Procurement Buyer

XC Trains Limited; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

CrossCountry in Birmingham is seeking a Procurement Buyer to lead low-value sourcing and support tender activities. You will collaborate with stakeholders and suppliers to turn business requirements into effective procurement outcomes, while driving process improvements and ensuring compliance.

The role offers hybrid working arrangements, with the potential to influence procurement practices across the business and contribute to value-driven sourcing strategies.

Qualifications

• 2+ years' experience in procurement, purchasing, buying or supply chain.
• Experience supporting sourcing and tendering activities, including RFQs, RFPs and ITTs.
• Strong commercial awareness and the ability to analyse supplier proposals and quotations.
• Excellent communication skills and the confidence to build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Good problem-solving skills, with the ability to work independently and take ownership of your work.
• The flexibility and resilience to work in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Experience using procurement, ERP or e-sourcing systems.

Responsibilities

• Delivering procurement activity - Lead low-value, low-complexity sourcing and procurement exercises from initial requirement through to contract award, ensuring compliance with company policies and procedures.
• Managing tenders - Build and administer RFQs, RFPs and ITTs, preparing documentation, coordinating supplier communications and supporting evaluation activities.
• Working with stakeholders - Build strong relationships across CrossCountry and the wider Arriva community, understanding business requirements and providing practical procurement guidance.
• Managing suppliers - Develop positive supplier relationships and ensure professional communication, effective engagement and appropriate performance, quality and service levels.
• Analysing commercial information - Carry out quotation analysis, supplier benchmarking and market assessments to support sourcing decisions and deliver value for money.
• Supporting contracts - Assist with contract award and mobilisation, ensuring procurement documentation is complete and contracts are accurately recorded and managed.
• Maintaining procurement records - Keep tender documentation, supplier information, records and audit trails accurate and up to date.
• Supporting governance and compliance - Ensure procurement activity meets company policies, delegated authorities, regulatory requirements and industry best practice.
• Providing insight and reporting - Support procurement reporting, tender updates, savings reporting and management information.
• Driving continuous improvement - Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes, systems and documentation and contribute to the ongoing development of the Procurement function.

Skills

Procurement

Tendering

Supplier management

Stakeholder engagement

Analytical thinking

MS Office

ERP/e-sourcing systems

Tools

ERP systems

RFQ/RFP/ITT tools

Job description

Procurement Buyer

Closing date for applications: 4 October 2026

Location: Birmingham / Hybrid

Salary: Circa £37K

Shape the future of procurement at CrossCountry

Are you a commercially minded procurement professional looking for your next opportunity? Join CrossCountry as a Procurement Buyer and play an important role in delivering effective, value-driven procurement across the business. Working closely with stakeholders, suppliers and the wider rail community, you'll help turn business requirements into successful sourcing outcomes while contributing to the continued development of our procurement function. This is a varied role where no two days are the same. You could be running a competitive quotation exercise one day, coordinating a tender evaluation the next, and then working with stakeholders, suppliers or colleagues to improve procurement processes and ways of working. It's an opportunity to build your procurement experience, influence change and make a visible contribution to the business.

What you'll be doing

• Delivering procurement activity - Lead low-value, low-complexity sourcing and procurement exercises from initial requirement through to contract award, ensuring compliance with company policies and procedures.
• Managing tenders - Build and administer RFQs, RFPs and ITTs, preparing documentation, coordinating supplier communications and supporting evaluation activities.
• Working with stakeholders - Build strong relationships across CrossCountry and the wider Arriva community, understanding business requirements and providing practical procurement guidance.
• Managing suppliers - Develop positive supplier relationships and ensure professional communication, effective engagement and appropriate performance, quality and service levels.
• Analysing commercial information - Carry out quotation analysis, supplier benchmarking and market assessments to support sourcing decisions and deliver value for money.
• Supporting contracts - Assist with contract award and mobilisation, ensuring procurement documentation is complete and contracts are accurately recorded and managed.
• Maintaining procurement records - Keep tender documentation, supplier information, records and audit trails accurate and up to date.
• Supporting governance and compliance - Ensure procurement activity meets company policies, delegated authorities, regulatory requirements and industry best practice.
• Providing insight and reporting - Support procurement reporting, tender updates, savings reporting and management information.
• Driving continuous improvement - Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes, systems and documentation and contribute to the ongoing development of the Procurement function.

About you

• 2+ years' experience in procurement, purchasing, buying or supply chain.
• Experience supporting sourcing and tendering activities, including RFQs, RFPs and ITTs.
• Strong commercial awareness and the ability to analyse supplier proposals and quotations.
• Excellent communication skills and the confidence to build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Good problem-solving skills, with the ability to work independently and take ownership of your work.
• The flexibility and resilience to work in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Experience using procurement, ERP or e-sourcing systems.

Why join CrossCountry?

This is more than a role focused on processing purchase orders or running tenders. You'll have the opportunity to help shape how procurement works across CrossCountry, using your commercial expertise and ideas to improve efficiency, support better decision-making and deliver value for the business. You'll join a collaborative and developing procurement team where your contribution will be visible and valued. Whether you're looking to broaden your procurement experience, take on greater responsibility or help drive new ways of working, this role offers the opportunity to make a genuine impact.

Arriva is a leading provider of passenger transport across Europe, employing around 34,400 people and delivering around 1.6 billion passenger journeys. With buses, trains, coaches, trams, waterbuses, bike-sharing systems, on-demand transport solutions and a rolling stock leasing company, Arriva proudly connects people and communities safely, reliably and sustainably across 11 countries, delivering these services in a better way, every day. The activities of Arriva are divided into four business units: UK Bus, UK Trains, The Netherlands and Mainland Europe. Arriva has passenger transport operations in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom, and also operates a rolling stock leasing company in Romania.