Procurement Lead
Locations: Witney, Oxfordshire
Job Type: Full-time, Office-Based
Hours: Monday - Friday, 08:30-16:30
Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 (DOE)
About the Role
We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded Procurement Lead to join a growing manufacturing business in Witney, Oxfordshire.
This is a hands-on procurement role with responsibility for the performance and continuous improvement of the procurement function. The position will involve a combination of operational procurement, supplier management, data analysis, MRP optimisation and process improvement.
The successful candidate will be highly organised, analytical and proactive, with strong MRP/ERP and Excel experience.
Key Responsibilities
- Take ownership of the day-to-day performance and control of the procurement function.
- Support purchasing activity, supplier issues and procurement prioritisation.
- Identify current and future supply risks before they impact Production.
- Monitor procurement KPIs and implement recovery plans where required.
- Lead regular procurement meetings, reviewing KPIs, shortages, supplier performance and actions.
- Provide procurement updates to senior management and internal teams.
- Take ownership of improving MRP accuracy and effectiveness.
- Maintain supplier information, lead times, pricing, reorder points and purchasing parameters.
- Identify opportunities to automate purchasing and reduce manual administration.
- Analyse historic component usage, current orders and future demand.
- Plan purchasing requirements around supplier lead times, MOQ, stock levels and supply risk.
- Identify potential component shortages and excess stock.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with existing and potential suppliers.
- Identify alternative suppliers to improve cost, quality and supply resilience.
- Obtain and compare quotations and negotiate pricing, lead times, MOQ and commercial terms.
- Support supplier quality issues and corrective actions.
- Monitor purchasing spend, pricing and supplier performance.
- Identify cost-saving opportunities without compromising quality or supply.
- Monitor supplier payment commitments and support cash-flow planning.
- Own and develop procurement KPIs, including supplier performance, delivery, cost, shortages and MRP accuracy.
Skills & Experience Required
- Strong previous experience within procurement, purchasing or supply chain.
- Ideally, experience within a manufacturing or engineering environment.
- Excellent knowledge and practical experience of MRP/ERP systems.
- Advanced Excel and analytical skills.
- Strong understanding of demand forecasting and inventory planning.
- Experience managing and developing suppliers.
- Strong commercial awareness and negotiation skills.
- Experience analysing purchasing spend, pricing and supplier performance.
- Ability to interpret data and turn it into clear actions.
- Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Confident communicating with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
- Self-sufficient and highly proactive approach.
Desirable Experience
- Experience purchasing engineering components, machined parts or raw materials.
- Experience with SAGE 50, SAP Business One or similar ERP/MRP systems.
- Experience improving or automating MRP and purchasing processes.
- Global sourcing experience.
- Experience with supplier quality and new component introduction.
- Mandarin/Chinese language skills would be advantageous.
The Ideal Candidate
We are looking for someone who is self-sufficient, highly analytical, commercially minded and extremely organised.
You will need to be comfortable working hands-on when required, while also being able to look at the bigger picture and identify longer-term purchasing, supplier and supply chain risks.
Benefits
- Competitive salary of £40,000 - £45,000 depending on experience.
- Monday - Friday, 08:30-16:30.
- Permanent, full-time position.
- Opportunity to join a growing manufacturing business.
- Hands-on role with responsibility for procurement and supplier performance.
- Opportunity to improve and develop procurement systems and processes.
- Professional working environment.
- Long-term opportunity with opportunities for development.