Procurement Manager

Limbs & Things; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus up to 10%

Flexible working

Pension

Healthcare

25 days holiday

Job summary

Limbs & Things is seeking a Procurement Manager to design and embed a modern procurement function. Reporting to the COO, you will lead supplier identification, strategic sourcing, and vendor management to support new product development and operations.

You will build governance, ensure regulatory compliance, and drive cost-saving initiatives while partnering with Engineering, Production, Quality and Finance teams. The role offers an office base in Bristol with one day WFH post-probation.

Qualifications

• Recognised procurement or supply-chain qualification such as CIPS or equivalent experience.
• Substantial procurement experience in manufacturing, engineering, medical products or other regulated environments.
• Experience designing, improving, or professionalising procurement processes, governance and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Develop procurement strategy, operating model and governance with clear processes and controls.
• Lead new product development vendor identification, sourcing and onboarding.
• Manage supplier development, audits, performance management and risk mitigation.
• Oversee strategic sourcing, category management and contract negotiations for direct/indirect materials and services.
• Directly manage and develop the Purchasing team within agreed budgets and timescales.

Skills

Procurement strategy

Vendor management

Strategic sourcing

Tendering

Negotiation

Contracting

Cost modelling

Budgeting

Stakeholder influence

Education

CIPS qualification

Tools

ERP systems

Spend analysis

Supplier performance

Office productivity tools

Job description

• LOCATION: Bristol, near Temple Meads (BS2 0RA) - This is an office-based position with 1 day WFH after probation
• CONTRACT: Permanent - Full-time (Mon-Fri)
• SALARY: £Competitive (plus bonus up to 10% of annual salary)

THE COMPANY

Over the past 30 years, L&T has become a global player in the medical simulation education market. It has ambitious plans for further growth in the next 5 years across the globe, through investment and new product development.

Multi award-winning and still privately owned, the £25M business has grown from a tabletop start-up, to a multinational business with its head office and manufacturing in Bristol, along with sales offices in the USA, Australia and Sweden.

The vision of the business remains as it always has: to design and manufacture medical task trainers which through deliberate clinical practice help improve patient outcomes.

People are at the heart of L&T, they comprise the expertise, contribute to and deliver the vision, in this fascinating and growing market sector. Take a look at what we are all about.

THE ROLE

The Procurement Manager will design, establish and embed an effective, modern procurement function for Limbs & Things. Reporting to the COO, the role will create the strategy, governance, processes, systems and capabilities needed to deliver resilient, ethical and commercially effective supply. The postholder will lead new product development vendor identification, strategic sourcing, supplier development, vendor assurance, contract and risk management, and operational procurement, working closely with New Product Development, Engineering, Quality, Production Operations, Finance and other stakeholders.

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Procurement Strategy, Operating Model and Governance: You’ll develop and deliver a procurement strategy and phased roadmap aligned with business, product and operational priorities, putting clear processes, controls and governance in place. You’ll improve visibility of spend and performance, define responsibilities and ways of working across purchasing, requisitioners and budget holders, and build procurement capability through guidance, tools and training.

New Product Development Vendor Identification and Sourcing: Working with New Product Development, Engineering and Quality from concept through to production readiness, you’ll identify, evaluate and onboard suppliers for new products, including those offering innovative materials, processes and technologies. You’ll lead sourcing and tendering, negotiate commercial agreements and ensure suppliers meet technical, quality, capacity and regulatory requirements. You’ll ensure samples, first articles, validation evidence and production-readiness activities are planned and completed before launch, with clear ownership of risks and contingencies.

Supplier Development, Performance and Vendor Assurance: You’ll build strong supplier relationships and establish a risk-based approach to supplier onboarding, assurance and performance management. You’ll lead supplier development and corrective action, and manage supply chain risks with proportionate mitigation plans. Working with Quality and Engineering, you’ll maintain robust supplier audits, non-conformance escalation, change notification, traceability and ongoing approval processes.

Operational Procurement and Commercial Performance: You’ll lead strategic sourcing, category management and commercial negotiations for direct materials, indirect goods and services, capital equipment and outsourced activities. Managing key supplier contracts, you’ll deliver measurable value through total-cost analysis, negotiation and value engineering without compromising safety, quality or compliance. You’ll also ensure purchase-to-pay controls, supplier master data and ERP procurement processes are accurate, efficient and consistently followed.

People Management: You’ll directly manage and develop the Purchasing team, ensuring it has the resources and capabilities to deliver its objectives within agreed budgets. Through coaching, mentoring, performance reviews, recruitment, onboarding, retention and succession planning, you’ll help colleagues build their skills and create an effective, engaged team.

This summary covers the main responsibilities of the role. A full job description with detailed tasks is available upon request.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

• A recognised procurement or supply-chain qualification, such as CIPS, or equivalent professional experience.
• Substantial procurement experience in manufacturing, engineering, medical products or another regulated or quality-critical environment.
• Demonstrable experience of designing, improving or professionalising procurement processes, governance, systems and performance reporting.
• Strong experience of strategic sourcing, tendering, negotiation, contracting, category management and total-cost analysis.
• Experience identifying and onboarding suppliers for new product development and working effectively with technical, quality and project teams.
• Practical knowledge of supplier qualification, auditing, performance management, and corrective action.
• Commercial and financial acumen, including cost modelling, budgeting, and savings validation.
• Sound understanding of contract principles, ethical procurement, responsible sourcing and relevant quality and regulatory controls.
• Experience using ERP, spend-analysis, supplier-performance and office productivity tools to support decisions and control.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and suppliers, manage competing priorities and deliver sustainable change across functions.

Leadership Behaviours

• Strategic and commercially astute, with the ability to connect procurement priorities to product, customer and operational outcomes.
• Credible and authoritative with senior leaders, technical specialists, operational teams and suppliers.
• Collaborative and hands-on, able to build trust while maintaining appropriate commercial challenge and control.
• Comfortable challenging legacy practices and embedding consistent, proportionate procurement disciplines.
• Analytical, decisive and resilient, with a structured approach to risk, negotiation and problem-solving.
• Motivated by building a stronger, more capable and world-class business and supply base.

THE PACKAGE

In return, we offer a competitive salary and a performance-related bonus based on personal objectives that pays up to 10% of your salary annually, study support and the chance to progress in a rapidly growing company.

We have recently introduced a new flexible working policy; it currently allows employees (following a probationary period) to work from home one day a week (if their work can be done from home) and also to work longer hours during the week and finish early on a Friday. This is a new initiative that we will review and extend if our employees value it and it works well.

Other benefits include a salary sacrifice pension scheme where the company matches your contribution up to 5% plus Employer NI savings - currently 15% of your contribution (this also applies to voluntary contributions), a non-contributory healthcare cash plan including access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), life insurance paying 4x your salary, access to a virtual GP, 25 days holiday (with possibility of buying additional leave), and a cycle to work scheme.