist medical supply business that sources and distributes pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and consumable supplies to healthcare professionals in over 160 countries worldwide. We have offices in Ireland, UK, Europe, USA and New Zealand. The company’s main divisions encompass everything from International Sales through Sales to NGO’s and Charities, Clinical Trials Supply, Imported (Unlicensed Medicines), Sexual Health Supplies, and the storage and distribution of medical products and devices for third parties.

Culture at Uniphar

Uniphar is a combination of many businesses each with its own identity, culture, values, and ways of working. Our overarching culture narrative is inclusive of each of these stores. Uniphar lives and breathes four key pillars which unpin and support our culture.

• We have a people first approach - we do the right thing.
• We support entrepreneurial spirit where adaptability, commitment & resilience is embodied in our way of working.
• We have a Common Purpose that connects our diversified businesses and people.
• Finally, Trust is at the heart of how we operate.

Everything Uniphar does is enabled by our people and as we continue to grow domestically and internationally, we become more diverse. This diversity fuels our business and culture.

Sustainability

Sustainability is at the core of what we do and is deeply embedded in our business strategy. We want to contribute positively to the people and the world around us. Running our business in a sustainable way ensures that Uniphar will continue to prosper in the long-term. We are focused on ensuring that each of the five pillars of our sustainability strategy are a fundamental part of our decision-making process.

How We’d Like To Work Together

Due to the expected key outcomes associated with this role by its nature it will be a role based out of one of our headquarters in either Ireland or UK. There will be an element of hybrid working available. It is important to note that we do not expect this job to be a ‘9 to 5’ type position. In return for your flexibility, you will be joining an environment that understands how inter-twined work and life have become - and both the benefits and challenges that brings - and therefore offers a flexible, progressive way of supporting it.

We are an equal opportunities employer and will ensure any reasonable accommodations are implemented as part of the recruitment and selection process.