Placement Student, Procurement

AlphaSights; London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

AlphaSights, a leading firm in procurement solutions, is seeking a motivated Associate to join their London office. This entry-level role offers the chance to work closely with stakeholders across various departments, managing procurement processes and vendor relationships. Ideal candidates will showcase strong analytical and negotiation skills while being proactive team players. With ample opportunities for professional growth and a supportive environment, this role is perfect for a university student in their penultimate year looking to make an impact.

Benefits

4% matched pension contribution

Comprehensive private health insurance and dental coverage

25 vacation days plus bank holidays

Option to WFH Thursday & Friday

State-of-the-art office amenities

Qualifications

• Must be in penultimate year of university with industrial placement year.
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English required.
• Proven record of achievement in academic or extracurricular activities.

Responsibilities

• Manage stakeholder relationships and supplier negotiations.
• Analyze and optimize vendor contracts and cost efficiencies.
• Oversee procurement resources and ensure proper management processes.

Skills

Stakeholder Management

Negotiation

Analytical Skills

Commercial Acumen

Creativity

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Tools

Excel

Google Sheets

Job description

Start Date: September 2025

About this role

This is a role based in our London Office and reporting into the Procurement Manager. Sitting within the global Finance function, and working closely with senior stakeholders in Operations, Legal and Finance, the Associate will be involved in the management of tail spend across all procurement categories, while supporting the Procurement Manager on strategic projects from time to time. Core categories include: software, IT infrastructure, professional services, HR services, facilities management, insurance and utilities.

The successful candidate should be a team player and will be focused primarily on the tactical elements of supplier relationships at AlphaSights. They will require a pragmatic approach, necessitated by our rapidly-evolving, high-growth environment.

We view procurement not as a central policing function, but rather as a strategic partner to ensure we continue to optimise vendor contracts, value for money, supply chain, risk profile, and internal processes. This is an ideal opportunity for a young procurement professional to make their mark on a dynamic, high-growth firm seeking to optimise procurement.

What you will do

• Business Partnering and Stakeholder Management
  
  • Partner with stakeholders across the business to ensure optimal buying and vendor management behaviours.
  • Be seen as a partner to drive efficient, value optimised, and intelligently contracted procurement.
• Negotiation and Onboarding
  • Evaluate and when appropriate challenge the business cases to onboard and renew suppliers.
  • Ensure prospective vendors meet all necessary conditions to partner with (e.g. Know Your Supplier / Data Security), by implementing the procurement processes related to onboarding, supplier management and offboarding.
  • Assist with the negotiation and implementation of supplier contracts.
  • Onboard suppliers smoothly, ensuring integration with all relevant teams (e.g. Accounts Payables, IT, Commercial Teams).
• Cost Analysis and Value Optimisation
  • Analyse quotations considering business requirements and the various challenges that the teams may encounter during the contract period.
  • Propose methods to optimise the investment in suppliers, including sourcing alternative suppliers and identifying alternative commercial models.
• Administration
  
  • Take ownership of procurement resources including the procurement system database and supplier folders.
    Ensuring proper contract implementation and management processes are undertaken.

Requirements

This is an entry-level role that does not require any prior experience. The successful candidate should rather possess:

• Results Orientation and Drive
  
  • The successful candidate will be a resourceful self-starter with strong prioritisation skills and ability to work in a team environment. Resilience and determination are key qualities for this role, as is a meticulous mindset and consistent attention to detail.
• Stakeholder Management and Interpersonal Skills
  
  • Working as a sparring partner across all functions, levels, and regions, the successful candidate will need to be a clear and effective communicator and possess high Emotional Intelligence, which will make them able to:
    
    • Quickly forge trusted and positive professional relationships.
    • Convey expertise along with the humility to accept feedback and others’ points of view in a highly collaborative environment.
• Commercial Acumen and Negotiation Skills
  
  • A strong commercial mindset is required for this role; the successful candidate will get a kick out of always unlocking optimal value through contract configuration and intelligent negotiation.
• Numeracy and Analytical Skills
  
  • The role requires the candidate to be comfortable working with numbers and spreadsheets, and to possess at the beginning basic Excel/Google Sheet skills.
• Creativity and Adaptability
  
  • This role requires a tolerance for ambiguity, as well as the ability to conceive of elegant and efficient new systems and workarounds.
• Track Record
  
  • Proven record of achievement in professional, academic and/or extracurricular activities. A Bachelor’s Degree is a requirement for this role.
• English Fluency
  
  • The candidate needs to show professional proficiency in spoken and written English.
• University
  • You must be in your penultimate year of university with an industrial placement year

What you can expect

• High level of autonomy and ownership of the role from day one.
• A team-oriented, strongly supportive culture emphasizing transparency, continuous feedback, professional development, and celebrating wins.

Compensation and benefits

• 4% matched pension contribution on qualified earnings
• Comprehensive private health insurance coverage and dental insurance
• 25 vacation days, 8 bank holidays, and business closure over the Christmas break.
• Option to WFH Thursday & Friday
• State-of-the-art office with amenities in the City of London

AlphaSights is an equal-opportunity employer.

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