Procurement Lead

Gill Cooke Personnel Ltd T/A The Recruitment Group; Curbridge; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Gill Cooke Personnel Ltd T/A The Recruitment Group is seeking a commercially-minded Procurement Lead for a growing manufacturing business in Witney. The role blends hands-on purchasing with supplier development, cost control and ongoing improvements to procurement processes.

You will own procurement performance, manage supplier relationships, forecast demand and monitor budgets, working closely with Production, Operations, Engineering and Quality teams to deliver tangible cost savings and supply

Qualifications

• Strong experience in procurement, purchasing or supply chain within manufacturing or engineering.
• Excellent knowledge of MRP/ERP systems.
• Advanced Excel and analytical skills.
• Experience in supplier management, negotiation and cost control.
• Good forecasting, inventory planning and KPI understanding.
• Commercially aware and data-driven decision maker.
• Proactive, self-sufficient and able balance strategy with hands-on purchasing.
• Experience in engineering components, global sourcing or procurement system improvements; SAP Business One or Sage 50 knowledge is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of procurement performance, KPIs and purchasing activities.
• Support and guide the Procurement Administrator with day-to-day priorities.
• Manage and develop supplier relationships, negotiate pricing and improve commercial terms.
• Analyse purchasing spend, supplier performance and cost-saving opportunities.
• Oversee MRP/ERP systems, improving data accuracy and automating purchasing processes.
• Forecast demand and manage stock levels to minimise shortages and excess inventory.
• Identify supply risks and develop alternative suppliers where required.
• Work closely with Production, Operations, Engineering and Quality teams.
• Monitor procurement budgets, supplier lead times, delivery performance and quality.
• Lead regular procurement reviews and implement improvement plans.

Skills

Procurement

Purchasing

Supply chain

MRP/ERP

Advanced Excel

Data analysis

Supplier management

Forecasting

Cost control

Negotiation

Tools

SAP Business One

Sage 50

Job description

We're recruiting for a commercially minded, analytical Procurement Lead to join a growing manufacturing business in Witney. This is a varied role combining hands-on purchasing with supplier development, cost control, forecasting and continuous improvement of procurement processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Take ownership of procurement performance, KPIs and purchasing activities.
• Support and guide the Procurement Administrator with day-to-day priorities.
• Manage and develop supplier relationships, negotiate pricing and improve commercial terms.
• Analyse purchasing spend, supplier performance and cost-saving opportunities.
• Oversee MRP/ERP systems, improving data accuracy and automating purchasing processes.
• Forecast demand and manage stock levels to minimise shortages and excess inventory.
• Identify supply risks and develop alternative suppliers where required.
• Work closely with Production, Operations, Engineering and Quality teams.
• Monitor procurement budgets, supplier lead times, delivery performance and quality.
• Lead regular procurement reviews and implement improvement plans.

About You

• Strong experience in procurement, purchasing or supply chain, ideally within manufacturing or engineering.
• Excellent knowledge of MRP/ERP systems.
• Advanced Excel and analytical skills.
• Experience in supplier management, negotiation and cost control.
• Good understanding of forecasting, inventory planning and purchasing KPIs.
• Commercially aware, highly organised and confident making data-driven decisions.
• Proactive, self-sufficient and comfortable balancing strategic improvements with hands‑on purchasing.
• Experience purchasing engineering components, global sourcing or improving procurement systems would be advantageous. Knowledge of SAP Business One or Sage 50 would also be beneficial.

If you're looking for a role where you can take ownership, improve processes and make a real commercial impact, we'd love to hear from you.

If you would like to know how we will store and process your data, please visit The Recruitment Groups home page to read our GDPR Data Protection