Purchasing Team Lead

Computacenter; Hatfield; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Computacenter is seeking a Purchasing Team Leader to guide a high-performing team of Buyers and Senior Buyers within Group Technology Sourcing in Hatfield. You will balance people leadership with operational oversight to drive efficiency and strong commercial outcomes.

You will coach team members, manage priorities, and partner with internal stakeholders to deliver a seamless purchasing lifecycle while supporting ongoing automation efforts and data-driven decision-making.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a purchasing or procurement team.
• Proven ability to drive process improvements and efficiencies.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Commercial awareness and ability to manage workloads.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Buyers and Senior Buyers.
• Drive improvements across processes and performance.
• Manage workloads to meet service levels and quality targets.
• Escalate supplier or operational issues as first point of contact.
• Support automation and digital transformation initiatives.

Skills

People leadership

Procurement

Process improvement

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Job description

At Computacenter, our Group Technology Sourcing (GTS) team plays a critical role in delivering technology solutions to customers and supporting the wider business. Operating at the heart of a fast-moving supply chain, the team is responsible for ensuring products and services are sourced efficiently, cost-effectively, and to the highest standards.

We're looking for a Purchasing Team Leader to lead a talented team of Buyers and Senior Buyers. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced people manager who is passionate about developing others, driving operational excellence, and creating a culture of continuous improvement.

This is a player-coach role where you'll balance team leadership with operational oversight, helping your team deliver exceptional results while identifying smarter ways of working that improve efficiency, quality, and commercial outcomes.

You'll join a collaborative and supportive environment where your ability to inspire people, improve processes, and drive performance will have a direct impact on business success.

What you'll do

As a Purchasing Team Leader, you'll be responsible for leading and developing a high-performing purchasing team while driving improvements across people, processes, and performance.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading, motivating, and developing a team of Buyers and Senior Buyers to achieve individual and team objectives.
• Creating a positive, high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Providing coaching, mentoring, and performance support to help team members maximise their potential.
• Managing team workloads and priorities to ensure service levels, productivity, and quality targets are achieved.
• Acting as the first point of escalation for operational and supplier-related issues.
• Identifying opportunities to simplify processes, remove inefficiencies, and improve operational effectiveness.
• Driving process improvement initiatives that enhance productivity, reduce manual effort, and improve customer outcomes.
• Supporting automation and digital transformation programmes to create more efficient ways of working.
• Using data and performance insights to identify trends, manage risks, and drive informed decision-making.
• Working closely with internal stakeholders to deliver a seamless experience across the purchasing lifecycle.
• Championing best practice, governance, and compliance across all purchasing activities.
• Contributing to wider business objectives through strong commercial awareness and operational leadership.

What you'll need

We're looking for an engaging and proactive leader with a passion for developing people and improving operational performance.

• Previous experience leading, coaching, or managing a team within a purchasing, procurement, supply chain, operations, or shared services environment.
• A proven track record of driving process improvements and delivering operational efficiencies.
• Strong people leadership skills, with the ability to motivate, develop, and inspire high-performing teams.
• Experience managing performance, workloads, and priorities within a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• A continuous improvement mindset with experience of identifying and implementing positive change.
• Commercial awareness and a good understanding of how operational efficiency impacts business performance.
• The ability to remain calm and focused when managing competing priorities and operational challenges.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data to support decision-making and performance management.